Russia Reform Monitor No. 2312
Russia's agencies pose tempting cyber targets;
Islamic State funder detained;
More on the Kremlin-church connection;
Russia versus the rap game;
Russia buzzes the Arctic, again
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Publications
Global Islamism Monitor No. 66
For Hamas, necessity is the mother of invention;
ISIS rears its head in Russia's hinterlands;
Afghan Islamists versus education;
Extreme Islam on the rise at Indonesia's universities;
Religious reform, Saudi style
More U.S. talks with Iran are doomed to fail
Is behavioral change in Tehran possible without regime change?
Iran Democracy Monitor 196
Getting serious about Iran's influence in Syria;
Wheither Iran's proxy network;
Back to business as usual in Gaza;
Child marragiages remain popular in Iran;
Amid mounting economic hardship, regime corruption continues
The Problem Confronting Trump’s Peace Plan
Later this month, unless it is delayed by Israel's current political turmoil, the Trump administration will start rolling out its long awaited, much-debated plan for Mideast peace.
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2311
Human rights abuses continue in Chechnya;
Montenegro coup plot thickens;
The church as a tool of Kremlin policy;
More data on the scope of Russian disinformation;
An A2/AD bubble over the Arctic
China Reform Monitor No. 1370
Belatedly, some new attention to Xi's party line;
India backs out of the SCS energy game...;
...while Beijing deepends its stake there;
The high price of veteran protests;
Malaysia to revive major China-linked property project
Iran’s Crown Prince Strikes Back
Over the past few weeks, the Trump administration has turned up the heat on Tehran. Way up. A
Defense Technology Monitor No. 41
Russia's winged anti-drone shotgun;
Pondering Iron Man potential;
Taking C-RAMs further;
China's drone ship;
Russia reconsiders AI regulation
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2310
How Moscow is solidifying its hold on Easter Ukraine;
Russian internet to become a reality;
Moscow calling;
Letters from Lefortovo;
Blocking Moscow's Artic maneuvers
Why US-Turkish ties won’t get better
“Every year, we hear that this is the worst year ever for U.S.-Turkish relations,” a prominent Turkish academic wryly remarked to me last month during my visit to the country. “This year, they might be right.”
Global Islamism Monitor No. 65
Debating a brotherhood blacklisting;
China targets Uighur mosques;
Will Sudan continue to cling to Islamism?;
Tajik prison riot: Unrest, or terror?;
A positive side effect of Trump's Iran strategy
Why Turkey’s Erdogan Is Worried
Since 2002, the Justice & Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, or AKP) has decisively dominated national politics in Turkey.
The Promise and Peril of 5G
Washington cannot afford to cede dominance over this important technology to Beijing.
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2309
Russians vote with their feet;
A kinder view of Stalin;
Russia's underwater military modernization;
Buting into the "belt and road";
Butina ruling risks Russian retaliation
AFPC Book Review: No Way Out
Mr. Pirchner’s little book provides a good summary of the main political events of post-communist Russia, many that we have already forgotten.
Hypersonic Weapons
Hypersonic weapons are coming online just as the United States shifts its focus back to great power competition as its most pressing national security threat.
Defense Technology Monitor No. 40
Russia's 6th generation fighter weaponry;
EMP on the radar...finally;
The Pentagon eyes space-based defense;
China's commercial missle force
Moscow to Weave AI Face Recognition into Its Urban Surveillance Net
City authorities say the planned system will have access to all 160,000 existing cameras.
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2308
Browder in the Kremlin's crosshairs yet again;
How the Kremlin intimidates the media;
How Russia gets rich off stolen info;
The Kremlin strenthens its hold on the Donbas;
Russia steps softly in post-war Syria;
Moscow eyes Trump's zero tolerance Iran policy
America Needs Unity on China
Washington cannot afford to let rival powers divide America along partisan lines.
China Reform Monitor No. 1369
U.S.-Taiwan talks to counter China's influence;
China's naval moves cause tempers to flare in Manila;
F-16 sales to Taiwan on hold while Trump seeks China trade deal;
Taiwan's President visits Hawaii
China clamps down on foreign websites
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2307
A new low for Russia-NATO relations;
Reviving the Komsomol;
Holding the line in Caracas;
Russia's still-booming bootleg industry;
Mr. Kim goes to Vladivostok
Resource Security Watch No. 19
A Kenyan-Somali oil conflict;
South Sudan's looming famine;
Seeking clarity in the South China Sea;
The grisly business of blood diamonds
Iran Democracy Monitor 195
Iran's war on Christianity;
Microsoft moves again Iranian hackers;
Iran's imploding economy;
Tehran seeks Gulf wargames
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2306
Russia's military goes to the movies;
Russian radicals and America's alt-right;
A different kind of disinformation;
The Kremlin versus the World-Wide Web
Post Putin
Now in apparent robust health, Russian President Vladimir Putin (age 66) could remain in power for another decade or even longer.
China Reform Monitor No. 1368
China seeks stolen car tech;
China, Bangladesh tightens political ties;
China's elder population continues to grow;
U.S. universities steer clear of Chinese telecoms
China’s hypersonic weapons leave US defenseless, for now
Earlier this spring, an invitation-only briefing on Capitol Hill gave congressional attendees a disturbing glimpse into a high-tech research race that is spawning dangerous new weapons, delivery systems, and supporting technologies. It is a contest where China is forging ahead, shrugging off suggestions of restraint.
The Real Iran Threat to the Strait of Hormuz (Causing Oil Prices to Skyrocket)
The Iranian government could wreak real havoc on the global economy not by closing the Strait outright, but rather by narrowing it. By limiting commercial traffic flowing through the crucial waterway (for example, via military exercises), the Iranian regime can successfully drive up the marginal price of world oil without providing the United States with a clear justification to act.
Global Islamism Monitor No. 64
Brunei's brutal new sex law;
One step forward for Philippine counterterrorism;
NATO tries to broaden the Afghan dialogue...;
...as the Taliban wages war on modern medicine
Resource Security Watch No. 18
The struggle over Okinotorishima;
South Asian fishing disputes on the rise;
America's spies worry about global disease...;
...while a sick Venezuela gets sicker
Ukraine’s New President Volodymyr Zelensky Should Focus On These Four Policy Priorities
Over the weekend, Volodymyr Zelensky — a comedian best known for his leading role in the popular Ukrainian television series "Servant of the People" — decisively trounced the country's sitting president in the second round of national elections there to capture Ukraine's top political post.
China, Russia, Iran rise in Latin America as US retreats
In Latin America, a U.S. retreat that began under President Barack Obama has accelerated under President Donald Trump, creating a vacuum that China, Russia, and Iran are moving to fill.
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2305
The closing of the KGB files;
Crimea's Tatars at risk;
The new face of Russian protest;
A Kim-Putin summit?;
Russia's widening wealth gap
Iran Strategy Brief No. 13: Reforming U.S. Persian Language Media - A preliminary Assessment
In the Spring of 2017, the management of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), the U.S. government’s official coordinating body for international media, approached the American Foreign Policy Council with a request. In response to persistent criticism from lawmakers on Capitol Hill, as well as mounting pressure from the newly-inaugurated Trump administration, the agency sought to commission an independent review of the content of its Persian-language media outreach. Such a process, BBG professionals explained, would help the agency to identify and rectify significant deficiencies at a time when the role of U.S. broadcasting toward the Islamic Republic was a topic of growing scrutiny (and skepticism) among those formulating the country’s strategy toward Iran...
China Reform Monitor No. 1367
Pentagon jitters over Google-China collaboration;
A sterner European line on China;
China, Italy draw closer;
Another billion for Sri Lanka
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2304
Back to arms control?;
The shadow rulers of captured states;
A growing Russian presence in Venezuela;
Russia's nervous press toes the official line;
Moscow's military mind control
China Reform Monitor No. 1366
The costly quest for the rule of law;
Chairman Xi cleans house;
Chinese officials chafe at new oversight;
New pressures on educators as Chinese universities increasingly toe the line
Ukraine’s race a sign of our time
Ukraine’s presidential election, in which a popular comedian with no political experience is projected to beat a seasoned incumbent with considerable baggage, reflects global trends that continue to shake the global order.
What Israel’s elections signify
In Israel’s latest national elections on Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu succeeded in securing a decisive electoral victory despite early returns that indicated he and his conservative Likud party were behind in the polls. In truth, however, Netanyahu’s victory was always more likely than not.
Russia Reform Monitor 2303
Ideological reeducation makes a comeback;
Some belated justice for Boris Nemtsov?;
Brussels calls out Moscow;
The price of dissent in Chechnya;
The nuts and bolts of Russian disinformation
Trump’s Signal To Tehran
The Trump administration is turning up the heat on the ayatollahs.
Awakening From the Green Dream
Without intending it, and quite apart from the U.S. Senate’s stance, trumpet calls for a Green New Deal (GND) perversely heralds a retreat from combating climate change.
Russia Reform Monitor 2302
Putin plans to spread the wealth around;
Prisoner abuse in Yaroslavl;
Via Rosneft, Moscow props up Caracas;
The Golan as a flashpoint
World Almanac of Islamism 2019
Now in its fourth edition, The World Almanac of Islamism is the first comprehensive reference work to detail Islamist movements worldwide...
Defense Technology Monitor No. 39
Russia's new dazzling disorienter;
Russian nuclear-powered missile could cruise for days;
U.S. Army casts net to capture drones;
Chinese drones trending toward autonomy and lethality;
A step closer to super soldiers
Global Islamism Monitor No. 63
Toward a truce with the Taliban;
Malaysia cracks down on anti-Islam sentiment;
ISIS thrives in the Philippines;
What should be done with ISIS children?;
Kyrgyzstan gets serious about online radicalization;
Pakistan belatedly moves against banned groups
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2301
Crimea sanctions continue;
Some competition for the Kremlin in the Arctic;
Next up: Ruxit? ;
Lesin autopsy hints at foul play
U.S. China Economic and Security Review Commission Testimony: The Russo-Chinese Alliance: What Are Its Limits?
Submitted For Testimony before the U.S. China Economic and Security Review Commission Session on March 21, 2018, “An Emerging China-Russia Axis? Implications for the United States in an Era of Strategic Competition”