Regardless of the outcome of the May 2023 elections, the threat of political violence, largely rooted in longstanding tensions between opposing political sides, will persist for the foreseeable future, writes Saif Islam.
The recent kidnapping of four researchers conducting archaeological fieldwork in Papua New Guinea highlights the ongoing security challenges in the country, writes Saif Islam.
Saif Islam explores emerging kidnapping trends in South Africa, Lebanon, and the Philippines, and provides an outlook on how the threat is likely to manifest over the coming year.
The recent kidnappings of several businesspeople in South Africa’s major cities such as Cape Town, are indicative of a growing problem that is set to worsen in the near future, writes Saif Islam.
Amid Russia’s ongoing military offensive in Ukraine, security incidents in Transnistria – the Russia-backed breakaway region located between Moldova and Ukraine – have made headlines. Such developments are unlikely to impact the Ukrainian conflict, but remain a source of concern for Moldova, writes Richard Gardiner.
Russia’s close ally Kazakhstan’s neutral stance on the invasion of Ukraine is strictly driven by its national interests, but any deterioration in relations with Russia could have implications for Kazakhstan’s political stability in the longer term, writes Saif Islam.
Major security crises in Afghanistan and Ukraine over the last year not only highlight the challenges of political evacuation, but also reaffirm how important it is for companies to have robust evacuation plans in place, write Erin Drake and Saif Islam.
The arrests of Canadian businessman Michael Spavor and former diplomat Michael Kovrig in China in December 2018, just days after Huawei’s chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou’s arrest in Vancouver, were undoubtedly linked. Despite China’s espionage allegations against the pair and their subsequent convictions, they were released shortly after Meng was…
2021 saw a number of key developments on the war front, from Afghanistan’s fall to the Taliban to the dramatic turnaround in Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict. With little in terms of resolution to armed conflicts across the globe, 2022 is likely to see war remain a major threat in parts of Asia, Africa, Middle East, the Caucasus, and eastern Europe, with…
The killing of environmental defenders in developing countries is not only a growing human rights crisis but also bad for business, writes Saif Islam.
The Taliban’s return to power may have ended the 20-year war, but its impact will reverberate in and outside of Afghanistan for years to come, writes Saif Islam.
An increase in terrorism-related incidents in 2020 may indicate, at face value, an increase in militant activity in Russia, but the reality is more complex, writes Saif Islam.