CSS Blog NetworkThe CSS Blog features the analyses of CSS experts, entries in the CSS Mediation Perspectives series and graphics produced by the CSS, which cover a range of international relations and security-related issues.
This graphic depicts the stockpiles of nuclear weapons, arms control treaties and military expenditure in the United States of America and Russia between 1945 and 2020.
For a deeper look into arms control in Russia, the Russian government’s policy options in nuclear arms control & the differing conceptions of strategic stability in the 21st century of the USA, Russia, China, and Europe, read this issue of the Russian Analytical Digest here.
Image courtesy of Tech. Sgt. Brigitte Brantley/DVIDS.
The US has maintained a relatively passive approach to Libya under President Donald Trump, whose administration largely left the Libyan dossier to Egypt, several Arab Gulf states, Turkey, Europeans, and Russia. In 2021, however, America’s new leadership will probably try to assert US influence in the war-torn country more actively.[i] President-elect Joe Biden and those in his inner circle have vowed to push back against Moscow in various ways, which means Libya could be a growing point of contention between the incoming US administration and Russia. In any event, the Libyan crisis offers Biden an opportunity to demonstrate to Washington’s traditional Western allies that his administration is determined to reassert US leadership in the world and stand against President Vladimir Putin’s designs for Libya and, by extension, in the Middle East and Africa too. It is unclear, however, whether Biden’s plans for countering Moscow’s hand in Libya will be more rhetorical or strategic, and how far his administration would be ready to escalate US-Russia tensions in relation to Libya.
Artificial Intelligence, Digitalization, Climate Change – many overarching trends and developments have the potential to alter the lives of billions of people in the coming years. This graphic maps the relevant trends for the Swiss civil protection system in the next 5 to 10 years and outlines examples of their interdependencies.
For an analysis on how these trends will affect the civil protection system in Switzerland, read this CSS “Trend Analysis Civil Protection 2030 Uncertainties, Challenges and Opportunities” report here.
This graphic outlines the average tariff levels applied on all imports by the US and a selection of its key trading partners. For an analysis of the Trump administration’s trade policies and the weaponization of international trade, see Jack Thompson’s chapter for Strategic Trends 2019 here.
As a highly developed, landlocked resource-poor country that relies on imports for many vital commodities and services, Switzerland is comparatively vulnerable to disruptions of supply. This graphic provides an overview of a selected number of such imports and more.
To find out about how Switzerland attempts to ensure the supply of essential goods and services in times of crises, read Andrin Hauri’s CSS Analyses in Security Policy on ‘National Economic Supply as an Emergency Precaution.’