Recent Posts

Western Sahara dispute spills into Tunisia

A diplomatic crisis is brewing in the Maghreb region amid tension between Morocco and Tunisia after President Kais Saied received the leader of the Polisario Front. Tunisian President Kais Saied’s decision to receive Brahim Ghali — the leader of the Polisario Front, a rebel group fighting for independence in the …

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Is Russia’s Economy on the Brink?

Moscow’s Struggle to Sustain Its War in Ukraine In April, just weeks after he launched the invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin maintained that the West could never strangle Russia’s economy. The barrage of American and European sanctions had not succeeded and would not succeed in bringing his country …

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Two Cold Wars in a New Bipolar World

A prudent regard for the tragic, unexpected turns history can take would urge leadership in Washington, Moscow, and Beijing to weigh carefully the trajectory they are on and how seriously they want to test moving in another direction. EVEN BEFORE the Russo-Ukrainian War, confusion prevailed among those sketching where an …

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Vostok military exercises indicate that Russia is far from isolated

Despite the West’s containment strategy, Moscow is deepening its convergence with China and maintaining strong ties with India. The next iteration of Russia’s quadrennial Vostok exercise has just begun in its far east region, involving more than 50,000 troops, 140 aircraft and 60 warships. Vostok (which means “east” in Russian) …

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The War in Ukraine and the Return of Realpolitik

The return of a two-bloc world that plays by the rules of realpolitik means that the West will need to dial back its efforts to expand the liberal order, instead returning to a strategy of patient containment aimed at preserving geopolitical stability and avoiding great power war. GREAT POWER competition …

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