Long a sinecure of former colonial powers, large parts of Africa have in recent years become a wide-open marketplace for new foreign players. While much of the focus – and hysteria – in the West has been about the resurgence of China and Russia in Africa, there is also a …

As Russian President Vladimir Putin visits China for the first time since beginning a new term, he and Chinese President Xi Jinping have been at pains to underline their “long and strong” friendship, and a strategic partnership that has been described as having “no upper limits.” “I have emphasized on …

What a difference a few weeks can make. Earlier this spring, the Kremlin appeared to be yielding so many of its positions in the South Caucasus—or at least was on the defensive—that some Russian commentators discussed how Moscow may have entirely and permanently “lost” the region to the West (see …