Commentary

Rwanda—the small, landlocked country in East Africa known colloquially as the “land of a thousand hills”—has arguably gained outsized influence in Africa in recent years. Previously known most prominently for the horrors enacted against ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus...

Introduction Historically, Russia has done everything it can to keep countries that were formerly part of the Soviet Union in its so-called “sphere of influence” as far from the West’s orbit as possible. However, in recent years, some of...

On the morning of September 7, an armed Russian kamikaze unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) landed in Gaigalava parish in Eastern Latvia. The UAV was a Shahed 136-type drone of Iranian descent, which Russia uses widely in its war in...

G7 and BRICS The G7, led by the United States in the Global North, and BRICS, led by China in the Global South, are each working diligently to control the rules-based international order. To better understand this competition, it...

In October 2022, the Biden administration introduced export controls to limit China’s access to advanced US semiconductors and technologies, aiming to maintain US technological superiority and address security concerns. These controls, targeting areas such as advanced chips and supercomputer...

Since its creation in 1955, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has dominated the Japanese Diet, or parliament, winning a majority in almost every election. However, its grip on the Diet is loosening, as shown by the loss of three...

Relations between Latvia and African countries have generally been rather distant. They are far apart in geographic terms. There is no sizeable community of Africans in Latvia or Latvian communities in Africa. Economic and political cooperation has been sporadic...

The Baltic states are among the most ardent supporters of Ukraine in the war against Russia. It is widely understood that Ukraine is fighting not only for its survival and the right to determine its path forward, but also...

On October 17, 2022, at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, President Xi Jinping called for a nationwide effort to “win the battle” in core technologies. The urgency was reflected in the 20th Party Congress report,...

During the past 20 years of their NATO membership, the Baltic states achieved a multi-faceted transformation in their strategic posture establishment, military capability development, and level of interdependence with their NATO allies. Once inexperienced newcomers, the so-called “one-issue” countries...