Russia
The Moon: The great game on new turf
There is something about humans and land. Even in the age of virtual reality, humans clamour for territory. When songs of hyper-globalisation were trending, Russia reinforced that…
Fake news, propaganda, and the withering of commitment to truth
Book review: Alan Philps, The Red Hotel (Headline, 2023)
In war, truth is supposed always to be the first casualty. We owe that insight to an isolationist American Senator,…
Shadows of the state: How Wagner Group extends Russian reach in Africa
The Wagner Group was notorious long before its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin had his dramatic falling out with the Kremlin in recent weeks. Ostensibly a private military company,…
De-dollarisation: shifting power between the US and BRICS
There has been increasing talk of the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) developing a new currency that will rival the US dollar as the global reserve…
Moscow, we have a problem
On 22 July, Igor Girkin, a hardline pro-war Russian nationalist with an extensive history of involvement in Ukraine, was arrested by the Kremlin on charges of “public incitement…
“Solidarity with Russia”: North Korea cements an anti-US bloc
For the first time since the start of the pandemic, North Korea last week welcomed foreign visitors to Pyongyang, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice…
Exploring an end game in Ukraine? Not yet
Nearly 18 months into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there is little prospect of an early end to the fighting. Ukraine’s long-awaited counter-offensive, now underway, is making…
Cluster munitions: A necessary defensive strategy for Ukraine
Concerns over potential breaches of international humanitarian law in cluster munitions use in Ukraine are based on a misguided interpretation of the legal position. More so, the…
Who leads the world as longest in charge of their country?
Hun Sen heads to the polls in Cambodia this weekend, even though, as Radio Free Asia noted, the result is preordained. Hun Sen will win. Just like he has ever since 1985.
Hun…
Why China tripled its heavy truck shipments to Central Asia: Unravelling the influence of Russia’s war in Ukraine
Trade data shows Central Asia’s imports from China are up sharply, as the region is progressively integrated into a Beijing-Moscow economic axis.
Central Asia is increasingly a…