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CSi Interviews

Angus Knowles-Cutler speaks on the future of work, education in the age of pandemic, surveillance technology, and automation. An advisor to the UK government and major businesses on the impact of technology in the workplace, he explains how COVID-19 has served as an accelerator across multiple sectors, and also discusses the tension this has exacerbated between the China and the West.

His recommended reading includes: Guns, Germs & Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, by Jared Diamond; The 100 Year Life: Living and Working in the Age of Longevity, by Lynda Gratton and Andrew Scott; The Technology Trap: Capitol, Labor, and Power in the Age of Automation, by Carl Benedikt Frey; The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power, by Shoshana Zuboff; Rich People Have Always Been Assholes During Plagues, by Emily Alford.

 

 

CSi Analytic Articles and Reports

CSi’s cadre of experts synthesise global events, breaking news, and policy shifts to determine real-world impacts to international business and regional power dynamics. Click on the updates below to read more.

Disinformation Will Continue to Roil Western Society and the 2020 Elections | Dr. David Gioe

Many actors are involved in shaping the information environment, such as governments with strategic aims or public relations firms with commercial purposes. Given the volume and velocity of information…(read more)

Iranian Military Advertises Improved Defensive and Offensive Capabilities, Threatens Shipping | Richard C. Baffa

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Navy (IRGCN) late July “Great Prophet XIV” exercise, including attacks against a mock aircraft carrier, was only the latest in a series of military evolutions that underscore Tehran’s intent to develop…(read more)

Fighting Between Armenia and Azerbaijan Threatens Regional Stability | Dr Tracey German

Violence has erupted in the South Caucasus, with clashes between Armenian and Azerbaijani troops along the border between the two countries resulting in a number of casualtie. Each side accused the other of attacking…(read more)

Iran: Recent Incidents Likely a Coordinated String of Deliberate Attacks | Richard C. Baffa

Since early May, Iranian critical infrastructure and national security facilities have been subject to at least nine fires, explosions, and apparent cyberattacks; eight of these have taken place since 26 June. The nature of the targets and the short…(read more)

Russia Dangles ‘Donbas- For- Dam’ Deal | Dr. Victor Madeira

Russia is dangling a return of Donbas territory to Ukraine under special conditions in return for water for Crimea, two-thirds of which is suffering from severe drought. Russia already spends £4 billion a year on both territories and the drought is adding to…(read more)

COVID-19 Refuels Familiar Geopolitical Conspiracies in the Middle East | Dr. Dina Rezk

The West, Iran, and Qatar have been popular targets of longstanding conspiracy theories on the Arab street, and the ongoing pandemic has reinflamed old fears about the intentions and capabilities of these actors. Social media content, both official and…(read more)

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Regional Archive

Specialist CSi Analytic Reports and Articles from November 2019. The articles have been divided regionally and chronologically.

Asia

New Freight Link Between Uzbekistan and China Connecting Central Asia

Dr. Tracey German, King’s College London

 

A new ‘multimodal’ containerised freight service commenced operation between China and Uzbekistan in early June, another strand in China’s global transportation network. Freight will be transported along this new route by rail and road from Lanzhou…(read more)

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‘New’ U.S. Strategy in Central Asia Lacks Originality, Reality

Dr. Tracey German, King’s College London

 

In early February, the U.S. unveiled its five-year strategy for Central Asia, a brief document that is a continuation of its previous strategies focusing on political stability, counter-terrorism and energy security. Most key policy objectives—promoting reform of the rule of law and respect for human rights, reducing terrorist threats, and supporting the stabilisation of Afghanistan—have previously appeared over the past two decades. The declared aspiration to boost connectivity between Central Asia and Afghanistan along the Lapis Lazuli corridor reflects the New Silk Road initiative unveiled by Hillary Clinton in 2011. The biggest change is…(read more)

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Coronavirus Impacts CIS-China Relations

Dr. Tracey German, King’s College London, and Dr. Victor Madeira

 

China’s status as a vital economic partner for the majority of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) members means the CIS are feeling pinched between the need to balance their bilateral relationships with Beijing with the requirement to protect their populations from the rapidly spreading Coronavirus. To date there have been no confirmed cases of the disease in Central Asia or the South Caucasus, and Russia reports only three cases. It is possible that authoritarian regimes across the region could be suppressing higher infection rates…(read more)

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Georgia Faces Continued Instability as Elections Near

Dr. Tracey German, King’s College London

 

As 2019 draws to a close, anti-government protests in Georgia continue apace. In mid- December a protest group, Shame, released a foul-smelling chemical in parliament as legislators were deliberating a series of lifetime appointments to the Supreme Court. Claiming responsibility for the attack in a Facebook post, the group used the hashtag #Systemstinks. A number of Georgia’s international partners have expressed concern about the political turmoil, warning that the country is at risk of…(read more)

 

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Uzbekistan Flirts With China, Russia

Dr. Tracey German, King’s College London

 

After years of pursuing a cautious balancing act in terms of its relations with regional and international powers, Uzbekistan has intensified relations with China and Russia since 2016. Lying at the geographical heart of Central Asia, Uzbekistan presents significant opportunity for those wishing to trade across the entire region. However, there is the risk of geopolitical competition between the principal regional powers of Russia and China, as both have increased their…(read more)

 

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Middle East

COVID-19 Refuels Familiar Geopolitical Conspiracies in the Middle East
Dr. Dina Rezk

The West, Iran, and Qatar have been popular targets of longstanding conspiracy theories on the Arab street, and the ongoing pandemic has reinflamed old fears about the intentions and capabilities of these actors. Social media content, both official and…(read more)

 

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Iran: Prisoner Swaps Do Not Portend Diplomatic Opening
Richard C. Baffa

 

A recent prisoner exchange between the U.S. and Iran reflects a slight easing of tensions as Tehran continues to recalibrate its response to the U.S. “maximum pressure” campaign to avoid a military clash.The exchanges probably will not lead to bilateral…(read more)

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Saudi Arabia Using Pandemic to Save Face in Yemen
Ms. Dorothea Gioe

 

The Saudi-led coalition’s April decision to declare a unilateral ceasefire in the long-running Yemen war allows Riyadh an opportunity to retrench in light of falling oil prices and the domestic strain of a COVID-19 outbreak that has prompted the government to close Mecca during Ramadan…(read more)

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Iraq Eking Through 2020’s “Perfect Storm”
Dr. Renad Mansour

 

Since 2003, the political system in Iraq has weathered many storms, including insurgency (2003- 2006; 2014-2017), civil war (2006-2008), oil price crashes (2015, 2018), and mass-scale protests (2015-16; 2019-present). Today, the system is facing its greatest set of challenges yet, thanks to the addition of the Coronavirus pandemic and plummeting oil prices. (read more)

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Iran's Nuclear Program Advancing Despite Pandemic

Richard C. Baffa

 

Amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, a key date passed largely unnoticed; 8 April is Iran’s National Nuclear Technology Day and Tehran broadcast a series of advances to its nuclear program without the normal fanfare, ostensibly due to the coronavirus. The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) announced it would unveil advanced domestically manufactured centrifuges that would soon come online at Iran’s Natanz enrichment facility. AEOI Chief Salehi noted that research and development continue without any restrictions, including the stockpiling of enriched uranium and heavy water storage. For his part, President Rouhani maintained Iran’s nuclear program was now more advanced than in…(read more)

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Covid- 19 Ravaging Iran Amidst Growing Legitimacy Crisis

Richard C. Baffa

 

Two days prior to February’s parliamentary elections, Iran announced its first two cases of the COVID-19 virus. As the number of cases began to rise, it became clear the regime had covered up the outbreak to get the vote out. The effort failed. Turnout was the lowest since the 1979 revolution: about 42 per cent nationwide but only 25 per cent in Tehran. Elections in Iran are a barometer of public support and the historically low turnout in February underscores the regime’s loss of legitimacy among a majority of Iranians suffering under the weight of sanctions, economic mismanagement, and…(read more)

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Muhammad Bin Salman- Costs of Breaking With Tradition

Dr Dina Rezk, University of Reading

 

Recent arrests of prominent members of the royal family accused of plotting a coup are intended to demonstrate that dissent of Mohammed Bin Salman’s (MBS) authoritarian tendencies will not be tolerated; however, the lesson is really that Saudi rulers break with tradition at their own peril. Among those arrested was King Salman’s brother Prince Ahmed Bin Abdel Aziz and former Crown Prince Muhammed bin Nayef (MBN). The latter was ignominiously dismissed in favour of MBS as prospective successor to the throne in June 2017, a move that alienated the Sudairi Seven, seven powerful sons of Ibn Saud, since MBN is a…(read more)

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Iran: Expecting a Tumultuous 2020

Richard C. Baffa

 

As the Islamic Republic celebrates the 41st anniversary of its founding, the regime is facing enormous pressure from a combination of factors, including: sanctions; a growing regime legitimacy crisis; anti-Iranian backlash in Iraq and Lebanon; and the killing of Qods Force Commander Qassim Suleimani, who was instrumental to advancing Iran’s regional strategy. Iran will continue to publicly tout its “resistance economy” but conditions will only worsen as the year progresses. New protests are almost certain to arise and probably with increasing frequency; they will be met by intimidation and violence, the response of a regime with no solutions and that appears to be losing its grip. For the near term, the regime will focus on regional diplomacy aimed at sowing division between the U.S. and its Gulf allies to eventually…(read more)

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Iran's Upcoming Majlis Elections Unlikely to Result in Redistribution of Power

John Raine CMG OBE, Senior Advisor for Geopolitical Due Diligence at IISS

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Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030- Progress and Problems

Dr. Dina Rezk, University of Reading

 

At the beginning of a new decade, the Kingdom’s balance sheet in achieving the stated goals ofVision 2030 leaves much to be desired. This is in keeping with a historic trail of similar development plans to modernise and diversify the Kingdom since the 1970s: ultimately political considerations have trumped…(read more)

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The Implications of the U.S.-Iran Dispute on Iraq

Dr. Renad Mansour, Research Fellow at Chatham House

 

The U.S. assassination of Iranian General Qassim al-Suleimani and leader of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis initially threatened to engulf Iran and the U.S. in direct conflict, despite the U.S. President’s claims that “Iran appears to be standing down.” For Tehran, however, retaliation will not be limited to short-term tit-for-tat military attacks, but will include a longer-term campaign to increase Iranian…(read more)

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Islamic State Strategic Priorities in 2020: Returning to Local Activities

Dr. Dina Rezk, University of Reading

 

The Islamic State’s (IS) Arabic language propaganda provides a useful lens into its strategic priorities and local recruitment narratives. Revealingly, the focus in this literature is overwhelmingly on the group’s local and regional Islamic enemies, rather than the West. Whilst taking advantage of any opportunity to claim victory, it is clear that the principal target in the Islamic State’s hierarchy remains Iran, in line with its longstanding…(read more)

 

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Oman's New Sultan Chosen to Face Modern Challenges
Dorothea Gioe, former Near East Division Officer at the Central Intelligence Agency

 

Haitham bin Tariq al-Said was not the obvious choice to succeed his recently-deceased cousin Qaboos as the Sultan of Oman. The new sultan’s half-brother, Asaad, served as Qaboos’ ‘special representative’ while he was ill, and his appointment as deputy Prime Minister in 2017 led to speculation that he would inherit the throne upon the Sultan’s death. Whether Haitham’s accession is derived from the fact that he is the son of his father’s first wife, or whether it was due to Sultan Qaboos’ final sealed…(read more)

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Iraq’s New Prime Minister Will Not Be A Fix

Dr. Renad Mansour, Research Fellow at Chatham House

 

On 29 November 2019, after months of protests and related violence in which over 400 Iraqis have been killed, Iraqi prime minister Adil ‘Abd al-Mahdi resigned, one year after taking office. Yet, protesters are not satisfied with Mahdi’s resignation. Rather than calling for the end of one man, or one party, they have been calling for…(read more)

 

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Saudi Arabia MBS Maneuvers Loyalists into Key Aramco and Government Positions

Dr. Dina Rezk, University of Reading

 

The appointment of the Kingdom’s first royal, Prince Abdul Aziz bin Salman as Energy Ministersignals a break with the tradition of protecting this key post from palace intrigue. Half-brother to Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman (MBS), and with a personal reputation as a technocrat and consensus builder, Prince Abdul Aziz has critical experience in negotiating deals within the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). As part of the quest to acquire as high a valuation for Aramco as possible, Prince Abdul Aziz has worked to secure deeper supply cuts within OPEC, particularly from…(read more)

 

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Saudi Arabia: Aramco's Politicized Valuation

Dr. Dina Rezk, University of Reading

 

Despite international investor scepticism, Saudi Arabia has managed to rally sufficient local and regional support to achieve Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman’s (MBS) long touted $2 trillion valuation for Aramco, after trading on the Tadawul stock exchange. The Kingdom undertook several public steps in recent months to secure a solid valuation for the nation’s crown jewel. Until September 2019, the head of Aramco was also Energy Minister. The decision to separate the two portfolios was an attempt to…(read more)

 

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Saudi Arabia: Implications of Aramco IPO

Dr. Dina Rezk, University of Reading

 

After considerable delays since Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman (MBS) first announced Aramco’s IPO as integral to the diversification strategy of Vision 2030, the decision to proceed on the Saudi Tadawul incorporates key political, economic and security considerations. This IPO is not only vital to the Kingdom’s long term economic goals, but MBS also needs the political success to shore up Saudi’s domestic and international reputation in the face of the Khashoggi murder last year, the resource-draining conflict in Yemen, and recent attacks on…(read more)

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Egypt: Protests and Political Upheaval

Dr. Dina Rezk, University of Reading

 

Marking the most significant unrest Egypt has witnessed since 2013, a wave of dissident videos followed allegations of corruption from military contractor Mohamed Ali. Popular protests in Cairo, Alexandria, and other cities in September and October were ostensibly against corruption and austerity but also indicate a power struggle between the military and the Ministry of Interior…(read more) 

 

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Iraqi Protests Unlikely to Yield Meaningful Changes

Dr. Renad Mansour, Research Fellow at Chatham House

 

October 2019 represented one of the largest grassroots protest mobilizations in Iraq since 2003, protests which continue into November and will likely linger in diminishing numbers. Iraqi youth (two-thirds of Iraq is under the age of 30 and many are without job prospects) are disillusioned by rampant, systemic corruption that privileges Shia, Kurdish, and Sunni elites. In response to protests, which began in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square on 01 October but have spread throughout the south, Iraqi forces and allied Iran-backed militia have used increasing force against largely unarmed protesters, resulting in the deaths of over 300…(read more)

 

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Report on Qatar

Cambridge Security Initiative Report focusing the on political and economic security as well as the escalation of tensions between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates…(read more)

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Report on Saudi Arabia

Cambridge Security Initiative Report analysing the ‘currents of discontent’ impacting Riyadh’s relationship with both Washington and London…(read more)

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Report on UAE

Cambridge Security Initiative Report investigating the extent to which the Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayid (MBZ) is the driving force behind the United Arab Emirates aggressive and expansionist foreign policy…(read more)

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Report on Gulf Tensions

Cambridge Security Initiative Report analysing the growth of tensions in the Gulf and the possibility of the United States and the United Kingdom contributing further to the conflict…(read more)

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Russia

Russian Recession Hiding Behind Doctored Figures
Dr. Victor Madeira

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin’s team’s recommendation to classify embarrassing economic figures resulting from Russia’s response to COVID-19 indicates what the world can expect of this prime minister, despite his stage-managed media image…(read more)

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National Interest, Drought Driving Russian Grain Sales
Dr. Victor Madeira

Pandemic-driven stockpiling worldwide led Russian grain hauliers to hit second-quarter export quotas by late April, 2020. Moscow announced restrictions on further exports, except to Eurasian Economic Union states, ending on 30 June…(read more)

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U.S. Navy Operations Assert Right to Arctic
Dr. Tracey German

Surface ships from the U.S. 6th Fleet sailed into the Barents Sea earlier this month for the first time since the Cold War. A joint U.S.-UK surface action group (SAG), comprising four U.S. vessels and one from the Royal Navy, were in the Barents Sea as part of a planned anti- submarine exercise…(read more)

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Russia Concedes on Weak Oil Deal but Prices Still Drop
Dr. Victor Madeira

Russia will soon abandon this month’s historic OPEC+ deal to cut oil production by 9.7 million barrels per day (mb/d), a feeble attempt to stabilise prices after the Russian–Saudi supply war and COVID-19 lockdowns sent prices and demand plummeting almost simultaneously…(read more)

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Russian Economy Unprepared for EU Carbon Tax Shocks
Dr. Victor Madeira

Nearly 50 per cent of Russia’s state revenue is from fossil-fuel exports, but a European Union (EU) carbon border tax (CBT) proposal could stop a third of those by 2030. A CBT would aim to end competitive advantages enjoyed by exporters offering cheaper goods that do not include pollution-reduction costs. Since Russian finished exports have the world’s second-highest in- built CO2 emissions, any CBT stands to cause significant economic shocks in Russia.

Carbon, in every sense, is a growing security threat to Russia, with renewables now economically viable, de-carbonisation costs dropping, divestment increasing, and America set to overtake Russia and Saudi Arabia in oil exports by 2025. Producers with decaying extraction infrastructure, like Russia, face further problems because ‘re-gas’ tankers are allowing more countries to benefit from global liquid natural gas (LNG) markets. As a result,..(read more)

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Unparalleled Bulgarian Backlash Re-Defining Russia Ties
Dr. Victor Madeira

Bulgaria’s Prosecutor General has charged three Russian military intelligence (GRU) officers with the attempted murder in 2015 of three Bulgarians, issuing international arrest warrants and extradition requests for the Unit 29155 officers. The original investigation stalled in 2016 but Bulgarian authorities re-opened the case in 2018, following British diplomatic lobbying and increased intelligence-sharing after the Salisbury novichok attack. The charges are part of a series of unprecedented measures against Russia that are straining historically close ties. While these actions may also serve to deflect attention from allegations of political corruption as Bulgaria seeks new energy suppliers and Euro area membership, they also…(read more)

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Russia Eyes Arctic Opportunities

Dr. Tracey German, King’s College London

 

While Norway marked the centenary of its rule of the Svalbard archipelago on 09 February 2020 with concerts and cake, Russia chose to mark the occasion by asserting that Russia has ‘long- term plans to strengthen, diversify and modernise its presence’ there. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov sent a letter to his Norwegian counterpart reiterating long-running concerns that Russian interests and activities are being discriminated against in Svalbard. The 1920 Svalbard Treaty, which established Norwegian sovereignty over the archipelago, also granted rights to all thesignatory states, including the right to settle and engage in economic activity. Russia is the sole signatory to have made use of this and Russian…(read more)

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Russia Seeks to Capitalise on U.S. Disengagement in Africa

Dr. Tracey German, King’s College London

 

Russia continues to consolidate its position on the African continent as the U.S. withdraws. Reports in December 2019 that the Pentagon is examining the possibility of a drawdown of its troops in West Africa, as part of a wider re-evaluation of global deployments, will present further opportunities for Moscow, which has been actively…(read more)

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Russia, Iran Still Partners of Convenience Post-Suleimani

Dr. Victor Madeira

 

Despite talk of deepening strategic ties, Russia and Iran remain mistrustful partners of convenience often competing for influence—including in Syria, where together they prop up the al-Assad regime. In Russia’s global strategy of “divide-and-rule”, Iran and its proxies are valuable pawns against America and its regional allies. And an isolated Iran increasingly needs…(read more)

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Gas Deal ‘Concessions’ Play to European Pro-Russia Lobby

Dr. Victor Madeira

Kyiv and Moscow have conditionally agreed to a five-year natural gas transit deal. Ukraine (and the mediating European Union (EU)) had wanted 7–10 years but Russia offered 1–3. Subject to political approval of yet-unknown terms, both sides will sign a contract before the current one ends on 31 December. Commercial interests guided Moscow’s apparent concessions, certainly. But their intended audience was…(read more)

 

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‘Apple Law’ Bans Won't Help Russian Consumers, Businesses

Dr. Victor Madeira

 

Vladimir Putin has signed a bill banning the sale of electronic devices unless they have pre- installed (so far unspecified) Russian software. Expected to become law on 01 July 2020, this would benefit consumers and help local companies compete with foreign ones, say officials. But Apple—which does not pre-install third-party software—has joined Russian voices in criticising the step. It is the latest toward a Kremlin aim of ‘sovereign internet’, increasingly free of western technology…(read more)

 

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Russia 'Embarrassed' Twice in a Week by CN Media

Dr. Victor Madeira

In early November, Chinese media unusually embarrassed Russia – twice in a week. First, SINA reported that in July 2018, Syria seized an unexploded, cutting-edge Israeli-U.S. missile interceptor from the ‘David’s Sling’ system and gave it to Russia. Days later, Eastday.com quoted a leading Chinese strategist who claimed NATO could occupy Russia’s Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad (formerly Königsberg) in just two days, but Moscow would then widen the conflict by striking several European capitals. Russian media carried both reports, raising questions about their source, timing, and aims, though…(read more) 

 

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No Russian Internet ‘Kill-Switch’ Anytime Soon

Dr. Victor Madeira

 

The Russian Federation’s new ‘sovereign internet’ law came into effect on 01 November. Officials describe it simply as measures to centralise control of and isolate the Russian Internet (RuNet) in unspecified national emergencies, e.g. external cyber-attack, whilst allowing websites and services hosted in Russia to keep working. But the so-called ‘kill-switch law’ currently faces technical and financial obstacles to full implementation. This means the new legislation, at least in the near term, is more about…(read more)

 

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