Russia Policy Monitor No. 2665
Russia's LNG Lifeline;
North Korea... No Longer At The Front;
The Reasons For Russia's Downhill Demography;
Laying The Groundwork For A New Draft;
From Russia, With Love
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Publications
Trump Needs A New ‘Maximum Pressure’ Policy ... Against Russia
For all of its public rhetoric to the contrary, Europe has failed to meaningfully wean itself off Russian energy, a key strategic vulnerability. In fact, the continent's dependence on Moscow has grown...
Russia Policy Monitor No. 2664
The Grim Toll Of Putin's War;
Moscow Thinks Beyond Damascus;
More Signs Of Economic Fragility;
How Is Russia's Recruitment Drive Really Going?
China Policy Monitor No. 1623
China Builds World's Largest Fusion Energy Reactor;
PRC Influence Operation Pushs For Overthrow Of Spain's Government;
Florida Police Bust Smuggling Operation, Detain 26 Chinese Migrants;
Massive Dam In Tibet Alarms China's Neighbors;
China's Spies Recruit U.S. Clearance Holders
Thousand Sails: Why Low Earth Orbit is the Next Frontier for Great Power Competition between the U.S. and China
As China rapidly expands its network of satellite mega-constellations, it grows in informational power. As a result, it could acquire a dominant position in global connectivity, greatly expanding the reach and impact of its messaging, propaganda and influence operations.
Africa Political Monitor No. 44
World Bank Suspends Gabon Disbursements;
Kenya Turns To The Uae;
Nigeria Becomes A Brics Partner;
Sudanese Army Captures Strategic City;
Illegal Mining Crackdown Causes Chaos In South Africa;
New Mozambican President Sworn In Amid Mass Protests
Defense Technology Monitor No. 108
Quantum Cloning: The Future of Teleportation?;
SOCOM Seeks Hybrid Micro Drones;
Cutting The Cord: Wireless Power for Troops;
China's Microwave Superweapon: Science Fiction or Reality?;
From Warrior Suit to Carrying Companion
Global Islamism Monitor No. 124
Afghanistan's Other Islamists Rear Their Heads...;
...As Riyadh Moves Closer To Kabul;
Bracing For An Imperial Turkey;
How Hezbollah And Iran Are Adapting
China Policy Monitor No. 1622
Cia: Covid-19 Probably Leaked From Wuhan Lab;
Iranian Cargo Ships Transport Missile Propellant From China;
Philippine Authorities Seize Spy Car, Arrests Prc Agents;
"The U.S. Does Not Support Taiwan Independence" – Rubio;
China Affirms Support For The Who And Paris Climate Deal
Defense Technology Monitor No. 107
China Expands Quantum Satellite Network;
X-37B Tests Novel Orbital Maneuvers;
China Sets The Pace In Global Tech Standards;
Innovative Motor Propels Hypersonic Testing;
Building Better Ai... With Ai
Russia Policy Monitor No. 2663
An Energy Crisis In Russia's Moldovan Enclave;
How The Kremlin Is Combatting Demographic Decline;
Is Moscow Battling Back In Kursk?;
Russia's Ailing Economy
China Policy Monitor No. 1621
University Of Michigan Cuts Ties With Shanghai Jiao Tong University;
Chinese Owned Ship Suspected Of Cutting Taiwan's Undersea Cable;
China Works With Gangs To Gain Intelligence On Taiwan;
China'S Population Falls For A Third Straight Year;
U.S. Sanctions On Russia's "Shadow Fleet" Push Up China's Costs
Does the World Care About Gaza’s Future Under Hamas?
But lest anyone believe that Israel’s detractors in the region and across the world really care about innocent Gazans, events on the ground since the ceasefire took effect show that’s truly a farcical notion.
China’s AI Ambitions and U.S. Competition
Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to transform economies, reshape societies, and redefine what it means to be a global power. China’s pursuit of AI advancement poses a challenge to U.S. interests.
In Foreign Policy, Half-Measures Won’t Do
When scholars look back at the foreign policy of the last administration, they’re liable to conclude that the “Biden Doctrine,” to the extent that there was one, wasn’t an elaborate, ambitious and well-thought-out affair, the way some pundits have suggested. Rather, it was a series of tactical responses to world events — responses that were ultimately undermined by the White House’s fear of adverse consequences.
Russia Policy Monitor No. 2662
Warsaw in The Kremlin's Crosshairs;
The Ukraine War Is Driving Russian Demographic Decline;
Chechnya As Military Training Hub;
Russia's Ties To The Taliban Run Deep;
Are The Abraham Accords Coming Back To Life?
As strife abates, countries are remembering why ties to Israel are a good bet.
Beware of Premature Talks with Iran
As he prepares to enter the White House, Donald Trump should recognize that even a weakened Tehran is still dangerous.
China Policy Monitor No. 1620
Deflation Grips China;
As Jobs Dwindle, Youth Flock To Civil Service Exams;
Foreign Degree Holders Banned From Civil Service Exam;
Iran Sells Oil Stored In China To Fund Proxies;
Uyghurs Detained In Thailand Face Deportation Back To China
Africa Political Monitor No. 43
Unrest in Mozambique sparks mass exodus;
African nations continue wave of French troop expulsions…;
…After Macron’s contemptuous remarks;
U.S. defense officials visit Benin, Côte d'ivoire;
Biden administration declares Sudan's civil war a genocide;
Chad’s military foils assault on presidential complex
Russia Policy Monitor No. 2661
How the FSB is evolving;
A deepening science deficit;
Russia repositions after Assad;
Moscow's drone-enabled espionage
Trump Will End U.S. Passivity in the Western Hemisphere
Prioritizing the Americas after decades of neglect marks a return to traditional U.S. strategy.
Global Islamism Monitor No. 123
The Kremlin comes around on the Taliban;
Syria's crisis equals new opportunities for the Islamic state;
UNWRA has a radicalism problem
China Policy Monitor No. 1619
China trades weapons to Houthis in exchange for Red Sea passage;
PRC hackers access U.S. treasury workstations and documents;
China approves construction of mega-dam in Tibet;
China rolls out nationwide private pension plan;
Beijing raises the retirement age
Russia Policy Monitor No. 2660
Persecuting Navalny, continued;
A shakeup in the Russian intelligence ranks;
Moscow looks to Africa;
Finland fights back;
Homegrown resistance to academic propaganda
Indo-Pacific Monitor No. 41
South Korea martial law debacle leaves U.S. regional priorities in doubt;
Signs of a thaw between Washington and Phnom Penh;
Thailand has it both ways on space exploration;
North Korean soldiers confirmed dead in Ukraine;
Pacific Island nations tentatively open protected seabeds
Israel Faces a Reshuffled Strategic Deck in Syria
Suddenly, Israel has a Syria problem. For years, officials in Jerusalem had banked on a relatively predictable balance of power with the neighboring regime of Bashar al-Assad in Damascus. Despite Assad's enduring hostility toward the Jewish state and the inherent weakness of his regime, a tenuous status quo had been struck between the two countries, making it generally possible to anticipate how the Syrian dictator would behave. This has served as a perverse source of comfort over the past 14 months, as Israel has found itself preoccupied with the threat of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and more recently, that of Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Rethinking Iran’s Future
When might meaningful change come to Iran, and how? Nearly 50 years after the country's last major political transformation – the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's radical Islamist revolt against the monarchy of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi – that question continues to bedevil policymakers, both in Washington and far beyond the Capital Beltway.
Indo-Pacific Monitor No. 40
Beijing's forward-deployed fortress in the South China Sea;
Indonesia's agreement with Beijing muddies the waters;
U.S.-deployed task force in the Philippines revealed;
Taiwan remains an outsider in Pacific trade agreement
Russia Policy Monitor No. 2659
Seeking a post-Assad Modus Vivendi;
Subverting Ukraine from the inside;
Another use for Russia's shadow fleet;
More tyranny of the law
Is Putin’s Collapse Possible?
The question of why totalitarian regimes suddenly and unexpectedly collapse has long perplexed researchers, generating no shortage of post-mortems and scholarly analyses after the fact. Accurately predicting the longevity of such regimes is a risky enterprise, and the subject of this report – an examination of how close the regime created by Russian President Vladimir Putin might be to its downfall – is inherently speculative in nature. Yet, as a direct witness to the collapse of the Soviet Union, I have a clear sense of how the sudden collapse of seemingly unshakable power can occur. What follows is my best assessment of the current state of Putin’s regime, drawing on both general observations and extensive personal experience.
Warfare in the Age of AI
U.S., China Locked in AI Arms Race Where There are No Winners
Artificial Intelligence and its Influence in Chinese Military Thought and Operations
A New Age Of Deception In Warfare
The Dual-Use Dilemma in Military AI Advancements
How AI is turbocharging disinformation
China Policy Monitor No. 1618
U.S. efforts to curb China's access to advanced chips "inadequate";
PRC agents charged for interfering in California election;
PRC nationals caught in Guam before U.S. missile test;
U.S. citizen pleads guilty to running secret PRC police station;
China is creating fake stories about pro-Taiwan U.S. lawmakers
China Policy Monitor No. 1617
Biden approves $571 million in defense support for Taiwan;
Searching for revenue, China taxes influencers;
Foreign accounting firms now report to the Public Security Bureau;
U.S. citizens can visit China for up to 10 days visa-free;
PLA navy hosts Gulf of Guinea Security Forum
Iran Democracy Monitor No. 239
A Rising Cost of Living...;
...And a Growing Energy Crisis;
Tehran's Ties to October 7th;
Iran's Illicit Iraqi Fuel Scheme;
Tehran Loses Ground in Syria
The West Cannot Afford to Neglect Georgia’s Fight for Freedom
Assessment of the PLA Rocket Force’s Deterrence Capabilities
President Xi Jinping has promoted the enhancement of strategic forces, stressing new developmental plans for the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF). The U.S. maintains nuclear superiority, but China leads in conventional and hypersonic missile technology.
Africa Political Monitor No. 42
Somalia, Ethiopia reach historic deal to resolve port dispute;
ECOWAS advances unity with $15.6 billion coastal highway project…;
…And sets exit deadline for Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso
UN launches new effort to break Libya's election impasse;
Rwanda-Congo peace talks collapse
China Policy Monitor No. 1616
Spies hire Chinese teens to steal state secrets;
Paraguay expels PRC diplomat for Taiwan "interference";
Xi: China should use Mandarin in "border areas";
Canada sanctions eight PRC officials, citing human rights violations;
Accused Chinese spies plead not guilty in London
Russia Policy Monitor No. 2658
Assad gets asylum in Moscow...;
...as Moscow scrambles to preserve its Syrian presence;
Prisoners to the (war) front;
NATO mobilizes versus Russia;
Nazi sentiment makes a comeback;
Kadyrov's clout grows
Information Warfare Watch No. 42
Germany: a target of Russian hybrid war;
How AJ+ is manipulating the Mideast narrative;
AI turbo-charges Russian disinfo...;
...As Brussels gets more serious;
Overreach in El Salvador?
Global Islamism Monitor No. 122
Cairo's kindler, gentler textbooks;
Hezbollah lives to fight another day;
ISKP takes a dim view of Hamas
McCain Institute Leads Post-Election Mission to Tbilisi, Georgia
Europe’s Nuclear Energy and Central Asian Uranium
Arabs, Turks and Persians: Geopolitics and Ideology in the Greater Middle East
For decades, the Greater Middle East has been a leading challenge to American foreign policy. This vast region - ranging from North Africa in the west to Afghanistan in the east, and from the borders of Central Asia down to the Horn of Africa in the south - has been a cauldron of turmoil that has affected not just American interests, but generated threats to the American homeland.
Combating Russia’s Global Disinformation Campaign
For years, Russia’s main tactic to compete with Western news media has been to create alternative outlets, like its television channel RT (previously Russia Today) and the Sputnik multimedia news agency. Now, however, Moscow is stepping up its efforts in two areas where Western media and foundations have long enjoyed an advantage: journalism training and fact-checking.
Africa Political Monitor No. 41
Biden visits Angola in final push to bolster U.S.-Africa ties;
Chad ends defense pact with France…;
…While Abuja and Paris strengthen economic ties;
Burkina Faso’s latest junta dissolves government;
Mali drone strikes target Tuareg leaders after rebels unite;
Xi visits Morocco, deepens economic ties
Russia Policy Monitor No. 2657
Kremlin worries over domestic unrest
Still more foreign fodder for Russia's war;
A delayed economic reckoning...;
...As Putin doubles down
Global Islamism Monitor No. 121
Australia faces fresh extremist threats;
Morocco takes a stand on ties with Israel;
A fatwa against Hamas;
Libya tightens social control;
Baghdad aims to lower age of consent
Russia Policy Monitor No. 2656
Russian hackers target Europe...;
...And Japan;
Russia returns the favor;
An offensive against Ukrainian energy