Subversion—domestic interference to undermine or manipulate a rival—has always been a part of great-power politics. What stands out as an anomaly is the brief period of extraordinary U.S. dominance, beginning after the collapse of the Soviet Union, when the United States appeared immune to malicious meddling by peer competitors, in large part because there weren’t […]
The Quad’s emergence shouldn’t surprise Beijing. Rising powers routinely evoke countervailing coalitions, and shared anxiety about an adversary can contribute to their cohesion—but that’s just a starting point. The Quad’s problem is it doesn’t have much else to run on and hence will ultimately amount to U.S. power with a multilateral veneer. Read More Here
On July 1, China’s Communist Party will celebrate its 100th birthday. It has always called itself “great, glorious and correct”. And as it starts its second century, the party has good cause to brag. Read More Here
Many of these contenders are experienced in specialised fields, including tourism promotion, port management and urban planning. Top officials born in the 1960s look set to continue serving under Xi until their retirement rather than having a shot at the top post. Read More Here
Both China and the West espouse some version of multilateralism. But unfettered strategic competition, together with relentlessly negative rhetoric, precludes effective multilateralism, not least by disrupting trade and technology transfer – a crucial driver of development. Read More Here
With the 2024 parliamentary election firmly in their sights, key opposition parties across India are appearing to make plans on how to defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The operative phrase here is “appearing to”. Read More Here
Given that money and wealth often leads political influence, it is China’s growing economic and financial regional dominance which will define Asia’s future geopolitics, not what external powers with declining influence may want or wish. Read More Here
When China’s leader Xi Jinping takes the podium next week to mark the Communist Party’s centenary, expect an air of invincibility. He has plenty to be pleased about – in less than a decade, he has reinvigorated a party plagued by corruption and internal strife. Read More Here
Japanese politicians are often driven to act by gaiatsu—the Japanese word for “external pressure”—and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga got a welcome dose of it in Cornwall, England, last week when his fellow G-7 summiteers endorsed holding the Olympic Games in Tokyo next month. Read More Here
China has not only overtaken the US Navy in numbers, it is also the world’s top ship-producing nation, with the largest merchant navy, coast-guard and fishing fleet/maritime militia in the world. Read More Here
