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To give our readers a sense of who reads the ISN blog, and exactly how many readers we have every month, I thought I’d take you on a quick tour of the ISN Blog readership. The impetus for this ‘tour’ came with the realization that our blog has been on a trajectory of healthy, even robust, growth in the past half a year, with October alone marking a 20 percent jump in our unique visitor numbers, now up to 7,000 unique visits each month. Page views, conversely, continue to hit the 30,000 mark every month.

This is great news and such rapid growth is particularly encouraging. What about the location of our readers then? As you read this, do you find yourself in a country where our reach is particularly wide or are you an ISN Blog pioneer? Most of our readers are based where we are based- Switzerland, but our US and UK readers are almost as numerous. We’re also increasingly popular in France, Germany, China and Israel, displaying the scope for growth in emerging and rapidly growing regions like the Middle East and Asia.

But is readership steady throughout the week? Interestingly enough, although it is quite steady, with many people checking out our blog even on Saturdays and Sundays, Thursdays are the most high-traffic days with the blog receiving an average of 1,900 page views on that day.

Thank you for your support and patronage thus far- keep visiting us, keep interacting and keep spreading the word!

Last week, ISN Insights examined China’s foreign relations in more detail:

• US-China relations in a piece by Graham Ong-Webb

• Chinese aid policy in the Pacific in an article by Fergus Hanson

• China-India relations in a piece by Harsh V Pant

• Burgeoning Russo-Chinese energy ties in an article by Robert M Cutler

• North Korea and its relationship to China in a podcast interview with Aidan Foster Carter

This week, we’ll be looking at the following topics: US mid-term elections, the Israel-Syria-Hezbollah triangle, the African National Congress, and China-Burma relations in the run-up to Burma’s impending elections.

Make sure to check back each day for the newest ISN Insights package. And if you’re an active Twitter or Facebook user, look us up and become a follower!

Last week ISN Insights explored the following issues:

• The broken US-Mexican border in a piece by Peter Buxbaum

• The fate of democracy in Fiji in an article by Fergus Hanson

• China’s demographic dilemma in a piece by Robert Ash

• Turkey’s constitutional referendum in an article by Francesco Milan

• A Friday podcast discussing German defense reform with Alexandra Dier

In the week ahead we’re going to be looking at China’s foreign relations in a special ISN Insights week. Look out for articles on the Sino-US relationship, China’s aid policy in the Asia-Pacific, Sino-Russian relations and China’s increasingly strained relationship with India. Friday’s ISN Podcast will discuss North Korea with Aidan Foster-Carter.

Stay tuned and keep checking the ISN site each day for the newest ISN Insights piece.