Commentary

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...

Lifting the Eight-Year Curse and the Opinion of the Taiwanese Since the first democratic elections were held in 1996, no political party has ever won the Taiwanese presidential election more than two consecutive times until now, with the Democratic...

In July 2023, the first Latvians started their 11-month State Defense Service, as the recently reinstated conscription is called. The first year of conscription has gone smoothly. There have been no severe mishaps or scandals, and public support has...

Equatorial Guinea is a country that was freed from colonial rule but never truly escaped the influence of the economic superpowers in a globalized world. When Spain granted independence to the Republic of Equatorial Guinea in 1968, Francis Macias...

Background For the eighth year in a row, the Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report labeled Libya as a Special Case country. Typically, the Department of State gives a country a score from one to three based on...

On March 26, a majority in the Tallinn City Council declared no confidence in its elected mayor, Mihhail Kõlvart, who has governed since 2019. His replacement by Acting Mayor Madle Lippus (Social Democratic Party) marks the end of almost...

The three Baltic states jointly announced on Jan. 19, 2024, their intention to build a defensive line along their borders with Russia and Belarus. Initial details are scarce. The defensive line will not include coastal defenses — Baltic coasts...

The United States has led the international economic order for the last seventy-eight years, with only the Soviet Union posing a serious challenge. However, China is starting to pose a severe threat to the United States by trying to...

Ukraine’s counteroffensive appears to be stalling. Part of this derives from Western expectations that Ukraine would continue to make significant gains. The other main reason is Russian adaptation and the digging of massive trenches while Ukraine was preparing for...