China & Taiwan

China’s Belt and Road Initiative: Politics Over Economics

When international delegates to the Third Belt and Road Forum gather in October 2023, they might find the focus of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has shifted again. If that happens, it could prompt some to wonder anew...

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China Continues to Deepen its Political Influence in Georgia

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili’s recent visit to China and his meeting with President Xi Jinping heralded the establishment of a strategic partnership between China and Georgia. Garibashvili called his visit historic. Moreover, he expressed Tbilisi’s willingness to deepen its relationship with Beijing and support all...

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UAE and France: A Key, and Challenging, Relationship

On January 17, 2022, a little after 10 a.m., the Iranian-aligned Houthis in Yemen carried out a surprise, deadly drone attack on the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Abu Dhabi. Paris responded by activating, for the first...

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The Folly of Merging the Indo-Pacific and Europe

In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the United States has embarked upon an ambitious endeavor: containing its two most powerful rivals, China and Russia, at the same time. Central to this strategy is the imperative of...

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China’s Global Island-Hopping Strategy

Not since the Cuban missile crisis have island nations played such critical pieces on the geopolitical chessboard. Recent intelligence leaks, for example, reveal that China is planning to construct a signals intelligence facility in Cuba in order to monitor...

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Government Push for Champions Could Have Firms Champing at the Bit

Capitalists of the world unite! You have everything to lose, especially your supply chains.  Just about a month ago, on June 18, Raytheon CEO Greg Hayes was quoted in the Financial Times as saying “We can de-risk, but we...

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The Primacy Trap

In the 2010s, the global landscape changed. The Arab Spring, the Russian occupation of Crimea, and China’s national security law in Hong Kong were indicative of a profound change in the global system. The era of the unipolar moment,...

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Geography, Bureaucracy, and National Security: The New Map

Editor’s Note: This is the second article in a series on America’s national security system. The first article considers whether or not the legacy national security system of the United States organized around geographic regions is well-suited for strategic...

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America Should Pay Attention to Anti-China Sentiment in South Korea

South Korea is no stranger to walking the tightrope between the United States and China. In terms of foreign policy, South Korea is determined to remain close to the United States defensively while maintaining its close economic relationship with...

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China, Afghanistan, and the Allure of ‘Green Mineral Development’

There is a growing consensus that the “green transition” or “clean energy transition” to low-carbon technologies will require a range of minerals (“green minerals”).  As the lightest metal on the periodic table, lithium has certain unique properties which make...

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