Albrecht Rothacher
The ‘Axis of Evil’ coined by President George W. Bush is not so much redundant for Washington today as in need of descriptive expansion, argues Albrecht Rothacher. The threat of a new enlarged axis of evil is all the greater for the increasing neo-isolationism of the United States Read more
Albrecht Rothacher
Albrecht Rothacher argues that longstanding Western neglect and weakness in the face of rising aggression from authoritarian regimes threatens worldwide conflagration. Post-1991 dreams of a new international order have been definitively shattered – and the West’s current positions do nothing to reduce the risks Read more
Victoria Portnaya
We used to believe that autocratic educational policies stifled free thought. However, as Russia's meritocratic policy supporting talented youth shows, state-created incentives can serve to spread 'dissident' ideas that differ from those presented in national exams. These ideas, writes Victoria Portnaya, may be adopted by a significant portion of schoolchildren preparing for intellectual competitions Read more
Olga Vlasova
To sustain its war in Ukraine, the Russian army needs cannon fodder. Olga Vlasova explores a growing anti-migrant discourse in the Russian media today. She concludes that it is probably connected to the country’s need for a further round of conscription before the spring 2024 elections Read more
Simone Rinaldi
The history of private military activity goes back centuries, but modern-day Private Military Companies are a complex and controversial phenomenon in the global security landscape. Simone Rinaldi and Daniela Irrera argue that their role, and the implications of their use, raise significant challenges for the actors who employ them Read more
Olga Vlasova
Olga Vlasova delves into Moscow's recent unconventional mayoral elections. She finds the campaigns were completely lacking in public debate, and that the result was a foregone conclusion. A stark departure from tradition, these elections could have set the tone for next year's presidential race Read more
Benjamin J. Radford
In the wake of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, Benjamin J. Radford, Yaoyao Dai, Niklas Stoehr, Aaron Schein, Mya Fernandez, and Hanif Sajid have developed a model to better estimate the loss numbers obscured by the fog of war and the biases of somereporting sources Read more
Alexandr Burilkov
The recent mutiny of the Wagner PMC, orchestrated by Yevgeny Prigozhin, was the most serious instance of Russian internal conflict since the beginning of the Ukraine war. Alexandr Burilkov assesses whether its swift resolution reveals a regime that has survived the test unchanged, or whether it has been further weakened Read more
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