Chinese whispers: Obama's muddled Beijing strategy
The US needs to maintain its defence tech superiority, control sea lanes to China, bolster its alliances with middling military powers such as Japan and India - and it needs to spend the money to do all this
- 27 September 2012Blood, gas, and the big picture
President Vladimir Putin wants the world to know that Russia is back. He wants the world to recognize that Russia is a global power that is to be treated with respect. Most of all, he wants a victory
- 27 September 2012Russia's opposition figures are exposing the country's democracy deficit
Russian oppositionists are taking to YouTube to express why they oppose Putin and his corrupt Russia
- 18 September 2012Europe’s fine future as Greater Switzerland
There is a very different world on the horizon. A European corner in it that manages to keep anything like the standards and values of today’s Switzerland will be a superb achievement
- 17 September 2012As the EU falters a new “empire” could rise in eastern Europe
New thinking about old ideas, refashioned for the modern era, could promote an interesting revival offering benefits to everybody
- 7 September 2012Being a true friend of Russia
Britain must avoid cosy relationships with Putin’s Kremlin and expend energy instead on fostering links with legitimate and democratic-minded individuals and organisations in Russia
- 23 August 2012George and the green dragon: Why Osborne is right to hold off Greenpeace
Osborne's blocking of Greenpeace-backed policies are a plus point for the Chancellor
- 4 August 2012"And so it goes" in Syria
As each day passes in Syria, we face up to the reality that Bashar al-Assad may well survive at least into 2013. And so it goes...
- 10 May 2012Katyn: Little guilt, no honour
The ECHR has criticised Russian authorities' reluctance to recognise the reality of the Katyn Massacre. What should the rest of us in modern Europe make of it?
- 17 April 2012Day-to-day politics in Russian-dominated South Ossetia now a laughing stock
Lenoid Tivilov's election represents not a victory for self-determination and democracy but rather the triumph of a Soviet-era cocktail of Russian expansionism, intimidation and ethnic cleansing
- 10 April 2012A few home truths about extradition from the United Kingdom
Are our extradition laws really favourable to the United States, or is this just a perception issue?
- 2 March 2012Assange to host talk show on Russia Today
Have you heard the one about the world’s most famous advocate of transparency working for a TV channel backed by one of the world’s least transparent countries?
- 30 January 2012The Eurasianist answer to Russia’s discontents
Western politicians will have to be creative in gauging policies of principled engagement against the coming manifestations of the Kremlin’s Eurasianism
- 19 January 2012Russian spy services in competition
As we look forward to another six or more years of Putin, Russia's spy services are in fierce competition. And it could be bad news for the UK
- 11 January 2012Corruption in Russia: A tale of two privatisations
The web of corruption that runs through Russia is thick, multi-layered and connects all pillars of society
- 20 December 2011