Publications

What makes Putin tick? Many have attempted to answer that question. Most conclude, especially after the invasion of Ukraine, that he is evil, diabolical, and a war criminal. He may be all of those things, but he didn’t start...

  Note: Research for this analysis was completed on October 13, 2022. The text does not reflect events since that date. Executive Summary Russia’s war on Ukraine is poised to bring into being a new European security order. Although...

Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu is back. The Likud Party head has been prime minister of Israel almost continuously since March 2009. This streak was broken in June 2021 by an unlikely coalition of eight parties, united solely by their wish...

Editor’s Note This is the fifth article in a series on the Biden administration’s National Security Strategy. Please read our previous essays on President Joe Biden’s overall grand strategy and strategy toward Asia, Eurasia, and the Middle East. Acknowledging African Agency When...

A Generational Challenge  Food security across sub-Saharan Africa stands among this generation’s greatest challenges, a crisis that continues to worsen amidst this economic downturn and will ultimately underpin further humanitarian struggles without dedicated and full-scale intervention. Estimates suggest that...

More than Koalas The Oct. 22 meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Perth mostly made the news thanks to the peculiarly Australian greeting awaiting the Japanese prime minister, a hug with...

Bottom Line The 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party confirmed China’s turn, during the Xi Jinping era, to concentration of power in the hands of the top leader, dominance of the party over the state, economy and...

Editor’s Note This is the fourth in a series on the Biden administration’s National Security Strategy. Please read our previous essays on President Joe Biden’s overall grand strategy and strategy toward Asia and the Middle East.  Bottom Line Russia’s...

Among the numerous casualties of the 2022 Latvian elections was the liberal upstart Development/For! (Attīstībai/Par!) electoral alliance. It entered the Saeima in 2018 promising an ambitious slate of social reforms. In the October 2022 parliamentary elections, Development/For! lost all...

Bottom Line Xi Jinping is aware of major problems that will hinder China’s ability to reach wealthy nation status but presents no clear blueprint other than self-purification of the party for solving them China’s assertive international policies are likely...