Russia
Damage limitation and US nuclear strategy
Almost four years ago, I argued in The Interpreter that Vladimir Putin’s decision to pursue a range of weapons specifically designed to defeat America’s Ballistic Missile Defence …
Putin’s choice
Whatever steps Vladimir Putin takes over coming days will be deeply consequential for the security of both Russia and Europe.
What does Putin want?
Firstly, he wants to bring…
Military operations in a more transparent world
In the past eight years, little short of a revolution has occurred in the world of “OSINT” – that is, Open Source Intelligence, information gathered from publicly accessible data …
Europe can’t pass the buck on Ukraine
In President Vladimir Putin’s inauguration speech in 2000 he stated that Russia must “defend Russian citizens everywhere” and create a country which is “respected in the world”…
Can the new German foreign minister make a difference?
It is less than two months since Angela Merkel stood down as chancellor of Germany, and a “traffic light” coalition government comprising the Social Democrats, Greens and Free…
Why Ukraine and Russia can’t agree on autonomy for the Donbas
Last week, the United States and NATO predictably rejected Russia’s demands of never allowing former Soviet countries, namely Ukraine and Georgia, to join the alliance.
In this…
Living with a feared China and Russian-built chaos
To Western eyes, China’s wolf-warrior foreign affairs policy and Russia’s extravagant threats over Ukraine can appear cryptic. These seem designed not to make friends but rather…
2022 is not 2014: What holds back Russia from Ukraine
The first round of Russia-United States-Europe strategic consultations, held between 10 and 13 January, finished without firm commitments, fuelling ongoing speculation about an…
Fear, loathing and infighting in Kazakhstan
Over the course of barely a week, the normally placid Kazakhstan, best known in the West for being the unwilling object of humour in the Borat films (and perhaps also for being…
European security: Putin ups the ante with NATO
Not content with sabre-rattling amid a menacing large troop build-up around Ukraine’s borders, Russia last week issued sweeping demands for legally binding new security…