China Wants Everything, But Its Sea Claims Are More ‘Core’
In Asia, there is now a “whiff of 1914,” a reference by Australian University Professor Hugh White to the lead up to World War One. […] More
News & Analysis
Pakistan’s Embattled Lawyers: A Long Quest for Justice
On September 2, a suicide bomber struck a court in Pakistan’s northern city of Mardan, killing twelve. On August 8, a suicide bomber dressed in […] More
Nation’s Top Spy: U.S. Faces "Perpetual State of Suppression" of Terror
The Russians hack the United States’ systems “all the time,” Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told a conference of intelligence professionals on Wednesday. He […] More
America and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
Shortly after arriving at the G20 economic summit in Hangzhou China last week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada would join a long […] More
An Imagined Threat from China
When a multilateral bank, based in China, finances an upgrade of slums in 154 cities in Indonesia, do Americans need to be concerned about a […] More
Infrastructure as a Tool of Foreign Policy
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is China’s answer to the multi-trillion dollar infrastructure spending gap in Asia. However, many see the bank as an […] More
Obama’s Meeting with Erdogan: “Minor Uptick” in U.S.-Turkey Relations
President Barack Obama and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan met this weekend for the first time since the July 15 failed coup attempt. “This […] More
Uzbekistan After Karimov: Examining External Influences
The funeral for Islam Karimov, Uzbekistan’s president since the country’s independence in 1991, took place over the weekend. With no apparent successor, The Cipher Brief’s […] More
Will Theresa May's Britain Stay Committed to European Defense?
The meaning of security in Europe is changing. The continent faces a revanchist neighbor to the east, a cauldron of instability to the south (with […] More
Remaining Relevant
The British people shocked the international community when they voted to quit the European Union (EU) this summer. Markets tumbled and fears mounted that the […] More
Surveillance State
British Prime Minister Theresa May’s approach to intelligence is well-known and defined by her tenure as Home Secretary. While foreign intelligence technically falls into the […] More
What the Next President Faces: Tectonics
I was recently asked what I would tell a Presidential nominee or a President-elect to most worry about in today’s world. It was kind of […] More
The Chinese Communist Party Under Xi Jinping
Nationalist fervor, a more aggressive military posture, and curbs on free speech in China today are the hallmarks of one man: President Xi Jinping. He […] More
Xi's Policies: Squeezing Out Business
As 2016 draws to a close, The Cipher Brief revisits its feature on the architect of China’s most recent and expansive policies, Xi Jinping. One […] More
Venezuela's Military: Both a Stabilizing and Destabilizing Force
Tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators flooded Venezuela’s capital Caracas yesterday to protest President Nicolás Maduro after three years of recession, extreme inflation, and a […] More
Ties to the Bolivarian Revolution
Venezuelan opposition leaders and other anti-government protestors flooded to the capital Caracas yesterday to demand a recall referendum on President Nicolás Maduro sometime this year. […] More
Maduro Needs the Military
As demonstrators spread through Venezuela’s capital Caracas yesterday demanding a recall referendum of President Nicolás Maduro, the military, notably, did not suppress the demonstrations. The […] More
Is Algeria Next for the Islamic State?
Fighting jihadi groups has been compared more than once to whack-a-mole. You thump a group here and it pops up there. You thump it again […] More