Month: April 2019

The ‘Regime Security Dilemma’ in US–China Relations

Image courtesy of The White House/Flickr.

This article was originally published in The Strategist by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) on 21 March 2019.

Today’s debates on whether US–China relations are deteriorating towards a ‘new cold war’ often involve disagreement over the extent to which there’s an ideological dimension to this competition. By some accounts, it’s purely about power and security, resulting from the historical inevitability of rivalry, if not outright conflict, between rising and ruling powers near a moment of transition.

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Categories
CSS Blog

The Gas Transmission System in Russia’s East

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This graphic maps current and proposed Russian gas pipeline projects in the country’s East, including the ‘Power of Siberia’ pipeline which traverses the Russian-Chinese border. For more on the Sino-Russia relationship, see Brian Carlson’s chapter for Strategic Trends 2018 here. For more CSS charts, maps and graphics on natural resources, click here.

Brexit is Making Europe Stronger

Image courtesy of GregMontani/Pixabay

This article was originally published by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) on 1 April 2019.

The EU27 are holding together throughout the twists and turns of Brexit. This is simply because it is in their interest to do so

Last month’s Brexit drama was such a compelling view that it even drew Germany football fans away from the Bayern Munich match against Liverpool – to the match playing out in the House of Commons. “Order!” they roared, like the speaker, John Bercow. “Oóórder!!”

This is Brexit for many Europeans: entertainment. It can be much more exciting than football, soap operas, or talk shows.

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Cyber

What Are China’s Cyber Capabilities and Intentions?

Image courtesy of Taskin Ashiq/Unsplash

This article was originally published by the IPI Global Observatory on 22 March 2019.

News stories on the cyber threat that China poses appear on a regular basis. Most underscore a view that China is using cyber power to rise and ultimately win global dominance, and that the Chinese government is behind the scenes in many malicious cyber activities. Though many of the allegations focus on the tension between China and the United States on cyber espionage, these actions are unlikely to cause armed conflict since almost all capable actors conduct cyber espionage.

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Terrorism

Local and Globalist Foreign Fighters: We Need to Distinguish between Different Categories of Foreign Fighters

Image courtesy of Arjenis Nunez/DVIDS

This article was originally published by the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS) on 20 March 2019.

The broad definition of the term ‘foreign fighter’ causes operational problems for risk assessments. It is therefore important for security officials to identify significant variations by classifying actors into major categories.

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