Russia has increased its use of grey-zone tactics against European countries in recent months, from sabotage and jamming GPS signals of planes and ships, to running largescale propaganda and disinformation campaigns. Tamsin Hunt investigates Russia’s motives behind its asymmetric tactics, and the challenges facing European governments in combatting…
Despite high hopes for Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s Total Peace plan, it has so far failed to reduce fighting between armed groups or limit their territorial expansion. With around a year left in office, Petro seems unlikely to secure a lasting military or financial victory over the country’s insurgent groups, writes Shannon Lorimer.
Slowly but surely, Ukraine is weakening Russia’s hold on Crimea, bolstered by the recent deployment of advanced long-range Western weapons systems. Richard Gardiner argues that while this will not secure a decisive victory for Ukraine in the war, it will still have significant implications for Russia, which has always viewed Crimea as a critical linchpin…
More than seven months into Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip, Tamsin Hunt examines Israel’s progress in achieving its stated objectives of dismantling Hamas’s leadership and combat capabilities.
In recent years, South African politics have been characterised by corruption scandals, poor service delivery, and a population disillusioned by the socioeconomic benefits democracy has offered thus far. With the country facing a pressing need to pivot from its trajectory, Zaynab Hoosen explores key actions necessary for the new administration to strengthen…
On 18 April, a police crackdown on student protests at Columbia University in New York kickstarted a wave of demonstrations on campuses across the world calling on universities to sever their ties with Israel amid the Israel-Palestine conflict. The demonstrations have drawn comparisons to protest campaigns in the previous century, which may offer some…
Organised criminal groups seeking political influence have long driven an increase in political violence during Mexico’s elections. With violent incidents already surpassing those recorded in the 2018 general election and with a month still remaining before the polls, 2024 is likely to be the most violent election year yet, writes Shannon Lorimer.
Iran’s attack on Israel in mid-April has strengthened the political position of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu domestically. Tamsin Hunt considers how this development has provided a temporary distraction from deep-seated public grievances that have long driven large-scale anti-government protests in the country.
Islamic State Khorasan Province’s recent attack on Crocus City Hall in Moscow Oblast has catapulted the group into international headlines. Today, it seems the group’s increasingly expansive attacks are not only a concern for Central and South Asian countries but have also put Western countries on alert, writes Saif Islam.
As President Daniel Noboa follows a path of militarising Ecuador’s response to violent organised crime, Tamsin Hunt explores the challenges in this approach, and in finding longer term solutions to gang-driven insecurity.
Ahead of elections in July 2024, Venezuela has recorded the continued use of politically motivated arrests and detentions targeting those challenging Nicolás Maduro’s leadership. Shannon Lorimer explores wrongful detention trends over the course of Maduro’s presidency and considers its ongoing use as a tool to silence government critics after the vote.…
The recent arrest of French journalist Antoine Galindo has once again put an international spotlight on the state of press freedom in Ethiopia. With armed conflicts and political tensions persisting in the country, the threat of wrongful detention against journalists is on the rise, writes Zaynab Hoosen.