Russian Policy Monitor No. 2682
Codifying Moscow's Maritime Ambitions;
Popularizing A New Imperial Vision;
The Gears of Dubious Russian Justice Grind On;
Russia's National Welath Fund at Risk
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Publications
How Will the Trump Administration Respond to Israel’s Attack on Iran?
Trump faces a pivotal moment: Capitalize on Iran’s unprecedented weakness by supporting Israel, avoiding overreach, and building bipartisan backing, or risk squandering a rare strategic advantage.
Ten Years Later: How the ELA Predicted America’s Lunar Future
On the tenth anniversary of the Evolvable Lunar Architecture (ELA) study, its historical significance has come into sharp focus as a visionary roadmap that helped reframe U.S. Lunar ambitions around sustainability, affordability, and commercial partnership.
Iran Democracy Monitor No. 243
How Iran Made Russia's Drones More Lethal;
Iran's High-Tech Repression;
A Political Mandate For Action Against Iran;
That Old Tehran-Caracas Connection;
Iran Steps Up Its Cyber-Spying Next Door
Defense Technology Monitor No. 111
Military Biotech Investment Needed;
Blood Vessels On Demand;
A Helium Helper for Hypersonics;
PLA Fireball Fighter Drones;
Seeking-- And Firing -- Radiation Relief
Africa Political Monitor No. 52
Another Step Forward For Morocco In The Western Sahara;
Islamist Attacks Threaten Mozambique’s Energy Plans;
Amid U.S. Retraction, China Mirrors American Strategy;
Ethiopia, Iran Expand Security Ties;
Wagner WIthdraws From Mali;
U.S. Mulls Somaliland Recognition For Base Access
Russia Policy Monitor No. 2681
Medvedev’s War Spoils;
Russia Targets Even Pro-Government News;
A Familiar Sort of Repression
Indo-Pacific Monitor No. 45
Chinese Drones Menace The Region;
Bolstering Manila’s Maritime Posture;
Indonesia Tilts Toward China;
Deterrence By Drone On The Korean Peninsula;
A Warning From Wellington
Israel-Iran War: 3 Things To Watch As The Conflict Unfolds
Over the past several days, all eyes have been on the Middle East. Last week, Israel initiated "Operation Rising Lion," its unilateral military campaign to roll back Iran's nuclear program. The effort marks the end of a quarter-century during which Israeli policymakers desperately urged Western governments to take the threat of the Iranian atomic effort more seriously – and to take concrete steps to mitigate it.
Lebanon’s Future Hinges on Ending Hezbollah
Global Islamism Monitor No. 130
The Growing Threat of Syria's Islamic State;
The Expanding Houthi Footprint;
Another Step Forward For The Taliban
Russia Policy Monitor No. 2680
In Russia, The State Supercedes Justice;
Active Measures, Modernized;
Russia's Diminishing Advantage;
Into Uncharted Demographic Territory
Information Warfare Watch No. 46
New Tech And The Fight Against Disinfo;
Manila Investigates Chinese Influence Ops;
How African Militants Are Harnessing TikTok;
Meta Cleans House
China Policy Monitor No. 1636
China Is Recruiting Russians -- FSB;
PRC Hackers Exploit Google Calendar;
Taiwan-Based Group Hacks China's Sensitive Infrastructure;
Internet Censorship in Henan Is Even Tighter;
China Launces New Railway To Iran To Bypass U.S. Sanctions
Global Islamism Monitor No. 129
FInally, Hamas in Financial Crisis;
Bangladeshi Islamists Come In From the Cold;
Syria's Foreign Jihadists Get A New Vocation;
France Raises the Alarm;
China Policy Monitor No. 1635
Rogue Devices Found in Chinese Solar Power Inverters;
U.S. To Revoke Visas of Students With CCP Connections;
PRC Institutions Lure Chinese Researchers From U.S. Universities;
China Issues New Policies To Channel Capital Into Tech Innovation;
Pakistan Uses PRC Hypersonic Missiles To Hit India's Air Defenses;
The Nine Gates of Power: China’s Passageways to the World Ocean
In December 2010, the Asahi Shimbun published a remarkable roadmap laying out the future trajectory of Chinese maritime expansion. In its analysis, the Shimbun outlined a geographically contingent thesis of Chinese geopolitical strategy—one on which the scholar Tetsuo Kotani elaborated further in a 2019 academic paper. Both publications argue that Chinese maritime access to the Pacific and Indian Oceans is effectively constrained through a series of islands and straits in the First Island Chain. These potential chokepoints constitute the “Nine Gates” through which Chinese maritime commerce and sea power must flow.
Defending the Future: Space, Technology and Strategy
Missile Defense and Space: The Next Frontier for Strategic Advantage
Slaying the Hypersonic Beast
Missile Defense Must Go Back to the Future
Integrating Air and Missile Defense in Regional Conflicts
Prioritizing Air and Missile Defense Spending in the Broader Budget Debate
Europe Should Build a Monument to Vladimir Putin
It is not too early to start thinking about monuments to those personages associated with Russia’s war on Ukraine.
From France, A Fresh Warning About Islamism
Not all that long ago, warnings about a creeping Islamist infiltration in Europe were widely ridiculed as conspiracy theories or, worse, "Islamophobia." In previous years, when politicians like Geert Wilders of the Netherlands and Britain's Michael Gove, or authors like France's Michel Houellebecq raised alarms about the growing prevalence of political Islam on the Continent, they were routinely dismissed as cranks, alarmists, or simply as racists.
These days, though, such concerns are getting harder to refute. Just ask the French.
Russia Policy Monitor No. 2679
Target: Finland... And Beyond;
Moscow Versus Foreign Tech;
Russia Eyes Zaporizhzhia's Power
Syria’s Collapse: Strategic Implications for Iran
In December of 2024, the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Damascus fell unexpectedly to opposition Islamist forces spearheaded by the rebel group Hayaat Tahrir al-Sham.
How Student Visa Crackdowns Undercut US Soft Power
With the State Department’s new vows to halt visa interviews for all foreign students until it beefs up its social media screening and to “aggressively revoke” the visas of Chinese students, the United States is heading down a precarious path. By doing so, it risks ceding its longstanding global advantages in terms of “soft power.”
Africa Political Monitor No. 51
France and The Western Sahara;
Ghana Closes DC Embassy Amid Visa Fraud Scheme;
Trump To Host African Leaders, Pushes Commercial Diplomacy;
Uganda and Germany Are On The Outs;
Mali’s Junta Dissolves All Political Parties;
U.S. and DRC Near Minerals-For-Security Deal;
RSF in Retreat;
Trump Confronts Ramaphosa Over Claims of White Genocide…;
…And Deports Migrants to South Sudan in Defiance Of Court Order
Russia Policy Monitor No. 2678
The Push for Wartime Justice;
Taking Aim at Russia's Shadow Fleet;
Russia and The Taliban, Continued;
Putin's Plan for The Year;
Pillaging Ukraine's Treasures
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
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
Kyiv possesses a trump card. The past three years of war have seen Ukraine's brave defenders make massive military advancements, as battlefield necessity has become the mother of invention. In the process, Ukraine has singlehandedly managed to change the shape of modern warfare.
Is the EU Beating the U.S. in Central Asia?
The recent EU-Central Asia Summit demonstrated how Brussels is paying more attention to the region than Washington.
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.