Category Security & Conflict

Europe, Security & Conflict

Visions of Russia’s Imperial Future

April 20, 2025

History knows only very few examples of attempts to rebuild once collapsed empires, but it looks as if Vladimir Putin’s Russia is exhibiting such an attempt. More than a decade ago, I co-edited an anthology on the collapse of the…

Asia Pacific, Security & Conflict

In the Shadow of Giants: Assessing the Strategic Ambitions and Political Implications of the Chinese Aircraft Carrier

March 11, 2025

Having lived through an era of carrier-enabled US naval domination of the high seas for decades, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has been relentlessly bolstering its naval capability in defense of its most critical national interests. In the maritime…

Security & Conflict, South America

El Salvador’s Controversial Offer: Housing U.S. Criminals in Its Mega-Prison

March 7, 2025

El Salvador’s ‘maverick’[1] president, Nayib Bukele, has proposed a unique agreement with the United States, offering to house American criminals and deportees[2] in its notorious mega-prison, Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (Terrorism Confinement Center, abbreviated CECOT). This unprecedented deal, put…

Security & Conflict, South America

From Bullets to Hugs: Mexico’s Security Jarabe

December 24, 2024

Understanding AMLO’s De-Securitization Towards Drug Trafficking Through a Human Security Lens [1] In the shadow of escalating violence and entrenched insecurity, Mexico found itself at a critical juncture as it transitioned from the Felipe Calderón and Enrique Peña Nieto administrations…

Europe, Security & Conflict

How EU Enlargement Could Transform European Defence: Scenarios for a 2030 Agenda

December 2, 2024

To confront the resurgence of traditional geopolitics in Europe, the European Union (EU) should return to its oldest foreign policy tool—enlargement—to place defence transformation at the top of the agenda. As António Costa embarks on his tenure as president of…

Asia Pacific, Security & Conflict

From Balochistan to Beyond: How Iran emerged as a Senior Partner to Pakistan

November 6, 2024

As news of Iran centers on the Gaza conflict’s spillover, and news regarding Pakistan revolves around its ongoing strikes against TTP militants on their Afghan border, the tit-for-tat strikes on January 16, 2024, and brief tension between Iran & Pakistan…

Asia Pacific, Security & Conflict

The Dual-Use Nature of Space Launch Vehicles and Ballistic Missiles and the Complexities

October 17, 2024

Space Launch Vehicles (SLVs) are gaining prominence, even among developing states, as a means of exerting greater influence and leverage in space. These technologies not only add to a state’s technological prowess, contributing to its power and prestige, but also…

Africa, Civil Society, Security & Conflict

Assessing Twenty-Five Years of Democracy in Nigeria

September 3, 2024

Twenty-five years ago, the Federal Republic of Nigeria transitioned from military rule to a democratic system. During a colorful event in Abuja attended by leaders worldwide on May 29, 1999, the military transferred power to Olusegun Obasanjo, the democratically elected…

Europe, Policy & Politics, Security & Conflict

The Insecurities of Putin’s Russia

June 6, 2024

Professor Jef Huysmans at Queen Mary University of London describes insecurity as a politically and socially constructed phenomenon, and argues that insecurities arise from institutional and political reactions to a threat. In his interpretation, “a threat functions as an event…

Middle East, Security & Conflict

The Failings of Israeli and Palestinian Leadership

April 16, 2024

In the past months, the media has frantically shifted its attention to the perilous situation in the Middle East. The Israeli-Hamas war has shattered the brittle status quo between Israelis and Palestinians. The savagery committed by Hamas on October 7…

Regional, Security & Conflict

The Territorial Roots of Interstate Conflict

April 7, 2024

After a prolonged period of relative peace between states, the last fifteen years have seen an explosion of global interstate conflict, with conflict between military forces of sovereign nations spiking and continuing to rise.[1] Indeed, over the last eighteen months…

Europe, Governance & Law, Policy & Politics, Security & Conflict

International Law’s Role in a Strat-Dominated World—Part 2

March 18, 2024

In our previous article we observed that in a world dominated by realists, academics are more likely to focus on strategic studies and not international law.[1] We nevertheless found noteworthy the extent to which international law enters into strategic thought…