Indo-Pacific Monitor No. 19
Iran's Chabahar Port takes center stage;
Duterte drops opposition to VFA;
Burmese junta extends state of emergency;
Indian states in border staredown;
Final attempt to save BRI project in Malaysia falters
Want these sent to your inbox?
Subscribe
Publications
America’s Iran Policy Pendulum
For the second time in a half-decade, U.S. policy toward Iran is undergoing a profound redefinition, as the Biden administration abandons the "maximum pressure" of the Trump era in favor of a broad effort to reengage the Islamic Republic.
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2278
Russia versus the world wide web, continued;
The Kremlin leaves Argentina hanging;
Prominient communist banned from fall elections;
Russia faces stiff carbon tax;
Mishustin visits disputed islands;
Now Navalny's website blocked by state censor
China Reform Monitor No. 1471
Chinese human waste dumping endangers South China Sea ecosystem;
Firms operating in Xinjiang at "high risk" of violating law, U.S. warns;
Japan warns of China threat and "sense of crisis" in Taiwan Strait;
U.S. Senate passes bill to ban all products made in Xinjiang;
China urges efforts to oppose American "internet hegemony"
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2477
Russia "checkmates" the F-35;
Russia opens up voting in the Donbas;
Sakhalin newspaper silenced;
Washington, Berlin reach agreement on Nord Stream II;
Russia files suit against Ukraine in human rights court
Russian Reform Monitor No. 2476
Leaked Kremlin docs point to pro-Trump influence campaign;
The fight over mural space in St. Petersburg;
Livestream restrictions for upcoming vote;
Moscow offers U.S. joint operations in Afghanistan;
Russian rights group forced to shut down
Biden’s confused China policy
President Joe Biden’s China policy is a paradox of his own making.
Great Power Strategic Competition on Earth and in Space
The United States Space Force was established due to rising threats in space, a domain that is vital to U.S. national security and economic interests. Strategic competition among great power on Earth and in space is likely in the coming decades. Analyzes strategic competition among great powers to make predictions about future conflict in space.
Information Warfare Watch No. 5
Saudi Arabia's coming media offensive;
England's controversial "online safety" bill;
Chinese disinfo now takes aim at Japan;
Moscow focuses on information warfare
China Reform Monitor No. 1470
China expands its use of secret detention;
U.S. mutual funds invest $150 million in Xinjiang companies;
Under pressure, Ukraine drops criticism of Xinjiang rights abuses;
Chinese scientists removed virus records from U.S. database;
Hong Kong begins to censor films
Global Islamism Monitor No. 92
Another step forward for Saudi reforms;
The Taliban maps out its agenda...;
...Afghan forces brace for the inevitable;
The brotherhood in Cairo's crosshairs;
America urges Europe to act on foreign fighters
Defense Technology Monitor No. 66
U.S. special ops to use Israeli indoor drones...;
...as China develops counter drone tech;
A royal robotic submarine;
Russian war robots join the ranks;
New Army eyes saving lives
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2475
The Taliban takes pains to reassure Russia;
Biden demands Russia crack down on cybercrime...again;
Nord Stream II set for completion next month;
Putin's vision for unity with Ukraine;
Russian COVID deaths continue to surge;
Extra coaching for Tokyo
Cuba Protests Could Presage Brighter Regional Future
As video of protests in Havana circulates on social media, many are wondering about Cuba's future. Why now? What's changed for everyday Cubans? And, most importantly, what do the protests mean for the island nation's communist government and its grip on power?
The Deep Seabed Is China’s Next Target
In late 2020, a Chinese submersible, the Fendouzhe, descended over 30,000 feet to the bottom of the Marianas Trench, home to the deepest point in the earth’s oceans, known as Challenger Deep.
Resource Security Watch No. 38
How climate change fuels African instability;
Climactic shifts fuel southern migration;
Russia looks north for military expansion;
The intersection of climate change and great power competition
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2474
Price hikes and possible shortages ahead;
Exploiting Crimea's cultural heritage;
Bard College branded "undesirable";
Russian hackers continue to test the U.S.
Russia supports ASEAN on Myanmar;
Tajikistan looks to Russia to secure border with Afghanistan
Turkey’s Ties To Jihadist Groups Run Deep
President Joe Biden and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met last month on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Berlin. The meeting was short on tangible results but long on symbolism, with Erdogan proclaiming that “there is no problem that cannot be resolved in Turkey-U.S. relations.”
If The Afghan Government Falls To The Taliban, The Country Could Once Again Become A Haven For Terrorists
History, they say, doesn’t really repeat itself, but it does sometimes rhyme.
The Federal Government Can’t Counter China on Its Own
The states, and America’s nonprofit and private sectors, must play a role, too.
To Avert Disaster in Afghanistan, Look to Central Asia
A coming infrastructure conference could lay the groundwork for a new strategy in the region.
Indo-Pacific Monitor No. 18
The problem with Chinese vaccines;
Sino-Indian border standoff continues;
Burma's junta puts Aung San Suu Kyi on trial;
North Korea faces food crisis...again;
Tokyo, Manila hold first joint air force exercises
Britain’s Economic Ties with China Will Dictate the Future of the Special Relationship
America must use diplomacy to convince its best friend that an injection of the famous British courage in the economic space is necessary for protecting the UK’s sovereignty, security, and values.
Information Warfare Watch No. 4
Iranian disinfo offensive takes aim at Israel;
Indonesia's increasingly managed media;
Target: Taiwan;
Anti-vaccination propaganda continues to spread in Asia
Africa Political Monitor No. 14
Germany acknowledges Namibian genocide;
Congolese flee to Rwanda;
The west returns to Libya;
Flashpoint: GERD;
New life for China-funded port in Tanzania
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2473
Russia, China renew friendship treaty;
More journalists harassed by police;
Putin eyes an "unfriendly" Ukraine;
Kremlin hunts for Navalny ally;
Russia refuses to open Syrian aid crossing;
Cruz plays hardball over Nord Stream II
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2472
A confrontation off Crimea;
Torture on the peninsula;
Forgery industry booming over vaccination requirements;
Russian military flexes its muscles in the middle east;
Moscow versus the western order
China Reform Monitor No. 1469
Chinese military scientists face U.S. visa fraud charges;
China stops Taiwan from buying vaccines...;
...as America lends a helping hand;
Pushed out of China, bitcoin miners are coming to America;
China stepping up market interventions
Can Afghanistan Be Part of An Integrated Central Asia?
A more integrated and cohesive Central Asia that includes Afghanistan will do more than anything else in sight to render it stable and predictable.
China Reform Monitor No. 1468
College merger suspended after student protests;
China leads the charge against Israel;
China's apps to face subpoenas and/or bans;
FCC advances proposed ban on Chinese telecom equipment;
NATO declares China a security risk
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2471
OSCE concerned about human rights in Crimea;
Russia's GAZPROM behind massive methane leak;
Putin seeks to bolster United Russia;
Germany arrests Russian researcher accused of spying;
Major cities hammered by COVID
China’s Huawei Is Down, but Not Out
Washington needs a long-term strategy to sideline the tech giant.
Information Warfare Watch No. 3
Russia's web of disinformation;
Tehran's anti-semitic tropes;
Chinese disinformation targets Taiwan's tech sector;
Beijing's fake cheering section;
Washington takes aim at Iranian propaganda
A Coronation In Tehran
Last week, Iranians went to the polls to select a replacement for outgoing president Hassan Rouhani, who has served out his two terms in office.
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2470
A helping hand from Grozny;
A media noose gets tighter;
A mediocre summit in Switzerland;
China, Russian space officials lay plans for lunar station;
Moscow's vaccine push;
Russia encroaches on Baltic airspace
Iran Democracy Monitor No. 218
* * * SPECIAL EDITION: Iran's 2021 election * * *
A coronation in Tehran...;
...amid clerical manipulation...;
...and widespread disaffection;
The presidency as a stepping stone?
State of Islamism 2021 | Issue 2 | Egypt
The Sisi government has been forced to deal not only with the perceived internal threat posed by the Brotherhood, but with an external one as well.
America’s Critical Strategic Vulnerability: Rare Earth Elements
The People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) dominance over global critical mineral supply chains presents one of the largest strategic vulnerabilities to the United States and her allies since the Arab oil embargo-triggered energy security crisis of the 1970s.
What Biden And Putin Didn’t Discuss
At his summit with Vladimir Putin in Geneva, Switzerland last week, President Biden pressed his Russian counterpart on a number of critical issues.
U.S., Allies Too Eager to Resume Nuclear Deal with Iran
With Tehran making significant progress on the nuclear front, Washington and its European allies seem engaged in an increasingly desperate effort to revive the 2015 global nuclear agreement with Iran, mirroring the earlier eagerness that helped produce the problematic agreement in the first place.
Global Islamism Monitor No. 91
The Brotherhood breaks ranks;
Hezbollah's growing European presence;
The coming fight over Afghanistan;
The problem with Palestinian aid
China Reform Monitor No. 1467
White House: Engagement with China "has come to an end";
China allows three children amid fall in birth;
Fake COVID-19 vaccines pose new threat in Africa;
Arab countries are deporting Uyghurs to China;
Bush China Foundation takes $5 million from the CPC
Clarifying the Planetary Defense Mission
Since 2005, Congress has recognized that an asteroid impact represents a serious threat to national security. Though Congress tasked NASA to survey hazardous asteroids larger than 140m by 2020, sixteen years later it remains incomplete.
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2469
Navalny not the first FSB target;
No refuge for victimized women in Russia's regions;
Moscow's soft lockdown;
Russia sells Iran advanced spy satellite;
Russia carries out massive naval drills in the Pacific;
Another former European official tacks toward Russia
A New Era For Iran’s Ambitions In The Western Hemisphere
Despite Chavez’s death in 2013, Venezuela remains a key Iranian ally—and a top partner in Tehran’s efforts to project power in the Western Hemisphere.
Wars of Ideas: Theology, Interpretation and Power in the Muslim World
This work explores the current state of the “wars of ideas” against radical Islam and identifies America’s potential partners in this fight.
Russia Reform Monitor No. 2468
Putin signs extremism law, court bans Navalny group;
Space chief threatens early ISIS withdrawal;
New Ukrainian soccer jerseys showcase occupied Crimea;
Another opposition politician flees the country;
Russia withdraws from Open Skies;
Coronavirus surges in Moscow and nationwide
Four Priorities For The Biden-Putin Summit
Next week, President Joe Biden will meet with Vladimir Putin in Geneva for his first head-of-state summit with the Russian leader.
Defense Tech Monitor No. 65
Brain-computer interfaces make monkey pong possible;
Thought-controlled exoskeletons;
Wanted: A space junk removal service;
Directed energy weapons of terror;
Countering the Chinese naval fleet
China Reform Monitor 1466
China could have ordered Huawei to shut down Australia's 5G;
China woos Wall Street bankers...;
...while U.S. scrutiny over Chinese influence over finance grows;
Biden announces new probe into source of COVID-19;
Philippines protests China's "illegal" presence in its EEZ