Month: June 2024

Kerg re-published in Asia Times

Original Source On June 22, IPSI nonresident fellow Brian Kerg’s recent New Atlanticist piece, “Think China can already take Taiwan easily? Think again,” was re-published in the Asia Times. In the piece, Kerg argues that China seeks to create a false narrative that it would inevitably prevail in an invasion of Taiwan. Fellow Brian Kerg

Russia’s flagship international forum showcases Putin’s pariah status

Not so long ago, the annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) was widely seen as one of the “be there or be square” events for the world’s business elites, political leaders, and global influencers. Often called Russia’s Davos, SPIEF takes place every June in Russia’s second city, which also happens to be Vladimir Putin’s

Putin just reminded the world why Russia must lose

On the eve of last weekend’s Global Peace Summit in Switzerland, Vladimir Putin unveiled a peace proposal of his own. The presentation of this rival peace plan was an obvious attempt to undermine Ukraine’s Swiss initiative, but it also served as a timely reminder that Putin is waging an old-fashioned war of imperial conquest and

FPV drones in Ukraine are changing modern warfare

The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine is often referred to as the world’s first large-scale drone war. But what exactly does “drone war” mean in practical terms, and how is this war being waged? Media coverage of the drone war often focuses on particular models such as the Shahed drones used by Russia to attack

Experts react: Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte will be NATO’s next secretary general. How will he lead the Alliance?

NATO’s Dutch tilt is official. After a seven-month campaign, outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte received unanimous approval from all thirty-two NATO member states to become the Alliance’s next secretary general. Rutte won his last remaining necessary endorsement from Romania on Thursday. A staunch advocate of military aid for Ukraine with a political reputation as

The troubling significance of Putin’s Pyongyang deal

TAIPEI, Taiwan—Watching Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Pyongyang summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un from the vantage point of this at-risk democracy’s capital makes the significance of the meeting all the more terrifying. It isn’t so much the contents of the new Putin-Kim agreement, which depending on who you listen to is either a

Ending the war in Ukraine requires something for everyone to hate

The war in Ukraine seems as difficult to end as it is horrific to watch. It’s a bloody puzzle: Why have Ukraine and Russia continued fighting for so long, tearing each other to pieces? Why can’t they get to a peace deal and end the slaughter? In a recent book, I examined why some wars

Hinata-Yamaguchi quoted in South China Morning Post on East China Sea tensions

ORIGINAL SOURCE On June 18, IPSI nonresident senior fellow Ryo Hinata-Yamaguchi was quoted in a South China Morning Post article, discussing potential new conflict flashpoints in the East China Sea due to a new Chinese coastguard law.  Fellow Ryo Hinata-Yamaguchi Nonresident Senior Fellow Indo-Pacific Security Initiative Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Defense Policy Indo-Pacific

Ukraine’s peace summit offers solidarity but no breakthroughs

Over the weekend of June 15-16, almost one hundred representatives of countries from around the globe and several international organizations gathered in Switzerland for a Summit on Peace in Ukraine. Described by some commentators as “the largest diplomatic effort” in Ukraine’s history, the summit was designed to rally international support for the Ukrainian vision of

From rebel factions to an army: Efforts to tame the Syrian National Army

While some elements that constitute the Syrian National Army (SNA) have moved away from their revolutionary foundations and turned into a contractor structure for Turkey’s foreign operations across various regional conflicts, others are trying to transform into an organized army under civilian leadership. Although the SNA’s previous attempts at institutionalization and reform through coalitions of