Everyone in Europe is tense watching the elections in France. Though Emmanuel Macron is taking the lead, a Marine Le Pen win is more likely than in the last elections. A Le Pen victory would be catastrophic for the EU and even endanger its existence. Le Pen inherited her father’s …

Russian Threat in the Baltic Sea (FPRI) — The current strategic focus of the United States centers around how to confront the challenges presented by this new era of Great Power competition. As the United States shifts its focus on China and pivots to the Pacific, it must find a …

On March 15, 2022, Turkish journalist Aytuğ Özçolak published an article titled “Russian Oligarchs In Turkey: Initiatives, Relations, And What They Own.”[1] Özçolak reviews the assets and investments in Turkey of Russian oligarchs including: Leonid Mikhelson, Vagit Alekperov, Vladimir Lisin, Vladimir Potanin, Alexy Mordashov, and Mikhail Fridman. While Western media …

In an interview with Rosbalt media’s Anna Semenets, economist Professor Natalia Zubarevich of the Moscow State University’s Department of the Social and Economic Geography of Russia, outlines the effect of continuing sanctions. The sanctions full effect will not be perceived at once, as some will have immediate effect, while others …

Earlier this month, the lead U.N. representative for Yemen announced a two-month cease-fire, the first major breakthrough since 2015 in the conflict between the Houthi rebels and Iran on the one side and the Yemeni government and its Gulf backers on the other. The news was a ray of hope …

Dubai’s Expo 2020, the international fair hosted in the United Arab Emirates, closed last month to rave reviews. The mega event, which was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic but retained its official name for marketing and branding purposes, ran from October 2021 to March 2022. In that time, it …

Use the Kremlin’s Seized Assets to Pay for Reconstruction The world’s attention has understandably been focused on the military side of the war in Ukraine. But in the next stage, the political-economic strategy may be decisive. As Tacitus once wrote of the Roman strategy in Britain, “they make a desolation …

Viktor Orban and the Myth of the Self-Destructing Strongman The timing could not have been more striking. On April 3, nearly six weeks after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s assault on Ukraine had apparently reinvigorated and reunified the liberal democratic West, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban was easily reelected to his …

How China’s Growing Nuclear Arsenal Threatens Deterrence In late June 2021, satellite images revealed that China was building 120 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) silos on the edge of the Gobi Desert. This was followed by the revelation a few weeks later that another 110 missile silos were under construction in …

Infighting continues among the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army factions in light of a power and influence struggle, conflict over crossings and smuggling corridors, and the lack of a unified military institution. Clashes and confrontations are taking place almost daily between the armed factions in the areas controlled by the Turkish-backed …