Russia

Belarusian strongman Aleksandr Lukashenko is in trouble. The self-proclaimed father of Belarus, often called the last dictator in Europe, is facing the first real challenge to his presidency since he came to power 26 years ago. He’s been in...

In early June, Latvia published the 2020 iteration of its State Defense Concept (Valsts Aizsardzības Koncepcija) to replace the 2016 version. The Concept is a political planning document which will guide the details of defense policy and planning for...

Two recent Russian malicious cyber operations in Latvia targeted the government and a social media platform. But, legally, those instances do not rise to the level of a “cyberattack” as defined by the Tallinn Manual 2.0. Despite not satisfying...

Little to nothing, for two reasons. First, the U.S. leverages a sizeable sunk investment in German bases in very substantial part to support missions that are unrelated in any direct sense to its defense posture in Europe, if indeed...

From Emmanuel Macron to Ursula von der Leyen, many European leaders dream of the European Union (EU) asserting itself one day as a geopolitical superpower in its own right. There is still a long way to go, however. True,...

Under Vladimir Putin, Russia was moving away from its earlier embrace of Atlanticisim, seeing Russia as part of the Western world, and aspiring to emulate the West’s values and standards of governance, but still considered Russia part of an...

A combination of a collapse in oil prices and the global pandemic has sent shockwaves through the oil industry. Compared to other oil-producing countries, Russia is better prepared to weather this oil price shock. Since 2014, Russia’s economy has...

On May 27, U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) revealed that Russia had flown 14 MiG-29 and Su-24 fighter jets over Libya, in order to support Libya National Army (LNA) chieftain Khalifa Haftar’s offensive against the UN-backed Government of National Accord...

Mid-May is upon us. I would like to thank our readers who have loyally read our weekly discussions throughout the pandemic. I hope you all are healthy and safe, and continue to stay the course in staying at home....

COVID-19 is much more than a public health or economic nightmare. The virus has transformed society all over the world and triggered rapid political change, some of which may go unnoticed. As people struggle to adapt to stay-at-home orders...