Report
The fall of Afghanistan: can the US be trusted any more?
US President, Joe Biden, has blamed the Afghan Government, its security forces, his predecessor Donald Trump, and the US intelligence community for the fall of Afghanistan. In this paper, Lindsay Hughes asks if the US can be trusted in other difficult situations, such as Taiwan?
Report
The challenges to China’s national rejuvenation – part four: the US withdrawal from Afghanistan
This report argues that the West must realise that China is prosecuting an undeclared non-kinetic war and, consequently, that it has no option but to retaliate in kind now, when China is weaker than it appears to be because of the Chinese Communist Party’s strategic...
Report
The challenges to China’s national rejuvenation – part three: the lure and threat of Central Asia
As the first part of this paper showed, China’s planned 'dual-circulation economy', its strategy to reduce its overwhelming economic dependence on exports to fickle Western markets by increasing domestic consumption, is at heightened risk of failure due to its falling birth rates. That strategy is...
Report
The challenges to China’s national rejuvenation – part two: the failure of China’s foreign relations
This paper examines some of the measures that countries are taking to reduce their ties to China. It argues that China is becoming increasingly isolated from developed countries, which places its economy at further risk, and has the potential to derail Xi Jinping plans to...
Report
The challenges to China’s national rejuvenation – part one: the demographic and technological deficits
China’s aggressive and confrontational policies have seen many countries come together to counter its mercenary expansionism in terms of territory, trade and commerce, military capacity and political influence, writes Lindsay Hughes.