Why the German Model Won’t Solve a Problem of the Alliance’s Own Making As NATO states meet in Vilnius this week, they are confronting, yet again, the accession question: that is, whether to turn rhetoric about Ukrainian membership into reality. Ever since the coalition’s 2008 summit in Bucharest, where the …

What the Alliance Must Do in Vilnius—and Beyond Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine is a turning point in history. War has returned to Europe and great-power rivalries are growing. Authoritarian regimes are coming together to challenge the global rules and institutions that underpin peace and stability. Russian President Vladimir Putin …

The guessing game in Moscow these days: Where are they? Days after a mutiny by the mercenary warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin, who sent thousands of his fighters racing toward the Russian capital, a growing number of prominent commanders and public figures have disappeared from public view. Rattled by the biggest challenge …

A surge in cyberattacks, particularly phishing and ransomware, has left Balkan countries to improve their defences against cybercrime, BIRN research shows. The Balkan region has witnessed a significant increase in internet penetration and the integration of Biometrics and Digital Identity BDI technologies into various sectors, BIRN research shows. Between 2020 …

On Sunday, the US Central Command revealed that an ISIS leader had been eliminated by the US military in an eastern Syrian drone strike conducted on Friday. Meanwhile, there were reports suggesting that Syrian authorities responded promptly to contain and isolate Wagner operatives following the mercenary group’s rebellion against the …

Topped off by a curious ‘coup’ attempt in Russia, June was a fascinating month with new geopolitical economic developments, twists and turns on many fronts: As US President Biden wooed, wined and dined India’s Prime Minister Modi (who was once refused a visa to America), France’s Macron sought an invite …

Plentiful resources contribute to long-term success if channeled to the development of institutions, but Azerbaijan, like many other autocracies, is instead using them to burnish its image abroad and cement the status quo.Since the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, news out of Azerbaijan has been an unending series of announcements about achievements …

Putin’s former bodyguard and current Tula governor Alexei Dyumin is eternally tipped for a position in the federal government, yet is still waiting after seven years.Alexei Dyumin, a former bodyguard of Russian President Vladimir Putin and now governor of the Tula region, has been the subject of much discussion since …

While the Ukraine war has seen an explosion in the collection and distribution of open source intelligence, the work of secret intelligence agencies remains as important as ever. You’d be forgiven for thinking that the world of secret intelligence is no more. Ever since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February …

Kyiv’s bid to join NATO would bolster both Ukrainian and European security. The future of Ukraine–NATO relations is once again the number-one topic on the agenda for Alliance members in the lead-up to the forthcoming Vilnius Summit. The issue was just as acute 15 years ago when, at the Bucharest …