Fractured Alliances: The Ripple Effects of Assad’s Fall in the Caucasus
The fall of Assad’s regime came as a surprise, but Russia’s swift abandonment of one of its closest allies was even more unexpected. While Russia had previously...
Category: Column
The Rise of Digital Authoritarianism: Impacts on Global Democracy and Human Rights
“Authoritarianism and secrecy breed incompetence; the two feed on each other. It’s a vicious cycle. Governments with authoritarian tendencies point toward...
Calculating Conflict: The Strategic Roots of Mexican Inter-Cartel Warfare
In late September 2024, civil war erupted in the home of one of Mexico’s largest cartels––the Sinaloa cartel––after the abduction of two key leaders, Joaquín Gu...
Back to the Past? Escalating Sabotage in Europe and How the Continent Should Respond
The continent of Europe is seeing the rise of a new global war, not one characterized by trenches or tanks, but with gray zone conflict. With the start of Russi...
Dancing through Diplomacy: Ballet’s Role in United States-Soviet Union Relations
On walls throughout Russian cities, Swan Lake graffiti has been appearing. These depict the famous line of four ballerinas in the “Dance of the Cygnets” in “Swa...
Chongryon Schools: North Korea’s Hidden Hand in Japan
When most people think about North Korea, images of both seclusion and hostility come to mind. North Korea is largely shunned by the international community–its...
What the Tokyo Olympics Can Teach us About Foreign Labor and Immigration in an Aging Japan
Today, Japan is facing an unprecedented demographic crisis: of a population of over 125 million people, 29% are over the age of 65 while more than one in ten ar...
Shared Waters, Shared Futures: ASEAN-Led Cooperative Fisheries Governance in the South China Sea
The loss of fish in the South China Sea is a crisis for Southeast Asia. Due to overfishing, 64% of regional fish stocks are at a medium to high risk of collapse...
International Chinese Students: Academic Weapons
Amid the great power competition between China and the United States, an unlikely group has been caught in the crossfire: Chinese international students. Of the...
The Mongolian “Hoop Dream” — Creation of American Soft Power Through Basketball
“Be true to the game, because the game will be true to you.” – Michael Jordan Introduction Recent years have seen the slow erosion of US influence i...