“June’s Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Qingdao, Shandong saw visits from delegates of all SCO members, most notably leaders Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin of China and Russia. Despite it being promoted as a primarily multilateral organisation and platform, it is clear that this year’s summit reflects China’s role as its dominant force.” By…
“This year’s Western Balkans Summit, taking place in London, failed to produce almost any meaningful results regarding the real integration of the region into the European Union. Even though the EU has decided to move forward with enlargement processes, general perception is that these efforts are half hearted and indecisive. At the same time, new…
“In an attempt to stay ahead of the curve, the US has been heavily investing in the research and development of drone swarms. Three developments in the US swarming programme are particularly interesting: the Perdix drone swarm, the Low-Cost UAV Swarming Technology (LOCUST) and the Control Architecture for Robotic Agent Command and Sensing, or CARACaS…
“With the latest show of force at Ghazni, the Taliban proved during their Al-Khandaq Spring Offensive of being capable to launch coordinated and major attacks. While the US military underestimates the importance of Taliban’s control over provincial districts, the Taliban is proving the opposite – using provincial areas to retreat and plan assaults on major cities. After…
The South China Sea (SCS) is a major regional hotspot that embodies critical strategic importance in the Asia Pacific region […] as the de facto regional hegemon, China’s bold claims over almost the entire sea have triggered maritime standoffs and bilateral disputes with its neighbours, such as the legal fight with the Philippines and several…
“Resistance to Nordstream II comes from all sides. European leaders criticise the increased dependency on Russian gas and internally, the Green Party and other interest groups attempted to block the project for environmental reasons. Poland fears that Northstream II will slowly erode the security dividend of its position as a transit country. German dependency on Polish…
“Russia has one-fifth of the world’s global oil reserves within its borders, but much of its energy potential is untapped. Ensuring that energy exports remain a viable source of revenue relies on expanding extraction projects into the Russian Far East, thus requiring foreign investment.” By Benjamin Hawkin
“China’s ‘tied aid’ strategy particularly benefits Chinese state-owned enterprises with their loans being backed by African natural resources. As a result, China is not only promoting its state-owned business interests but also deepening their footprint in the region.” By Fabian Herzog
“Transport, energy, health, and finance are the most vulnerable sectors exposed to cyber-threats. Issuing the EU Cybersecurity Strategy in 2013 was an important step forward in developing a common framework; however, the strategy lacked the practical initiatives that would deliver tangible outcomes.“ By Rusudan Zabakhidze
“Swarming technology, therefore, represents a disruption in terms of the strategic status quo of warfare due to the low entry cost, the general trend towards more autonomous systems, and the onus of differentiation being placed on those being attacked.” By Caitlin Irvine