Image Source: AP News By guest contributor Sarkis Karabashian, a student in the Security Studies Program (SSP). As the war between Russia and Ukraine rages on, another longstanding conflict simultaneously flared up unnoticed. After a 10-month siege that held the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh starved and without gas, electricity, or Internet, Azerbaijan launched a military offensive on … Continue reading Why the Armenians of Artsakh Surrendered: Takeaways from Interviews with Refugees
Category: Europe & Central Asia
Giving Dracula Some Teeth: Modernizing Romania’s Military
Image Source: Military Images Romania has been affected by the dramatically deteriorated security situation in Europe, precipitated primarily by the specter of Russian imperialism. The first Russian occupation of Crimea in 2014 and the full-scale invasion of the entirety of Ukraine in 2022 brought national defense to the top of the political agenda. Due to … Continue reading Giving Dracula Some Teeth: Modernizing Romania’s Military
Breaking the Ice: The Prospect of a Joint Nordic Military
Submitted as a guest post by Gauti Jónsson, a student in the Security Studies Program (SSP). Image Source: Finish Defense Force In March 2023, leaders of the Nordic air forces of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland signed a joint declaration to integrate their collective air forces in the coming years. This so-called ‘Air Commanders’ Intent’ … Continue reading Breaking the Ice: The Prospect of a Joint Nordic Military
Tip of the Spear: Analyzing Ukrainian Intelligence Operations Behind Russian Lines
Image Source: Ukrainform. Image of a knife and the sidearm purportedly used by the SBU to assassinate Ukrainian collaborator Ilya Kyva in Moscow. Over the past two years, the gaze of the world has largely fixated on the stalemated nature of fighting on the ground in eastern and southern Ukraine. As successes and failures are … Continue reading Tip of the Spear: Analyzing Ukrainian Intelligence Operations Behind Russian Lines
Russian Propaganda: Adapting to Russian Channels’ Ban in Lithuania
Image Source: Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats The use of information as a tool to influence foreign audiences is a tale as old as time. The creation and spread of technology may have amplified the process, but the purpose of disseminating information remains the same – shape public opinion, sow discord, undermine trust, and … Continue reading Russian Propaganda: Adapting to Russian Channels’ Ban in Lithuania
Geopolitics in the Babyhouse: How the Kremlin uses Adopted Orphans to advance its Foreign Policy Agendas
Image Source: RFE/RL “I didn’t want to go, but no one asked me,” remarked a Ukrainian orphan deported to Russia after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. These tragic words represent thousands of Ukrainian children severed from their homeland. In 2022, Russian government forces began deporting more Ukrainian orphans to Russia and expedited the process for … Continue reading Geopolitics in the Babyhouse: How the Kremlin uses Adopted Orphans to advance its Foreign Policy Agendas
Mobilized, Forgotten, Ignored: Russia’s Control Mechanisms of its Minority Populations Amid the Russo-Ukrainian War
A still image from an April 2023 Russian military ad portrays Russian soldiers with the words translating to, “You are a man. Be him.” Image Source: Russian Ministry of Defense. Listen to the full article and get additional insights from the author: The recruitment ad for the Russian military, released in the spring of 2023, … Continue reading Mobilized, Forgotten, Ignored: Russia’s Control Mechanisms of its Minority Populations Amid the Russo-Ukrainian War
Can Office Work Destroy the Taliban?
Image Source: World Press Photo In August 2021, the United States and its allies evacuated Kabul after twenty years of what the Department of Defense (DoD) described as waging “a necessary war of self-defense” following the September 11 attacks. In the words of former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz in 2002, the United … Continue reading Can Office Work Destroy the Taliban?
Why Russia’s Hypersonics Matter
Image Source: Defense News On Thursday, March 9, Russian MiG-31 fighters employed 6 hypersonic Kh47M2 “Kinzhal” missiles in strikes on population centers and infrastructure across Ukraine. This brought the total instances of hypersonic missile use in Ukraine to five (3/19-20/2022; 8/7/2022; 9/14/2022). The March 9 attack represented the highest-volume use of Kinzhals so far, with … Continue reading Why Russia’s Hypersonics Matter
Icarus in the Kremlin: The Fading Political Power of Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Wagner Group
Yevgeny Prigozhin posing with Wagner fighters in a salt mine in Soledar, Ukraine in January 2023. Image Source: Kyiv Independent A group of Wagner fighters huddled around their patron, bundled in combat fatigues and balaclavas amidst a backdrop of chalk-colored rock. Russian state media reposted the image with glee, accompanied by an audio message from … Continue reading Icarus in the Kremlin: The Fading Political Power of Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Wagner Group