Russian Spetsnaz, Contractors and Volunteers in the Syrian Conflict
This article focuses on a little-explored aspect of Russia’s intervention in Syria: the new and diverse expeditionary forces engaged on the Syrian frontlines alongside Russian regular armed forces.
Japan-Russia: The Limits of a Strategic Rapprochement
By reinforcing hostility between Russia and the West, the Ukraine crisis has shone a spotlight on the limits and contradictions of any Russo-Japanese rapprochement. Russia has grown more dependent on China, just as Japan has become more reliant on the United States.
Japan and Russia’s Small Steps Strategy
On the eve of the Vladivostok Summit, should we expect any significant progress in the laborious rapprochement between Japan and Russia?
“Russian World”: Russia’s Policy towards its Diaspora
This paper examines how the large Russian-speaking population outside Russia has been ideologically constructed and politically instrumentalized by the Kremlin’s leadership.
New Order for Old Triangles? The Russia-China-India Matrix
As the US-led international system struggles under the strain of multiple challenges, the complex web of relations between Russia, China, and India will be critical to the formation of a new world order.
The NPT and the Origins of NATO’s Nuclear Sharing Arrangements
Russia has recently accused the United States and NATO Allies of violating the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) by arguing that NATO's nuclear sharing arrangements are not permitted under the Treaty.
Central Asia: Facing Radical Islam
Twenty-five years after the fall of the Soviet Union and the declaration of independence by the republics of Central Asia, the issue of guaranteeing stability and security still looms large on Central Asia’s agenda.
Russia/NATO: Controlling Confrontation
Current hostilities between the United States, NATO and Russia, though they might not be at Cold War levels, do indicate real danger. NATO’s continued expansion toward the east and the deployment of defensive American antimissiles in Europe constitute serious strategic problems for Moscow.
Russia and Central and Eastern Europe: between Confrontation and Collusion
Since the start of the Ukraine crisis in early 2014, the states of East Central Europe have become increasingly important targets of Russian economic, political and military pressure. Russia finds itself in the trajectory of geopolitical retreat on the Western “front”, and seeks to slow down this process by mobilizing every economic, political and military asset in East Central Europe, where various weak points in the European and Atlantic unity exist—and are typically overestimated by Moscow.
The Far Right in the Conflict between Russia and Ukraine
From the very beginning, the armed conflict that broke out in the Donbass in the spring of 2014 drew in right-wing radicals, on the Ukrainian as well as on the Russian side. Organised ultra-nationalist groups and individual activists established their own units of volunteers or joined existing ones.
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