The COVID-19 Pandemic Starts to Have Its Toll on the North Caucasus Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: Valery Dzutsati The Jamestown Foundation COVID-19 has now started to spread to Russia’s North Caucasus republics, and regional authorities have been scrambling to mobilize scant resources to stave off the pandemic. As of March 30, officials confirmed infections…
Protests in Iraq Represent a Significant Challenge to Shia Militias Publication: Terrorism Monitor By: Rafid Jaboori The Jamestown Foundation Dozens have been killed and hundreds injured in the ongoing wave of street protests in Baghdad and the predominantly Shia provinces of southern Iraq. Protesters are demanding jobs, reform, and a real shake-up of the political…
Crimea Offers Iran Use of Its Ports for Oil Transport Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: John C. K. Daly The Jamestown Foundation Both Iran and Russia suffer from the United States’ sanctions: the former since the 1979 Islamic revolution, the latter since its 2014 illegal annexation of Crimea. But in a recent bout of creative…
First Ever Sino-Russian Joint Air Patrol Barely Avoids Triggering Regional Conflict Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: Pavel Felgenhauer The Jamestown Foundation The Chinese Ministry of National Defense published a white paper yesterday, July 24, entitled “China’s National Defense in a New Era.” The document accuses the United States of pursuing “unilateral policies,” provoking “intensified competition…
Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide: Whither Jihadism in China? Publication: China Brief By: Jacob Zenn The Jamestown Foundation Introduction—Ethnic Conflict in Xinjiang and the Government’s Response Over the past year, political re-education camps in the western Xinjiang Province of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) have attracted much international attention due to allegations that…
‘Old Wine in Old Bottles’ – A Security Q and A on Post-Coup Sudan Publication: Terrorism Monitor By: Andrew McGregor The Jamestown Foundation Veteran opposition politician Yasir Arman called the April 11 military coup in Sudan nothing more than “old wine in old bottles.” Arman suggested it had preserved “the political and economic structures of…
New Zealand: Will New Zealand Look to Australia to Expand Anti-Terrorism Legislation? Publication: Terrorism Monitor By: Brian M. Perkins The Jamestown Foundation On March 15, a mass shooting at the al-Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch, New Zealand left 50 people dead and at least 50 others injured. The suspect, Brenton Tarrant, is…
Another Step Forward Toward ‘Sovereign’ Russian Internet Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: Sergey Sukhankin The Jamestown Foundation Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov talked with Russian journalists on Wednesday, February 27, following news reports in the United States claiming that US Cyber Command had actively hacked and briefly taken offline the St. Petersburg–based Internet Research Agency. The…
The Broader Regional Meaning of Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov’s Maghreb Tour Publication: Eurasia Daily By: Dario Cristiani The Jamestown Foundation At the end of January 2019, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov traveled to the Maghreb, visiting Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. According to Lavrov’s spokesperson, the trip was conceived to discuss the state of “bilateral relations…
Emerging EU Policies Take a Harder Look at Chinese Investments By: Ashley Feng, Sagatom Saha China Brief The Jamestown Foundation Like the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), foreign direct investment (FDI) from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) now has a much broader reach than Beijing’s own backyard. It is well-known that Washington is actively…
Burkina Faso and the Looming Jihadist Threat to Coastal West Africa Publication: Terrorism Monitor By: Jacob Zenn The Jamestown Foundation Ten years ago, the prospect that Nigeria would become a jihadist hotspot—let alone the world’s third “most terrorized” country after Iraq and Afghanistan—received hardly any consideration (Africanews.com, December 6). Nevertheless, much has changed in ten…
Caspian Flotilla Highlights Growing International Role of Russia’s Coastal Navy Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 15 Issue: 170 By: Paul Goble The Jamestown Foundation Many military commentators in Moscow and the West have pointed to Russia’s loss of a navy capable of blue-water actions (Nezavisimaya Gazeta, November 30), but they have not focused on the…
Russia’s Attack of Ukrainian Naval Ships in Black Sea: First Shots of Possible Winter War? Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 15 Issue: 168 By: Pavel Felgenhauer The Jamestown Foundation On November 25, two Ukrainian gunboats, together with a tug, attempted to cross from the Black Sea through the Kerch Strait into the Sea of Azov,…
Moscow Prepares Vostok 2018 as Sino-Russian Strategic Exercise Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: Roger McDermott The Jamestown Foundation The culmination of the combat training year in Russia’s Armed Forces results in an annual operational-strategic military exercise involving air, land and sea elements to test forces in one of four theaters: these are the rotating Kavkaz…
The Many Sides of Tentative Sino-Japanese Rapprochement By: Willy Wo-Lap Lam The Jamestown Foundation A recent, unexpected rapprochement between China and Japan has emerged more quickly than many observers thought possible. And unlike previous instances since the two countries recognized each other in 1972, the initiative this time seems to have come from the Chinese…
Skripal Chemical Poisoning Case Throws Spotlight on Growing Russian LNG Supplies to UK Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: Rauf Mammadov The Jamestown Foundation Prime Minister Theresa May issued a statement, on March 14, that the United Kingdom was evaluating other natural gas import options to decrease her country’s dependence on gas imports from Russia. The…
Libya’s Rogue Militias Keep the Country From Tackling Human Trafficking Publication: Terrorism Monitor By: Alessandra Bocchi The Jamestown Foundation Since 2014, people smuggling and human trafficking has become a lucrative business in Libya, benefiting the country’s rival militias and tribes, but fueling instability. Efforts by the European Union (EU), in particular Italy, to combat the problem…
Tigers in the Haze: Chinese Troops on the Border with North Korea in the “April Crisis” Publication: China Brief Volume: 17 Issue: 13 By: Adam Cathcart The Jamestown Foundation While China is frequently assumed to have a number of “levers” it could use to control North Korea, in fact, its policies across the board—from security…
Sudan’s Controversial Rapid Support Forces Bolster Saudi Efforts in Yemen Publication: Terrorism Monitor Volume: 15 Issue: 20 By: Nicholas A. Heras The Jamestown Foundation In late September, the military leader of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), General Muhammad Hamdan Daqlu (a.k.a. “Hametti”), unintentionally sparked controversy by announcing that 412 Sudanese soldiers had been killed in…
Chinese and Indian Competition in Space Heats Up Publication: China Brief By: Sudha Ramachandran The Jamestown Foundation On May 5, India began a new diplomatic push in South Asia by launching the “South Asia satellite” into space. Built and launched by the government-run Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), the satellite will provide communications and meteorological…
Armenia Amends New Military Doctrine in Standoff With Azerbaijan Over Karabakh Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: Eduard Abrahamyan The Jamestown Foundation At the Armenian diaspora’s Sixth Pan-Armenian Forum, held on September 18¬–20, Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian declared that Yerevan was discussing the possible handover of some occupied territories back to Azerbaijan, in line with…
Russia and Uzbekistan Hold First Joint Military Exercise in 12 Years, Plan Further Cooperation Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 14 Issue: 122 By: John C. K. Daly The Jamestown Foundation Following the death of Uzbekistan’s President Islam Karimov, in September 2016, his successor, Shavkat Mirziyaev, has begun cautiously reversing many of his predecessor’s nationalist policies.…
Armenia and Azerbaijan’s Evolving Implicit Rivalry Over Nakhchivan By: Eduard Abrahamyan The Jamestown Foundation The unprecedented escalation of violence, in April 2016, on the Line of Contact in the breakaway region of Karabakh had, in part, kick-started a new round of military preparations between Armenia and Azerbaijan (see EDM, April 6, May 5, 2016). But…
Moscow Considers Trump Too Weak to Be Useful Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: Pavel Felgenhauer The Jamestown Foundation The US House of Representatives has with an overwhelming majority passed a bill reinforcing sanctions on Russia, Iran and North Korea, and the Senate seems ready to approve the bill this week. Russian state news agencies report…
Uzbekistan Alters Its Vision for Afghanistan Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: Fozil Mashrab The Jamestown Foundation After the change of leadership in Uzbekistan, it has been widely acknowledged that the country’s new president, Shavkat Mirziyaev, is pursuing a more proactive and constructive regional diplomacy in Central Asia than his predecessor (see EDM, October 26, 2016;…
Recent Developments in the Chinese Army’s Helicopter Force Publication: China Brief By: Dennis J. Blasko The Jamestown Foundation In November 2016, Chinese internet sources showed photos of a ceremony in the (former) 13th Group Army of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Army accepting the 1,000th helicopter into the force (NetEase, May 23). This nice round…
Putin Defends Trump and Ridicules His Enemies Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: Pavel Felgenhauer The Jamestown Foundation Last week’s (May 10) visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to Washington to meet with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson as well as President Donald Trump in the White House was seen in Moscow as the…
Political Indoctrination in Chinese Colleges Publication: China Brief By: Zi Yang The Jamestown Foundation In a system where ministers are incentivized to report only good news, China’s Minister of Education public censure of failures in ideological and political education (思想政治教育; IPE) at Chinese universities came as a surprise (FRI, March 12). A campaign has been…
Philippines Choose Chinese Investment Over Territorial Defense Publication: China Brief Volume: 17 Issue: 6 By: Peter Wood The Jamestown Foundation In early April, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte made waves by promising to improve Philippine defenses on islands in the South China Sea. “We have to fortify. I must build bunkers there or houses and make…
Baku-Beijing Relations and China’s Growing Interest in the South Caucasus Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor By: Fuad Shahbazov The Jamestown Foundation This past January, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev attended a session on “The Silk Road Effect” at the 2017 World Economic Forum in Davos, alongside Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili (President.az, January 19). Presumably, the intention…
Taiwan’s Search for Security Partners: Looking Beyond Washington Publication: China Brief By: Lauren Dickey The Jamestown Foundation In November 2016, Hong Kong authorities seized nine Singaporean Terrex infantry carrier vehicles en route home after training exercises in Taiwan (Today News, November 29, 2016; Phoenix News, November 30, 2016). The carriers were taking the same route…
Arunachal Pradesh: Cultural and Strategic Flashpoint For Sino-Indian Relations Publication: China Brief Volume: 17 Issue: 1 By: Sudha Ramachandran The Jamestown Foundation Sino-Indian relations are likely to become strained in early 2017. The Dalai Lama is scheduled to visit Tawang in the northeast Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh in March. According to the Chinese Foreign…
