Why China Is Not a Superpower | Innovation Power | Mexico’s Dying Democracy, and more

Outgunned and outmanned, Ukraine turned to one area in which it held an advantage over the enemy: technology. Shortly after the invasion, the Ukrainian government uploaded all its critical data to the cloud, so that it could safeguard information and keep functioning even if Russian missiles turned its ministerial offices into rubble. The country’s Ministry of Digital Transformation, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had established just two years earlier, repurposed its e-government mobile app, Diia, for open-source intelligence collection, so that citizens could upload photos and videos of enemy military units. With their communications infrastructure in jeopardy, the Ukrainians turned to Starlink satellites and ground stations provided by SpaceX to stay connected. When Russia sent Iranian-made drones across the border, Ukraine acquired its own drones specially designed to intercept their attacks—while its military learned how to use unfamiliar weapons supplied by Western allies. In the cat-and-mouse game of innovation, Ukraine simply proved nimbler. And so what Russia had imagined would be a quick and easy invasion has turned out to be anything but.
Ukraine’s success can be credited in part to the resolve of the Ukrainian people, the weakness of the Russian military, and the strength of Western support. But it also owes to the defining new force of international politics: innovation power. Innovation power is the ability to invent, adopt, and adapt new technologies. It contributes to both hard and soft power. High-tech weapons systems increase military might, new platforms and the standards that govern them provide economic leverage, and cutting-edge research and technologies enhance global appeal. There is a long tradition of states harnessing innovation to project power abroad, but what has changed is the self-perpetuating nature of scientific advances. Developments in artificial intelligence in particular not only unlock new areas of scientific discovery; they also speed up that very process. Artificial intelligence supercharges the ability of scientists and engineers to discover ever more powerful technologies, fostering advances in artificial intelligence itself as well as in other fields—and reshaping the world in the process.

Mexico’s Dying Democracy  (Denise Dresser, Foreign Affairs)
When Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador took office four years ago, he promised to deliver what he branded a “Fourth Transformation,” the next in a series of defining junctures in Mexican history: the War of Independence in the early 1800s, the liberal movement of President Benito Juárez later that century, and the Revolution of 1910. To “make Mexico great again,” he said he would fight deeply ingrained corruption and eradicate persistent poverty. But in the name of his agenda, López Obrador has removed checks and balances, weakened autonomous institutions, and seized discretionary control of the budget.

Security Experts Discuss Rising Extremist Violence in Africa  (Annika Hammerschlag, VOA News)
Security experts are meeting this week in Senegal to discuss the fight against rising violent extremism in Africa, particularly in the Sahel region, where Islamist militant attacks are increasing at an alarming rate.
Over the last decade, an abundance of resources in the form of military personnel and dollars have poured into the fight against militant violence in Africa. Scores of conferences, forums and training exercises have been held to discuss causes and solutions.
The problem has not only persisted but has gotten worse.
Deaths linked to Islamist militants on the continent skyrocketed by nearly 50 percent in the last year to more than 19,000 people, much of it in the western Sahel region, according to the Africa Center for Strategic Studies. The violence has also expanded geographically, trickling into new regions, such as West African coastal states and the Lake Chad Basin.

Alleged Patriotic Alternative Member Admits Terror Charges  (Bronwyn Jones, BBC)
An alleged far-right fitness guru for a group known as Patriotic Alternative has admitted sharing a stash of terrorist documents on social media. Kristofer Kearney, 38, from Liverpool is believed to be the first member of the organization to be convicted of terrorist offences. He shared Telegram posts glorifying and encouraging extreme right-wing terror attacks, the Old Bailey court was told. Kearney pleaded guilty to two counts of disseminating terrorist publications. Kearney, who was known online as Charlie Big Potatoes, was based in Alicante before he was extradited from Spain to face charges last September. He entered his plea by video-link from Chelmsford prison on Wednesday.

Few Hopes for Major Change After Nigeria’s Disputed Election  (Alex Thurston, Responsible Statecraft)
The election of Bola Tinubu as Nigeria’s new president offers a minimal window for the United States to pursue a more dynamic relationship with Nigeria. But Washington should not delude itself: the prospects for deep reform under Tinubu are slim, including when it comes to Nigeria’s grim human rights record.

America Should Follow Israel’s Lead on Iran  (Mark Fox, Andrew Ghalili, Ari Cicurel, National Interest)
Israel has developed a model for directly combating Iranian aggression that America should firmly endorse.