Strong arms: North Korea’s pandemic era weapons program
The country is not new to seclusion, but under the aegis of the pandemic, Kim Jong Un tightened borders even more. His regime has enjoyed the extra control, but are things finally opening up? The worl...
1 Aug 202322min
Putsched out: Niger’s coup d’état
Following years of military takeovers in the region, Niger is the West’s last solid ally in the Sahel. But with this coup, and growing alignment with Russia, these relations are in jeopardy. Why is a ...
31 Jul 202323min
Trading criminality for autocracy: El Salvador
A country that was not long ago gripped by gang violence and crime is slowly emerging from fear, thanks to a brutal roundup of young men by a wildly popular, social-media-savvy president. The streets ...
28 Jul 202325min
With a grain assault: a deal abandoned
Russia’s axeing of the Black Sea grain deal reveals a war machine running out of options. We explore how to get the deal back on track. A month-long mystery surrounding China’s absent foreign minister...
27 Jul 202324min
Forewarned before armed: how to predict war
Military types need not wait until mass movements of troops to know a conflict is coming. We examine a raft of subtle and not-so-subtle market moves that would precede a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. Fr...
26 Jul 202326min
Squash court: Israel’s controversial law reform
A seemingly small change to the Supreme Court’s powers to adjudicate “reasonableness” represents a significant risk to the country’s democratic functioning—and 30 weeks of popular protest about it wil...
25 Jul 202321min
Small-Vox symptoms: Spain’s elections
After no party won a majority, forming a government may take weeks—or another election. But predictions that Vox, a far-right party, might enter government failed to materialise. Russia’s navy is repa...
24 Jul 202324min
Palace intrigue: the Kremlin after the mutiny
It has been a month since the head of the Wagner group led a march on Moscow. Although it failed, Putin appears considerably weaker. What does this mean for outcomes on the battlefield? India is facin...
21 Jul 202324min
