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 compares the COVID-19 doubling rates of confirmed cases in different countries around the world. For insights on the structural challenges that the coronavirus pandemic has made visible in Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, read the Caucasus Analytical Digest 115 here.
This graphic points out Russia’s share in total agricultural exports with Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Georgia did not trade agricultural products with Russia in 2007–2012 (Russia’s share is 0%) due to the embargo imposed by Russia; after the lifting of the embargo, Russia’s share significantly increased, but never again reached pre-embargo levels.
For more on agriculture and trade with Russia, see the Caucasus Analytical Digest 117 here.
This graphic shows the number of nuclear warheads owned by each country known to have nuclear weapons. For more on trends in nuclear arms control, see Oliver Thränert’s CSS Analyses in Security Policy series here.
This graphic compares the economic weight of the world’s leading States, as well as their voting power in multilateral development banks (MDB). China has widely funded and built infrastructure in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and its own national banks play a key role in financing these large-scale projects. However, China’s policy banks also face problems of corruption, poor lending practices and repayment problems. MDBs, by contrast, tend to have higher standards and can help improve the way China engages abroad and shares the risks with other member countries.
For more on how China’s recent foray into multilateral banking brings the country multiple financial and geopolitical benefits, read Chris Humphrey & Linda Maduz’s CSS Analysis in Security Policy here.
This article was originally published by the Council on Foreign Relations on 14 October 2020.
Despite the increasing number of public attributions, few analysts have looked at how public attribution fits within the larger toolbox of statecraft. In a recently published article, I lay out what public attribution is, how we can explain it using the intelligence studies literature, and for what purposes it is employed (for more, you can also read this longer policy analysis [PDF] on the subject). In this shorter piece, I argue that public attribution serves different functions in the short, medium, and long-term.