Russia’s close ally Kazakhstan’s neutral stance on the invasion of Ukraine is strictly driven by its national interests, but any deterioration in relations with Russia could have implications for Kazakhstan’s political stability in the longer term, writes Saif Islam.
Major security crises in Afghanistan and Ukraine over the last year not only highlight the challenges of political evacuation, but also reaffirm how important it is for companies to have robust evacuation plans in place, write Erin Drake and Saif Islam.
Amid rising energy costs and inflation exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, Europe now faces the added challenge of the continent’s fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War 2. Richard Gardiner writes that these pressures, and the associated escalation in the cost of living, could drive sustained civil unrest in Europe in the coming year.
The Russia / Ukraine conflict will have a long-standing and widespread impact on the global order, resulting in unique but interconnected regional consequences across the world, write Markus Korhonen and Gabrielle Reid.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has taken longer than Russian President Vladimir Putin expected. Amid a prolonged conflict, Gabrielle Reid and Markus Korhonen examine the widespread shocks across various industries likely to have a long-lasting impact on the global economy.
Facing its most acute demonstrations since gaining independence in 1991, Kazakhstan witnessed a crucible of political tensions at the start of the new year. While police violence and the presence of foreign peacekeepers seem to have subdued the momentum of the popular protests against the country’s ruling elite and oligopolistic structures, Osob Dahir…
The arrests of Canadian businessman Michael Spavor and former diplomat Michael Kovrig in China in December 2018, just days after Huawei’s chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou’s arrest in Vancouver, were undoubtedly linked. Despite China’s espionage allegations against the pair and their subsequent convictions, they were released shortly after Meng was…
2021 saw a number of key developments on the war front, from Afghanistan’s fall to the Taliban to the dramatic turnaround in Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict. With little in terms of resolution to armed conflicts across the globe, 2022 is likely to see war remain a major threat in parts of Asia, Africa, Middle East, the Caucasus, and eastern Europe, with…
An increase in terrorism-related incidents in 2020 may indicate, at face value, an increase in militant activity in Russia, but the reality is more complex, writes Saif Islam.
In recent years, bomb threats targeting airliners have usually turned out to be hoaxes, but their impact on airlines and travellers can be significant, writes Darren Davids.
Russia’s apparent reduced willingness to pursue military options in its neighbourhood suggests a shift in how it conducts its foreign policy. Cvete Koneska argues that this should not be read as a sign of Russia in retreat; instead, we can expect Russia to employ a more diverse toolbox to achieve its foreign policy objectives.
Many organised crime groups in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) continued their kidnapping and extortion activities largely unaffected by the Covid-19 pandemic, writes Darren Davids. However, opportunistic criminals have capitalised on newly implemented Covid-19 restrictions and will seek to extort travellers.