Recent Publications

Opidata #8: The BRICS Summit, China, and the Emerging Illiberal Counter-Order
November 14, 2024 — The 2024 BRICS summit in Kazan solidified an anti-liberal «counter-order,» challenging the rules-based international system. With its expansion to 23 members, the bloc, financially led by China, seeks to evade global restrictions and advance its agendas, though it faces coordination challenges and diverse objectives among its members. ... MORE

Opidata #8: The BRICS Summit, China, and the Emerging Illiberal Counter-Order | Dr. R. Evan Ellis

Strategic Implication of the Chinese-Operated Port of Chancay
November 7, 2024 — This article examines the Port of Chancay from a strategic perspective, with a focus on how COSCO (China Ocean Shipping Company) achieved unprecedented control over the operation of the new Peruvian megaport, the impact that the port is likely to have on the global logistics system, and its strategic implications in time of war with the United States. It argues that the project is illustrative of how the PRC... MORE

Strategic Implication of the Chinese-Operated Port of Chancay | R. Evan Ellis for La Red China y América Latina

Re-Asserting the Value of the Individual for Latin America’s Security and Prosperity
October 15, 2024 — Empowerment of the individual, not the state, is the key to innovation, prosperity, physical and political security for Latin America, as the region engages with an unprecedented array of challenges and new partners. ... MORE

Re-Asserting the Value of the Individual for Latin America’s Security and Prosperity | Dr. R. Evan Ellis

Understanding the PRC’s Selective Use of Military Hotlines
October 4, 2024 — Executive Summary: The PRC’s strategic use of and reluctance to establish military hotlines reflect a calculated approach to escalation risk, which can be seen in crises ranging from the accidental bombing of its embassy in Belgrade in 1999 to the present day. There is a recognition that hotlines offer tactical benefits, but they are not viewed as a solution... MORE

The PRC’s strategic use of and reluctance to establish military hotlines reflect a calculated approach to escalation risk, which can be seen in crises ranging from the accidental bombing of its embassy in Belgrade in 1999 to the present day. There is a recognition that hotlines offer tactical benefits, but they are not viewed as a solution to

Bolivia and US Dilemmas in Engaging with Problematic Regimes in Latin America
September 12, 2024 — I recently had the opportunity to engage with a senior Bolivian colleague connected with the government of Luis Arce regarding the country’s economic and political difficulties and its relationship with the United States. Their fundamental question was, “Why can’t Bolivia’s relationship with the United States be better?” The instinctive response... MORE

The Impact of the Political Orientation of Latin America, on the Advance of the People’s Republic of China in the Region
August 27, 2024 — Latin America is currently undergoing unprecedented political shifts. This phenomenon is characterized by the recent electoral victories of left-ofcenter candidates in Mexico in 2018; Argentina in 2019; Peru, Honduras, and Chile in 2021; and in Brazil and Colombia... MORE

The Impact of the Political Orientation of Latin America, on the Advance of the People’s Republic of China in the Region
R. Evan Ellis

Russia's Deepening Ties to North Korea: China's Gateway to the Arctic?
August 15, 2024 — Recently, the Moscow Times reported that Russia would coordinate a deal with China and North Korea to allow Chinese ships to navigate through a seventeen-kilometer stretch of the Tumen River to the Rason Special Economic Zone (SEZ) on the Pacific coast. The Tumen forms the border between China and North Korea, but its final section marks the border... MORE

Secrecy and Solidarity: PRC Internal Security Partnerships with Socialist States
August 2, 2024 — Publication: China Brief Volume: 24 Issue: 15, The Jamestown Foundation: Global Research & AnalysisThe People’s Republic of China (PRC) engages in extensive security cooperation with other single-party socialist states. This includes deploying the People’s Armed Police (PAP) to train paramilitary and police forces in these countries, offering... MORE

Secrecy and Solidarity: PRC Internal Security Partnerships with Socialist States | Jake Rinaldi

What’s Behind South Korea’s New Defectors’ Day Holiday?
July 10, 2024 — The inaugural July commemoration is an inflection point and an opportunity for the Yoon government to advance both domestic and foreign policy priorities.On July 14, South Korea will commemorate its inaugural North Korean Defectors’ Day. The new holiday, established by the administration of President Yoon Suk-yeol earlier this year, marks the... MORE

The inaugural July commemoration is an inflection point and an opportunity for the Yoon government to advance both domestic and foreign policy priorities.

Landpower, Homeland Defense, and Defending Forward in US Indo-Pacific Command
July 1, 2024 — Homeland defense does not begin at the water’s edge, at least not on the east and west coasts of the United States. In the twenty-first–century geopolitical environment, the definition of homeland defense must now extend well beyond North American shores. The network of US military forces stationed throughout the Indo-Pacific provides a strong... MORE

Slde for Landpower, Homeland Defense, and Defending Forward in US Indo-Pacific Command

PODCAST: Chinese Strategy and Statecraft: Coercion and Competition in the Indo-Pacific
June 24, 2024 — What are the objectives of China’s foreign and security policies under Xi Jinping? What is the role of Australia and other middle powers in responding to Chinese actions in the Indo-Pacific? Are the United States’ China policies set to change with future shifts in the international order? In this episode, Sheena Chestnut Greitens and Dan... MORE

Chinese Strategy and Statecraft: Coercion and Competition in the Indo-Pacific•
Sheena Chestnut Greitens and Dan Blumenthal
The National Security Podcast

PODCAST: Paramilitaries Abroad: China’s Use of Nontraditional Security Forces
June 24, 2024 — Episode 107 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast examines how China uses its paramilitary and internal security forces to project power abroad and build global influence.Our guests begin by dissecting the Chinese security apparatus: contrasting the People’s Liberation Army with the CCP’s internal police forces and paramilitaries. They then explore how... MORE

Paramilitaries Abroad: China’s Use of Nontraditional Security Forces
Sheena Chestnut Greitens and LTG Charles W. Hooper
The Irregular Warfare Podcast