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China Landpower Studies Center | May 8, 2025

Ecuador’s Incoming Government Faces Difficult Choices Regarding China

With Daniel Noboa returning to the presidency and a new Chinese ambassador on the way, China-Ecuador relations are at an inflection point.From April 22-25, I had the opportunity to travel to Quito, Ecuador, to address an international forum on China
China Landpower Studies Center | May 8, 2025

China’s Coming Diplomatic Blitz in the Americas

The next few months will bring a series of high-profile multilateral engagements between China and Latin American countries, as Beijing seeks to capitalize on discontent with Trump.In the coming three months, China will have a number of opportunities
China Landpower Studies Center | April 29, 2025

Transnational Organized Crime in Mexico and the Government’s Response

The US government threats of tariffs on the Mexican government if it did not do more to control illicit fentanyl flows into the United States have cast new attention on the growing problem of transnational organized crime that has wrought violence
China Landpower Studies Center | April 24, 2025

Waging War without Disruption: China’s People’s Armed Police in a Future...

As one of the three branches of China’s armed forces, the People’s Armed Police (PAP) (人民武装警察) operates alongside the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) (人民解放军) and the militia (民兵) as a key instrument of Chinese Communist Party power. According to the
European Security | April 21, 2025

Russia's the Enemy

The United States has never been directly involved in the war in Ukraine. U.S. troops weren’t sent there to fight for Ukraine against the Russian invaders, and both sides of our political spectrum seemed intent on keeping it that way. Russia remained
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Category: Regional Issues, China Landpower Studies Center, European Security, INDOPACOM (Indo-Pacific Region), South & Latin America

New Leaders in “National” Security after China’s 20th Party Congress
November 30, 2023
National Security after China’s 20th Party Congress: Trends in Discourse and Policy (prcleader.org) | Sheena Chestnut Greitens
Bolivia’s Descent into Deep Chaos and the Implications for the Region
November 22, 2023
The resource rich, land-locked South American nation of Bolivia has traditionally received limited attention from Washington. The country, historically mired in poverty, corruption, and cycles of political conflict is one of the hemisphere’s major sources for coca and illegally mined gold, as well as a transit country for both. Bolivia’s leftist populist Movement for Socialism (MAS) governments of Evo Morales and Luis Arce have made the country an important point of entry into the hemisphere for extra-hemispheric U.S. rivals including the People’s Republic of China, Russia, and Iran. In recent weeks, a power struggle has emerged for control of the MAS between current President Luis Arce and former President Evo Morales. This has implications for the stability of the country as it plays out in the context of crosscutting political rivalries, economic difficulties, and a significant criminal economy with competing interests. This work examines the deteriorating situation in Bolivia and the potential implications for the region. Image adapted from: https://theglobalamericans.org/2023/11/bolivias-descent-into-deep-chaos-and-the-implications-for-the-region/
China Maritime Report No. 32: The PCH191 Modular Long-Range Rocket Launcher: Reshaping the PLA Army's Role in a Cross-Strait Campaign
November 15, 2023
"China Maritime Report No. 32: The PCH191 Modular Long-Range Rocket Lau" by Joshua Arostegui (usnwc.edu)
Implications of the Hamas Terror Attacks and the Israeli Response on Latin America and the Global Strategic Environment 
October 13, 2023
Evan Ellis - Implications of the Hamas Terror Attacks and the Israeli Response on Latin America and the Global Strategic Environment (for IndraStra at https://www.indrastra.com/2023/10/implications-of-hamas-terror-attacks.html)
Expert Analysis on Latest Attacks in Ukraine
October 6, 2023
Expert Analysis on Latest Attacks in Ukraine US Army War College | Strategic Studies Institute Military expert John Deni talks to CNN's Laila Harrak about Russian attacks on civilians, and the question of U.S. aid. Expert analysis on latest attacks in Ukraine | CNN (https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2023/10/07/exp-ukraine-laila-guest-fst-100702aseg1.cnn) CNN Host Laila Guest interviews John R. Deni on the current situation in Ukraine.  Photo is a screenshot of the CNN interview.
The Impact of the Turn to the Left on the Advance of the People’s Republic of China in Latin
October 5, 2023
R. Evan Ellis  This work uses the comparative method, complemented by quantitative data, to examine engagement by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in Latin America as a function of government type, across a range of activities, including trade, investment, infrastructure projects, security relations, and technical architectures over the past two decades. The findings indicate that the PRC establishes distinct and often broader forms of engagement with populist, anti-US governments, although this does not necessarily translate into a higher volume of PRC investment or overall trade with those governments. This is the first major work in the growing China–Latin America literature to explicitly analyze the dynamics of PRC engagement across regime type. It contributes to strategic analysis of the PRC challenge in the region by the operational force, including the identification of risks, and the formulation of responses, including credible messaging, in support of a coordinated whole-of-government response to the PRC challenge. Read now: The Impact of the Turn to the Left on the Advance of the People’s Republic of China in Latin Image adapted from FreePik (https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/coronavirus-map_7456298.htm)
National Security after China’s 20th Party Congress: Trends in Discourse and Policy
August 29, 2023
National Security after China’s 20th Party Congress: Trends in Discourse and Policy (prcleader.org) | Sheena Chestnut Greitens
2023 Annual Estimate of the Strategic Security Environment
August 24, 2023
2023 Annual Estimate of the Strategic Security Environment The Annual Estimate of the Strategic Security Environment serves as a guide for academics and practitioners in the defense community on the current challenges and opportunities in the strategic environment. This year’s publication outlines key strategic issues across the four broad themes of Regional Challenges and Opportunities, Domestic Challenges, Institutional Challenges, and Domains Impacting US Strategic Advantage. These themes represent a wide range of topics affecting national security and provide a global assessment of the strategic environment to help focus the defense community on research and publication. Strategic competition with the People’s Republic of China and the implications of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine remain dominant challenges to US national security interests across the globe. However, the evolving security environment also presents new and unconventional threats, such as cyberattacks, terrorism, transnational crime, and the implications of rapid technological advancements in fields such as artificial intelligence. At the same time, the US faces domestic and institutional challenges in the form of recruiting and retention shortfalls in the all-volunteer force, the prospect of contested logistics in large-scale combat operations, and the health of the US Defense Industrial Base. Furthermore, rapidly evolving security landscapes in the Arctic region and the space domain pose unique potential challenges to the Army’s strategic advantage. https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/962/
AY24 Campaign Planning Handbook
August 22, 2023
CAMPAIGN PLANNING HANDBOOK Academic Year 2024
Fernando Villavicencio and the Self-Destructive Collaboration between China and Populist Regimes
August 15, 2023
Fernando Villavicencio and the Self-Destructive Collaboration between China and Populist Regimes R. Evan Ellis