China’s strongman leader,Xi Jinping, is hoping that a crackdown on dissent and corruption will shore up the party’s rule. He is determined to avoid becoming theMikhail Gorbachev of China, presiding over the party’s collapse. But instead of being the antithesis of Mr. Gorbachev, Mr. Xi may well wind up having the same effect. His despotism […]
Russia doesn’t just need petroleum to fuel its tanks and planes, but to pay for them as well. Because oil and gas revenues comprise half the federal budget, defense spending is tethered to energy prices. Read Here – Moscow Times
Critical events of early 2015—cheap oil and Middle East violence—will probably continue to take their toll as the year goes on, according to a new projection of geopolitical hot spots. Lower overall prices for commodities may hurt the economies of resource-rich nations. Read Here – Bloomberg
America should think twice about arming Ukraine as Russia could easily help China achieve its dreams in the South China Sea. Read Here – National Interest
The rise of China, changing power dynamics, territorial disputes in the East and South China Sea, and the U.S. rebalance to Asia have all led to the re-emergence of the Indian Ocean as the center stage for power politics in the Indo-Pacific. Read Here – The Diplomat
Turkish troops swept into Syria this weekend to recover remains from the first Ottoman sultan’s ancestor, who can’t rest in peace 800 years after his death. Read Here – The Atlantic
The murder of two Japanese citizens by Islamic State terrorists shouldn’t be used as an excuse to eliminate the Constitution’s restraints on the use of military force. Read Here – Japan Time
The Islamic State is no mere collection of psychopaths. It is a religious group with carefully considered beliefs, among them that it is a key agent of the coming apocalypse. Here’s what that means for its strategy—and for how to stop it. Read Here – The Atlantic
For most of the West, Vladimir Putin is a bogeyman. His love affair with the thuggish separatists in eastern Ukraine has blotched his image across the democratic world. In November, he had to slink away prematurely from the G20 Summit in Australia after he was snubbed by just about every leader who counted. Yet the reception […]
It should not be difficult for Pakistani leaders to realise that Obama’s decision to court Modi is consistent with Washington’s attitude towards India. It has always maintained that its bilateral relations with Pakistan will not be allowed to stand in the way of its scheme to retain India’s goodwill. Read Here – The Dawn
looking beyond borders 