Ukraine Reform Monitor No. 17
Military Necessity is The Mother of Invention;
Ukrainian Drones Take To The Seas;
A Grisly Business;
Leaning Into Defense Tech
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Publications
Russia Policy Monitor No. 2677
How Russia Is Brainwashing Ukrainian Children;
The SVR Wants An Alliance With Washington... Against "Eurofascism";
Russia Threatens Its Neighbors Anew;
Thinking Beyond Putin
Israel’s New Reality: Proving Its Worth In Trump’s Mercantilist Middle East
Israeli leaders must be suffering whiplash as they watch the dizzying events of recent days across the Middle East, with President Donald Trump sidelining the Jewish state and cozying up to some of its bitter rivals.
China Policy Monitor No. 1634
PLA To "Expand Practical Cooperation" With Russian Military;
China and Russia Sign Lunar Nuclear Reactor Deal;
China and Brazil Ink Deals, Vow To Defend Free Trade;
Colombia Joins The BRI;
China Expands Visa-Free Travel To Five Latin American Nations
The World Is Not Enough: Space Policies to Ignite Space Mining
This paper recommends that Congress encourage and support a commercial demonstration of asteroid capture and resource harvesting as a critical element of U.S. national security and economic development strategy.
Russia Policy Monitor No. 2676
"Black Widows" Game The Ukraine War;
Moscow's Foreign Legion;
Europe Plans Accountability For Putin;
Moscow Versus The Occult and "New Age";
A Helping Hand For Pyongyang?
Africa Political Monitor No. 50
Sudan Paramilitary Forms Rival Government;
China, Kenya Upgrade Ties Amid Global Challenges;
Trump Administration Shutters Africa Infrastructure Agency;
Gabon’s Military Leader Secures Controversial Presidential Victory;
Congo, Rwanda Edge Toward Peace Deal
China Policy Monitor No. 1633
PRC Factories Slow as Trade War Takes Its Toll;
Beijing Pumps Cash Into The Chinese Economy;
Taipei Cracks Down On PRC ID Holders;
China Interfering In Philippine Elections – Manila;
China And Egypt Hold First Joint Air Force Exercises
Global Islamism Monitor No. 128
Amman Cracks Down On The Ikhwan;
Russia Rehabilitates The Taliban;
Doha Deepens Its Stake in Post-Assad Syria...;
...As Damascus Grapples With Inconvenient Jihadis
Proposing a Peacetime Doctrine for USSF Domain Development
U.S. Space Force strategy must extend beyond “right of bang” and focus on shaping the operational environment through posture, partnerships, and technology before conflict arises.
Indo-Pacific Monitor No. 44
Foggy Bottom: Pyongyang Still Pursues Bioweapons;
Washington, Manila Conduct "Full Battle Test"...;
...As Ties With Tokyo Blossom;
Seoul Worries Over Chinese Expansion
Ukraine Is A Military Laboratory
Is the EU Beating the U.S. in Central Asia?
Why Iran Won’t Come to a Deal Quickly
As President Trump explores a nuclear deal with Iran, he would be wise to recognize that Tehran probably comes to the negotiating table less because it fears Washington than because it smells opportunity.
Transition in the Kremlin: What Does History Have to Say?
In recent days several Russian bloggers—both loyalists and oppositionists—have hinted about plots to remove Putin. Even though most such reports are based on little more than gossip, they serve the useful function of reminding us that Putin’s clock is running down.
Russia Policy Monitor No. 2675
An Acute Medical Shortage;
Changing Ukraine, One Step at a Time;
Ominous Plans for Space;
Moscow's Shrinking Middle Eastern Maritime Footprint;
Russia Ramps Up The Rhetoric...
A Strategy for Greater Central Asia
America needs an effective strategy for Greater Central Asia to enhance its competitive position in a region that will significantly impact the Russia-China relationship, geopolitical competition in Asia, and key resource markets including uranium, oil, and natural gas. The proposed strategy ensures open access in Greater Central Asia while securing opportunities for profitable American investment through technological partnership, resource development, and logistical facilitation.
China Policy Monitor No. 1632
China To Use AI in Education;
Ukraine Bans PRC Firms Supplying Russia With Missiles;
RFA Halts Radio Transmissions in Mandarin and Tibetan;
China is Using Generative AI to Ramp Up Disinformation in Taiwan;
White House Backs Off Nvidia's H20 Chip Crackdown
Defense Technology Monitor No. 110
An Additive Boost for Sub Supply;
3D Printing That's Out Of This World;
Starlink in China's Crosshairs...;
...While Beijing Readies HPM Weapon;
Chainmail, Reinvented
Information Warfare Watch No. 45
The BBC Makes The Case;
RT is Gaming The Western System;
How The Houthis are Messaging;
Info Target: Israel
Iran Democracy Monitor No. 242
Iran's Killer Regime;
Regime Proxies Face The Future;
Oil Boosts The IRGC Further;
Dividing Lines Deepen in The Caucasus;
Iran Abandons The Houthis
China Policy Monitor No. 1631
PRC Firm Violated Panama Canal Ports Contract;
Xi Removes CMC Vice Chair;
Russia Recruits PRC Citizens To Fight in Ukraine;
China Halts Critical Exports as Trade War Intensifies;
PRC Ministries Issue U.S. Travel Warnings
The Winning Formula For Talks With Iran
As every tourist who has strayed into a bazaar or souk knows, Middle Easterners drive a hard bargain. And the Iranians, with their long history of strategy and commerce, are among the region's most savvy negotiators. President Trump's pointman for the region, Steve Witkoff, is finding this out the hard way.
Russia Policy Monitor No. 2674
Managing, Not Fighting, Demographic Decline;
Plummeting Morale In The Russian Military;
Russo-Iranian Ties Get Deeper Still;
Russia Beefs Up Naval Rearmament...;
...And Sets Its Sights On The Arctic
An American Strategy for Greater Central Asia
America needs to design and implement an effective strategy for Greater Central Asia to enhance the United States's competitive position in a region that will affect the Russia-China relationship, the geopolitical competition in Asia, and key resource markets, particularly uranium, oil, and natural gas.
Resource Security Watch No. 60
In Trump's military, a more skeptical view of climate;
China's future energy source;
Africa searches for answers to food insecurity;
China accelerates stockpiling efforts
Kadyrov’s Chechnya: The State Within Putin’s State
Kadyrov's Chechnya presents a deepening dilemma for Russia's federal state. Putin relies on Kadyrov for stability in exchange for unprecedented autonomy—a system where "personalized loyalty substitutes for institutional coherence." This arrangement has created a parallel power structure where Kadyrov implements religious legal codes, commands his independent Kadyrovtsy militia, and pursues contradictory foreign policies.
The paradox is clear: Moscow's strategy to suppress separatism has created a regional actor whose "loyalty is conditional and whose power increasingly transcends the bounds of federation." This precedent could inspire other republics like Tatarstan and Bashkortostan to seek similar arrangements. With Russia facing pressure from sanctions and war costs, Moscow's options are limited if Kadyrov's loyalty wavers.
Global Islamism Monitor No. 127
AF/PAK Tensions Over Isis;
What The Palestinians are Saying Now;
The Houthis Expand Their Footprint in Africa;
In Syria, An Extremist Ecosystem Festers
Africa Political Monitor No. 49
Zimbabweans Protest Mnangagwa’s Presidency;
A Franco-Algerian Thaw;
The AEW Takes Aim At ECOWAS…;
…And Courts Moscow for Military Support;
France Seeks to Stabilize Egypt;
DRC Explores Minerals-For-Security Deal with U.S.;
Russia, China Expand Media Influence in Africa
Trump’s Tariffs Will Ensure America Can Win the Next War
Trump’s tariff agenda is not simply a policy preference; it is essential for the security and safety of the United States in the decades to come.
Russia Policy Monitor No. 2673
Putin Looks for Reinforcements;
Military Recruitment Surges...;
...As The Kremlin Anticipates the Day After;
Europe Needs Beefed Up Naval Capabilities to Counter Russia, China
Russia’s Imperial Mindset Hasn’t Changed
If its imperial vision isn’t decisively defeated, any peace agreement with Russia over Ukraine is guaranteed to be merely temporary.
The Middle East As Informational Battlefield
Once upon a time, the Middle Eastern media environment was predictable and staid, dominated by a few prominent outlets that in Arab countries were often owned and operated by the governments’ information ministries. No longer.
To Boost American Power, Lean into the Anglosphere
“Who controls the Rimland rules Eurasia [and] who rules Eurasia controls the destinies of the world.”
Indo-Pacific Monitor No. 43
Australia's Maritime Vulnerabilities;
New Port Puts Cambodia on The Map;
Crypto: How North Korea Has Survived;
Fear and Loathing in Tokyo
Russia Policy Monitor No. 2672
Surkov's Imperial Vision;
The Kremlin Solidifies Its Grip on Eastern Ukraine...;
...As Prisoners Languish;
More on The Moscow-Pyongyang Connection;
Why the UN Human Rights Council Keeps Failing on Israel
UN’s Human Rights Council set to mock itself – The United Nations Human Rights Council is expected to reappoint its special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, to a second three-year term on Friday, mocking its own mandate to fairly and seriously investigate human rights problems around the world.
China Policy Monitor No. 1630
Secretive PRC Firms Lure Fired Federal Workers;
China Fetes U.S. Business Leaders in Beijing;
China Releases Staff of U.S. Due Diligence Firm;
China Unveils Its New Deep-Sea Cable Cutter;
U.S. Blacklists 50 PRC Firms to Curb Ai, Chip Capabilities
A Grim Message For Iranians
On March 20, Iranians in Iran and in the diaspora commemorated Nowruz, the Persian New Year. Typically, U.S. administrations have used the occasion to practice some soft power diplomacy. In the past, America's Nowruz greetings have taken pains to highlight Iran's proud pre-Islamic heritage, underscore its immense civilizational potential, and draw a distinction between the country's historic greatness and its current repressive clerical regime.
Global Islamism Monitor No. 126
HTI Exploits The Gaza Narrative;
Bangladesh's Turmoil: An Opening for Islamists?;
Morocco in The Isis Crosshairs;
"Pay to Slay" Stays Alive
Information Warfare Watch No. 44
China's Expanding African Propaganda;
More Russian Disinfo in Europe;
Qatar is Shaping The Post-Assad Media Environment in Syria;
Taking "Cognitive Warfare" Seriously;
How Moscow is Manipulating AI
South Asia Strategy Monitor No. 23
Doha Deepens Its Stake in India;
Pakistan's Westward Push;
India, France Plan Small Modular Nuclear Reactors;
Afghanistan's Taliban Head East
Defense Technology Monitor No. 109
Training for a War Without a Battlefield...;
...As China Targets American Space Superiority;
Awareness Across The Electromagnetic Spectrum;
Precision Radar in Development;
The UK's Answer to Drone Swarms
Africa Political Monitor No. 48
U.S. Expels South African Envoy;
Sanctions Prompt Rwanda to Sever Ties…;
…And Cause M23 Rebels to Withdraw From Peace Talks;
Ethiopia-Eritrea Tensions Risk New Conflict;
Mali Withdraws From French Bloc;
Score One for The Sudanese Army
China Policy Monitor No. 1629
Military Purge Deepens, Top Generals Arrested;
Provinces Encourage Babies With Childcare Subsidies and Milk;
China Executes Four Canadians for Drugs;
PRC EV Makers Accelerate Global Push;
Man Gets Prison for Helping Pressure PRC Expat to Return Home
Iran Democracy Monitor No. 241
Iran Makes A Play in East Africa;
Hopelessness Spreads in The Islamic Republic;
How Iran is Gaming "Resistance";
The Regime's Human Rights Crackdown Continues
China Policy Monitor No. 1628
As U.S. Tightens Sanctions, Chinese Firms Curb Russian Oil Imports;
PRC Hackers Stole Belgian State Security Emails;
New Chinese Quantum Chip is 1 Quadrillion Times Faster;
European Parliament Suspends Access For Huawei Lobbyists;
U.S. Sanctions Thai Officials for Sending Uyghurs Back To China;
Hamas’ Delusions and Israeli Strategy
Now, as Hamas retakes control of Gaza after a two-month ceasefire with Israel and reconstitutes its capacity to resume its terror, classified documents published in recent days by the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center highlight Israel’s desperate need to restore a sense of deterrence in the minds of its bitterest enemies.
Russia Policy Monitor No. 2671
Putin's (Sort of) Police State;
Brussels Raises the Alarm...;
...As Poland Preps for Confrontation;
Trump Cuts Complicate Recovery of Children Taken by Russia
Understanding ASEAN
ASEAN has grown from a small, consensus-based group into a significant regional bloc, now at the center of U.S.-China competition. Its expanded scope and diverse membership make it both a key player and a complex challenge for external powers.