December, 2021

• 13 December

  Has Biden Thrown Ukraine Under The Bus, Or Averted War: Or Both? Or Neither? – Analysis

  

  As White House phone calls go, the one that Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy had this week may end up being among the most consequential of his presidency. And it’s certainly not the first time U.S. President Joe Biden has held a tough conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart on the subject of …

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• 13 December

  Xi Demanded Respect At US–China Virtual Summit – Analysis

  

  On 15 November 2021, Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden held their first virtual meeting. According to the White House’s readout, Biden told Xi that the two countries should establish ‘common sense guardrails to ensure that US–China competition does not veer into conflict and to keep lines …

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• 13 December

  Biden’s White House Is Deliberately Flaring Up Tensions With Kremlin

  

  This must be a rare occasion when Russian President Vladimir Putin during his 18 years in the Kremlin came out second best in an encounter with an American president. And it had to be at the hands of President Joe Biden who has not yet completed one year in office. …

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• 13 December

  Those Pushing Monetary Stimulus Are Misled By Japan’s Low Price Inflation – Analysis

  

  Until very recently, the hefty monetary and fiscal relaxation unleashed by governments to stimulate the economic recovery at the onset of the global financial crisis has not had major inflationary repercussions, in particular as the main benchmark has been the benign consumer price inflation, rather than the rapidly growing real-estate …

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• 13 December

  The Human Security Dimension of Governance Challenges in Afghanistan

  

  The Taliban takeover has decimated the gains of the past twenty years achieved by Afghans—against tremendous odds—in the spaces of education, women’s rights, and civil society engagement. With no embassy and no forward presence on the ground in Afghanistan, Washington’s leverage to impact events has been significantly reduced. Among a …

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• 13 December

  The European Union Unveils Plans to Counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative

  

  The European Union (EU) has begun to think more creatively about initiatives that can challenge China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), including the recently launched “Global Gateway” project. Since its official launch in 2013, China’s BRI— Chairman Xi Jinping’s signature foreign policy initiative—has come under criticism from the West and …

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• 13 December

  Turkey’s Erdogan Embattled on Economic and Political Fronts

  

  Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is pressed by a collapsing national currency, falling domestic popularity, and regional competition. Erdogan’s fiscal policies have arguably worsened the domestic economic situation Opponents of Erdogan might defeat him in the next election, particularly if Turkey’s economic problems continue to linger and potentially worsen. Turkey’s …

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• 13 December

  Traditional Espionage Challenged by Ubiquity of Emerging Technologies

  

  The need for human intelligence (HUMINT) never wanes, but the risks are evolving as new surveillance technologies proliferate. HUMINT in the age of ubiquitous cameras and biometrics is a challenge for all intelligence agencies, operatives, and sources. From alias travel through airports with biometrics to constant tracking by phone, there …

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• 13 December

  What Iran’s Shanghai Cooperation Organization Membership Really Means

  

  Iran’s SCO membership is the country’s first experience in joining a regional organization with a defense-security nature and function since its withdrawal from CENTO in 1979. Twenty-six years after Iran’s Islamic Revolution and withdrawal from the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO) in 1979, and four years after the formation of the …

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• 13 December

  Report: US Sent 30 Anti-Tank Missile Systems To Ukraine In October

  

  The United States reportedly sent 30 Javelin anti-tank guided missile systems to Ukraine in October as part of its annual military aid to help the country deter Russian aggression. The shipment of the man-portable systems also included 180 Javelin rockets, Russia’s state news agency TASS reported, citing answers it received …

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