In Xi’s vision, a unified and resurgent China would be on par with or would surpass the United States. China is the preeminent power in Asia, and its maritime domain has expanded to include control over contested areas in the East China and South China Seas. Read More Here
Looking for a silver lining from COVID-19? Here’s one: Due to the pandemic, the Biden administration’s Summit for Democracy will be online only. Why is that a good thing? Because it will minimise the amount of scarce presidential and staff time devoted to what is at best a secondary activity. Read More Here
Germany’s new coalition government is comprised of three very unequal partners. The SPD and the Greens campaigned for massive tax increases for the rich, while the FDP called for tax cuts for all. The result: nothing will change. The SPD and the Greens blocked tax cuts, the FDP blocked tax increases. Read More Here
After the Sixth Plenum, Xi Jinping’s “Historical Resolution” makes it clear that he views the telling of Chinese Communist Party history as a tool of regime survival—to succeed where Moscow failed. Read More Here
The struggle for geopolitical primacy between Iran’s Shiite theocracy and the countries led by Sunni Arabs and, more recently, Sunni Turkey is stoking conflict across the region—eroding social compacts, worsening state dysfunction, and catalyzing extremist movements. Read More Here
Cambodia’s longtime Prime Minister Hun Sen, one of the world’s longest-serving leaders after 36 years in power, has backed his eldest son to succeed him, paving the way for a political dynasty. Read More Here
Rather than reflecting insecurity, Xi’s recent impatience is better understood as driven by the view that China has a temporary window to address domestic headwinds and bolster its position and power in the international order. It is not fear of the party’s collapse that motivates him but a determination to see China claim its rightful global position at a […]
The Communist Party of China’s (CPC) Central Committee sixth plenary session scheduled for November 8-11 is expected to make a big bang “third historical resolution” that seeks to strengthen President Xi Jinping’s leadership and legacy. Read More Here
Is the world entering a new cold war? Our answer is yes and no. Yes if we mean a protracted international rivalry, for cold wars in this sense are as old as history itself. Some became hot, some didn’t: no law guarantees either outcome. No if we mean the Cold War, which we capitalize because it originated […]
Many believe that China’s ‘profound transformation” is a result of President Xi Jinping’s seemingly endless personal obsession with political control. The overlooked answer, however, is that this is indeed the culmination of decades of thinking and planning by a very powerful man—but that man is not Xi. Read More Here
looking beyond borders 