• China’s Growing Influence in Latin America

    Over the past two decades, China has developed close economic and security ties with many Latin American countries, including Brazil and Venezuela. But Beijing’s growing sway in the region has raised concerns in Washington and beyond.

  • Russia’s War in Ukraine: China’s Lessons

    China is learning from Russia’s troubled war in Ukraine to improve its battle strategies and prepare for economic sanctions if Beijing ever attacks self-ruled Taiwan. Experts say that China may also be looking harder at peaceful solutions for Taiwan, they say.

  • Germany: €3 Billion for Floating LNG Terminals

    Berlin plans to lease four liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals to wean itself off Russian gas. The decision comes as the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline now sits unused at the bottom of the Baltic Sea.

  • Disrupting Deterrence: The Effects of Technologies on Strategic Deterrence

    What are the implications of eight specific emerging technologies for both the effectiveness of U.S. deterrent policies and the stability of deterrence relationships?

  • A Headache for Germany: Russian Nickel, Palladium, Chromium Exports

    Russian gas and oil are by far the most significant exports Moscow sells to Germany. Yet other important raw materials are also under the spotlight because of the war in Ukraine.

  • Curbing Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas

    The Ukrainian city of Mariupol is one of the latest examples of a populated area that has been turned to rubble by the relentless use of heavy explosive weapons. Destroyed cities and towns in Yemen, Ethiopia, and Syria, among others, provide other examples. An international agreement under negotiation at the United Nations this week seeks to reduce harm to civilians by curbing the use of heavy explosive weapons in cities, towns and villages.

  • Shared Water Resources: Source of Both Peace and Conflict

    From the Euphrates to the Mekong, dams that ensure one country’s water supply risk leaving others parched. But shared water resources can be a source of peace as well as conflict.

  • Ukraine War’s Impact on Critical Materials Supply, Green Energy

    The elephant in the room is Europe’s dependence on the vast quantities of hydrocarbons that flow from Russia into Europe, but Putin’s war on Ukraine has the potential to affect many key supply chains for materials that will contribute to the clean energy transition.

  • Russia’s Energy Clout Doesn’t Just Come from Oil and Gas – It’s Also a Key Nuclear Supplier

    As Western nations look for ways to reduce their reliance on Russian oil and gas, another aspect of the Ukraine crisis has received less attention: Most of the 32 countries that use nuclear power rely on Russia for some part of their nuclear fuel supply chain. Economic fallout from the war in Ukraine could disrupt access to fuel for the nuclear power industry.

  • Can Germany Wean Itself Off Russian Gas?

    Experts are divided on how quickly Germany could cut imports of Russian energy and stop funding President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. How vulnerable would such a move leave Europe’s largest economy?

  • A Proxy War in Ukraine Is the Worst Possible Outcome – Except for All the Others

    The United States and its European allies clearly said that they will not fight a war against Russia in Ukraine. Sam Winter-Levy writes that these statements obscured an important truth: The United States and its allies are already in the midst of a full-blown proxy war with Russia. “Western policymakers should not deceive themselves about just how ugly proxy wars tend to be… Ultimately, the only options worse than a proxy war are a cheap Russian victory in Ukraine — or a direct confrontation between Russia and the United States.

  • Western Officials: Russia's Failures in Ukraine May Make Putin More Dangerous

    New intelligence estimates suggest that up to 20 percent of Russian troops sent into Ukraine have been killed, wounded or captured as Ukraine fights Moscow to a near standstill. Senior Western officials are increasingly alarmed that Russia’s losses in Ukraine are making President Vladimir Putin more dangerous, some going as far as to compare him to a caged animal ready to lash out.

  • Europe After the Ukraine War

    The war in Ukraine is still raging, and its outcome not yet certain, but there is no doubt that the war, in Ralph Cohen’s words, is “a watershed historical event.” He highlights four macro-levels trends which are upending the strategic balance in Europe. Russia will likely emerge weaker but, perhaps, no less dangerous, but Europe will likely become stronger militarily, less energy dependent, and more unified against Russia.

  • A Solution to the Ukraine War Emerges

    Russian and Ukrainian sources said that both sides now agree that the likely solution to the Ukraine crisis is a neutral Ukraine with its own armed forces, but which is not a member of NATO. The examples of Austria and Sweden have been proposed as models. The status of the Crimean Peninsula and the Donbass region is still a sticking point, but both sides say that the atmosphere in the negotiations has become more positive and constructive.

  • U.S. Names Colombia a Major Non-NATO Ally

    The United States intends to name Colombia a “major non-NATO ally” — a particularly timely announcement for a South American nation seen as a bulwark against Venezuela, which is a Russian ally and foe of the United States.