No End in Sight for Global Supply Chain Troubles
Just as global supply chains were expected to start moving towards recovery from the complications caused by COVID-19, things took a turn for the worse. Unlike many other states, China continues to have a zero-tolerance COVID-19 policy in place, closing down entire cities for even the slightest sign of the virus. Recent outbreaks in Shenzhen […]
Turkish Drones: A Growing Defense Industry and Arms Exports Sector
Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the most powerful weapons Ukraine used for the first time were Turkish drones. Although the United States has been the pioneer of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for over a decade, Turkish drones are scoring global success and are becoming crucial in the second drone age. In recent […]
Shifts in Global Crypto Market: China’s Ban on Crypto Mining
In late 2021, China banned all cryptocurrency transactions and mining, including bitcoin and blockchain stocks. This came after several phases of targeting digital currencies in China since 2013, restricting financial institutions, companies, and banks from conducting services through cryptocurrencies. The ban came from several of the most important financial regulators in China, such as the […]
New Dawn of Kazakh Politics Unlocks New Opportunities
The recent unrest in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region have been drawing unprecedented global attention over the past few months, driven by political instability in the former Soviet states, such as Ukraine and Kazakhstan. In the current political climate, underdeveloped countries with weak governance have provided a perfect playground for the global powers […]
The Year of the Tiger: The Zhejiang Faction
On 1 February 2022 Chinese nationals around the globe entered the 24th solar term of the traditional Chinese Calendar, known as Da Han 大寒 , and celebrated the Spring Festival, or Chun Jie 春节 . While celebrations occurred throughout Chinese homes on The Mainland, and around the globe, in the home of Chinese politics – […]
Global Payment Systems: Can China and Russia build SWIFT alternatives?
The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, reintroduced the possibility of Russia becoming cut off from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT). A similar strategy of excluding Russia from the Belgian-based system was proposed in 2014, after the Russian annexation of Crimea. This announcement led to a barrage of articles in Russian media […]
Russia and Ukraine Growing Energy Crisis
The recent Russian invasion of Ukraine, has exacerbated fears of long-term security, geopolitical, and economic consequences. In particular, fears of energy shortages in Europe and, consequently, the impact of a surge in global energy prices is creeping into global markets. While Russian officials, including Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, have jockeyed to evade and return Western […]
Failures in Intelligence: Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
The Russian invasion of Ukraine is underscoring the importance of accurate information necessary to inform organizations’ decision-making. The Kremlin undertook an ambitious plan to invade the largest country in Europe based on years of intelligence gathering and military planning. Following a months-long buildup of forces along the Ukrainian borders in Russia and Belarus, many analysts […]
All Work and No Play Makes Chinese Gaming Companies a Bad Investment?
Since August 2021, facial recognition devices have been restricting minors in China to playing online games for no more than three hours per week. In addition to this hit on their revenue stream, gaming companies in China are facing all the policymaking hurdles encountered by Chinese tech companies in general, such as restrictions on personal […]
US Withdrawal from Afghanistan Reintroduces a Familiar Security Dilemma for the US
US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the subsequent decline of their power in the region has provided an opportunity to strengthen an anti-American alliance in Central Asia. The ascendant Taliban regime in Afghanistan is rapidly becoming more of a challenge to the US than prior to the US invasion in 2001. Simultaneously, US failure in the […]
