• Russia Annexes Parts of Eastern Ukraine: What We Need to Know

    By Tatsiana Kulakevich

    On Friday, 30 September 2022, Russia has formally annexed four regions in east Ukraine. The people in these four regions are not a single political bloc, even though most of the people in these territories do not want to join Russia.

  • Pipeline Leaks Likely the Result of Deliberate Act

    By Steve Herman

    European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Wednesday that all indications are that leaks from two Nord Stream natural gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea “are the result of a deliberate act.” The 1,222-kilometer-long Nord Stream 1 pipeline has been, until recently, a major source of gas for Germany. Nord Stream 2, which is 1,234 kilometers in length, has yet to go into commercial operation.

  • Suspicious Leaks in Baltic Sea Nord Stream Pipelines Connecting Russia and Germany

    Both Nord Stream natural gas pipelines from Russia to Germany have developed apparent leaks within hours of one another. The cause is unknown, but some sources have hinted at sabotage.

  • No Game Changer: Russian Mobilization May Slow, Not Stop, Ukrainian Offensive

    By Todd Prince

    The Kremlin’s aim to mobilize up to 300,000 men to fight in Ukraine faces significant obstacles and — even if achieved — may not prevent Russia from losing more ground or losing the war, analysts said.

  • Is China Reexporting Russian Gas to Europe?

    By Jo Harper

    As the EU attempts to unpick its reliance on Russian gas, it could become more dependent on Chinese supplies, some of which come from Russia. This might undermine the aim of reducing purchases of its fossil fuels.

  • Germany Takes Over Rosneft Refineries in Move to Secure Energy Supplies

    Germany says it has taken control of a major oil refinery owned by the German unit of Russia’s Rosneft as a step to bolster energy security for the country amid oil and gas cuts by Moscow in retaliation for Western sanctions against it because of the invasion of Ukraine.

  • U.S. Moves to Keep Advanced Semiconductor Technology Out of China

    By Rob Garver

    Companies that accept U.S. funding under the CHIPS Act — a plan to build up America’s computer chip-making capacity — will be barred from establishing advanced fabrication facilities in China for 10 years. The CHIPS Act is a response not just to the computer chip shortage that snarled global supply chains during the pandemic but also to the perceived national security threat that a lack of domestic semiconductor manufacturing presents.

  • Does the U.S. Economy Benefit from U.S. Alliances and Forward Military Presence?

    To what extent does conflict in other regions affect the U.S. economy, even when the United States remains a nonbelligerent state? To what extent does U.S. military engagement abroad suppress conflict? To what extent does U.S. military engagement abroad impact U.S. peacetime trade and investment with other countries? To what extent does U.S. military engagement abroad increase U.S. economic welfare?

  • Cutting off Europe's Gas Supply Is Putin's Last Throw of the Dice

    By Lawrence Freedman

    Away from the fighting the most important moves are in the economic sphere, especially in the energy markets. These moves are geared to influencing the military situation although their more important consequences may end up over the long-term being away from the war, reflected in the stresses and strains imposed on the global economy. As for influencing the course of the battles in the short-term, which is what is intended, their effects may be limited.

  • Germany — No Exit from the Nuclear Energy Exit

    By Jens Thurau

    German Economy Minister Robert Habeck wants to keep two of the three German nuclear power plants on standby for an extra three months as an emergency reserve. That is the right decision.

  • Poland: WWII Losses Caused by Germany Worth $1.3 Trillion

    A parliamentary committee in Poland has filed its estimate on the economic damage caused by Germany’s invasion and occupation in World War II. Germany responded that it considers the issue “closed.”

  • Russia's Stranglehold on the World's Nuclear Power Cycle

    By Kristyna Foltynova

    Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, countries supporting Ukraine have imposed several packages of sanctions targeting Russia’s lucrative energy industry (mostly oil, gas, and coal. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy recently called on the international community to come up with a stronger response and ban Russian imports from yet another sector: nuclear power. But blocking and replacing Russia’s deliveries of uranium, reactors, and nuclear technology to the rest of the world is easier said than done.

  • Tipping the Balance Between Global Rivals

    By Leda Zimmerman

    Seeking to understand how trade policies fueled China’s rise and continue to determine geopolitical winners and losers.

  • The Economic Weapon: The Growing Use of Sanctions as a Tool of War

    By Robert Wihtol

    The war in Ukraine has put economic sanctions in the global spotlight. In his book, Nicholas Mulder traces the first use of sanctions back to the Peloponnesian War, but says that it was only in the globalizing world of the 20th century that sanctions moved to center stage. Ironically, as the use of sanctions has surged, their chances of success have plummeted.

  • China Has a New Global Development Initiative, but Who Will Actually Benefit from It?

    By Amitrajeet A. Batabyal

    China is a major player in world affairs, representing the second-largest economy in the world after the United States. A year after assuming power in 2012, President Xi Jinping announced the creation of the so-called Belt and Road Initiative, a massive infrastructure project designed to increase investment and promote economic development in many of the world’s poor nations. In the past year, Xi has advanced another idea – the Global Development Initiative.