9DASHLINE recently had the pleasure of speaking with Agathe Demarais to discuss her timely and important book Backfire: How Sanctions Reshape the World Against U.S. Interests.

In Conversation9DLApril 20, 20239dashline, In Conversation with Agathe Demarais, Agathe Demarais, sanctions, US, United States, policymakers, geopolitics, global economy, US interests, US influence, Office of Foreign Assets Control, US foreign policy, diplomacy, UN, EU, private firms, Russia-Ukraine war, Moscow, diplomatic toolkit, military interventions, diplomatic declarations, Russia, Iran, North Korea, negotiating table, nuclear deal, Iranian economy, Rouhani, international negotiations, economic collapse, existential war, non-US businesses, fines, US Treasury Department, sanctions evasion, Iran nuclear deal, secondary sanctions, transatlantic alliance, US hegemony, multipolar world, Western democratic values, human rights principles, China, Chinese economy, financial tools, Swift, CIPS, non-Western financial channels, cryptocurrencies, digital renminbi, e-yuan, Chinese central bank, financial transactions, Rusal, COSCO, supply chain disruptions, price hikes, job losses, Russian propaganda campaigns, economic ripple effects, energy prices, blockades, food insecurity, G7/EU, oil price cap, Russian oil exports, crude oil, decoupling, microchip sector, US-China relations, Taiwan

2023: Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia — foreign policies between hegemons

With Australian elections ushering in a change of government and Aotearoa New Zealand’s planned parliamentary elections this year, 9DASHLINE sought the views of several experts on the state of both nations’ foreign and defence policies.

Pacific9DLJanuary 30, 20232023: Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia — foreign policies between hegemons, 9dashline, Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, New Zealand, China, United States, Australian elections, parliamentary elections, foreign and defence policies, geopolitics, NICHOLAS ROSS SMITH, Jacinda Ardern, trading partner, security relationship, middle-ground position, Wang Yi, NZ Labour Party, Wellington, National party, Christopher Luxon, putative Indo-Pacific ‘hedging’ strategy, MELISSA CONLEY TYLER, import restrictions, Prime Minister Albanese, President Xi, G20 Summit, China’s economic coercion, climate change policies, clean energy, Pacific Island countries, 2026 UN Conference of the Parties, JASON YOUNG, supply chain resilience, social cohesion, economic resilience, Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity, Japan, United Kingdom, Partners in the Blue Pacific, President Biden, APEC Summit, China’s Covid restrictions, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China’s activities in the South China Sea, liberal-democratic Western bloc, Moscow, Beijing, geopolitical shatterbelt, Taiwan, Canberra, Tokyo, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Nanaia Mahuta, Free Trade Agreements (FTA), European Union, trade diversification, anti-nuclear advocacy

2023: The future of CEE-China relations

9DASHLINE asked a select group of experts to assess Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries’ relations with China and how they expect them to evolve in 2023.

Europe and the Indo-Pacific9DLJanuary 16, 20239dashline, 2023: The future of CEE-China relations, JUSTYNA SZCZUDLIK, VUK VUKSANOVIC, VALENTINA VENGUST, STEFAN VLADISAVLJEV, Central and Eastern European, CEE, China, 17+1, 14+1, Beijing, 2022, 2023, Russia, Ukraine, Russia-Ukraine war, PRC-CEE, PRC-CEE relations, economic cooperation, security concerns, critical infrastructure, high-tech industry, backsliding, democratic backsliding, coercion, Lithuania, EU common market, 'no-limits' friendship, Moscow, 16+1 summit, Huo Yuzhen, Estonia, Latvia, Jiang Yu, US, united states, Taiwan, security guarantor, NATO, China-CEE format, Czech Republic, Greece, Chinese investments, security concern, security guarantees, Washington, Belarus, Belt and Road Initiative, BRI, Serbia, Hungary, Middle Corridor, Albania, North Macedonia, cooling-off period, joint statement, territorial integrity, sovereignty, diplomatic missions, Baltic countries, EU-China relations, China-CEE cooperation, cooperation mechanism, Sino-Serbian cooperation, territorial disputes, free trade agreement

Putin’s war and a world in crisis: Beyond democracies and autocracies

Written by Eva Seiwert

The EU and allies should scrap the framing of ‘democracies vs autocracies’ not just with regard to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, but also when speaking about China’s increase in power.

Faultlines9DLJanuary 12, 20239dashline, Putin’s war and a world in crisis: Beyond democracies and autocracies, Eva Seiwert, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukraine, Russia, Europe, World War II, European Union, EU, Moscow, Russia's aggression, Western governments, democracy, Autocracy, the West against the Rest, democracies vs autocracies, United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), UNGA resolution, sanctions, SWIFT, Belarus, North KoreaNorth Korea, Syria, Nicaragua, Eritrea, Iran, drones, China, trade, rules-based international order, Global South, Global North, India, abstention, Brazil, Indonesia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Russia’s war, the West, Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), neutrality, anti-Americanism, Cold War, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Iraq, vaccine nationalism, climate change, Western hypocrisy and selfishness, Ukrainian refugees, Beijing, Western double standards, anti-West narratives, Arab World, Latin America, Africa, Russian and Chinese media outlets, UN Charter, international law, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Argentina, Senegal, G7 summit in Schloss Elmau, G7, G20, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Attentive friends, busy enemies, and a bright future — 2023 for North Korea

Written by Benedikt Staar

North Korean politics are strongly influenced by the regime’s friends, its enemies, and its own ambitions. As it turns out, things look promising for Pyongyang on all three fronts.

Best of 2022: Russia’s War and the International Order

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February last year took the international community by surprise and raised concerns about the precedent this might set especially for China’s policy vis-à-vis Taiwan. The differing responses from countries, particularly established and rising powers, were also scrutinised, and implications were drawn for global governance and the international order.

Faultlines9DLJanuary 4, 2023Russia, Ukraine, The day the music stopped, Jana C. von Dessien, University of St Gallen, Taiwan, Putin, Liberalism from below: The Global South, Indrajit Roy, UN, United Nations General Assembly, UNGA, Liberal International Order, The rationale behind Beijing’s position on the war in Ukraine, Wang Li, University of Aberdeen, China, Beijing, China's Endorsement of Russia's Assault: Implications for Europe and Asia, Justyna Sczudlik, propaganda, Moscow, Lithuania, Europe, Alignment without alliance: China’s growing ambivalence to Putin’s war, Lunting Wu, Kamil Matusiewicz, Nonalignment’s long shadow: India and the Ukraine crisis, ROHAN MUKHERJEE, India, indo-pacific, multipolar order, New Delhi, Japan-Russia: The end of delusions, CÉLINE PAJON, Shinzo Abe, Nicholas Ross Smith, Ukraine — A wakeup call for the United States, Ian Hall, Why India won’t break from Russia… yet

Best of 2022: The Indo-Pacific

Take this opportunity to review some of our most-read analyses from the past year on the evolving strategies of several countries toward the Indo-Pacific.

Faultlines9DLJanuary 2, 2023Preparing for a crowded Indo-Pacific: where to next?, Gabriele Abbondanza, Korea, indonesia, Australia, South Korea, Europe, indo-pacific, Is South Korea’s new Indo-Pacific strategy finally forthcoming?, Wongi Choe, Moon Jae-in, south korea, japan, australia, Elli Pohlkamp, Elli-Katharina Pohlkamp, Tokyo, Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Free and Open Indo-Pacific, United States, China, Christiane Heidbrink, Putin, Germany, Scholz, Bundeswehr, Asia-Pacific, France, Rafael Loss, Elisabeth I-Mi Suh, Hamburg Institute for Peace Research, Berlin, The Bundeswehr in the Indo-Pacific, German Council on Foreign Relations, DGAP, The fate of the Indo-Pacific: Lessons from Ukraine and US diplomacy towards Taiwan, Reuben Steff, Martin Jirušek, US, Taiwan, The US should prioritise the Indo-Pacific over Ukraine, Aine Cooke

The fate of the Indo-Pacific: Lessons from Ukraine and US diplomacy towards Taiwan

Written by Reuben Steff and Martin Jirušek

Should war or a system of neo-Cold War style blocs emerge, it will be US allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific that form the new frontlines and that have the most to lose.

Pacific9DLNovember 23, 20229DashLine, Reuben Steff, The fate of the Indo-Pacific: Lessons from Ukraine and US diplomacy towards Taiwan, Martin Jirušek, Taiwan, US National Security Strategy, geopolitics, Europe, Indo-Pacific, super-order, security order, rules-based institutionalism, Moscow, China, USA, diplomacy, military, rebalancing, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China’s rise, Cold War, ‘hub-and-spoke’ system, alliance, Washington, networked’ security architecture, minilateral, multilateral, defence, allies, National Defense Strategy, Beijing, zero-sum, tit-for-tat, AUKUS trilateral security pact, Indo-Pacific Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD), Australia, UK, United Kingdom, Japan, India, containment, trade war, microchips, blocs, Southeast Asia, South Pacific, Middle East, shatterbelts, nuclear proliferation, southeast asia, confidence building, Kyiv, Emmanuel Macron, peace, France, Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Taipei, Pentagon, White House, de-escalation, Joe Biden, President Biden, ‘One China’ policy, NATO, Admiral Philip Davidson, US Congress, Admiral Mike Gilday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, invasion, Michael Beckley and, Hal Brands, peaking power trap, UN

A domestic audience for a global spotlight: Indonesia’s G20 presidency and the Bali Summit

Written by Radityo Dharmaputra and Demas Nauvarian

The Global South can play an essential role as the host of a peace forum after the G20 Summit, and Indonesia — following its historical role in the Bandung Conference and the Non-Aligned Movement — can be the initiator of such a forum.

Editor's Picks9DLNovember 15, 20229DashLine, A domestic audience for a global spotlight: Indonesia’s G20 presidency and the Bali Summit, Radityo Dharmaputra, Demas Nauvarian, Indonesia, G20, Bali Summit, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), ASEAN, MIKTA, BRICS, Mexico, South Korea, Turkey, Australia, post-pandemic recovery, global health, energy transition, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russia, Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Global South, Bandung Conference, Non-Aligned Movement, Lowy Institute, Megawati Sukarnoputri, PDI-P, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Demokrat, Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo, Kyiv, Moscow, Evan Laksmana, former President Yudhoyono, UN, G7 Summit, East Asia, economic growth, food crisis, energy crisis, economic recession, geopolitics, UN General Assembly, grain initiative, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, middle-power, Multilateralism, peace

The Korean Peninsula: Lessons from Russia's aggression against Ukraine

Written by Oskar Pietrewicz

The different reactions of South Korea and North Korea to the Russian invasion, the deepening Chinese-Russian cooperation, and US efforts to strengthen alliances, may perpetuate tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Why India won’t break from Russia.. yet

Written by Ian Hall

New Delhi clearly believes — rightly — that India’s relationship with the United States, underpinned by a shared interest in better managing China’s assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific, is sufficiently robust to weather disagreement over this war.

Pacific9DLNovember 7, 20229DashLine, Ian Hall, Why India won’t break from Russia… yet, India, Russia, Ukraine, Russia-China bloc, Russia's aggression, Russian gas, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukraine war, Narendra Modi, Prime Minister Modi, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), SCO Summit, Vladimir Putin, India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Russia’s invasion, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, inflation, Food Prices, UN Security Council, Security Council Resolution, annexation, UN General Assembly (UNGA), COVID-19, post-pandemic recovery, Indian economy, Sino-Indian border, Himalayas, New Delhi, Moscow, Kremlin, Beijing, United States, Indo-Pacific, China’s coercion, humanitarian crisis, Indian students, media, diplomacy, Soviet, military hardware, S-400 air defence systems, Pakistan, Alliance, allies, multipolar order, bloc, nuclear, geopolitics, China challenge, nuclear submarine, South Asia, Indian Ocean, client state

Alignment without alliance: China’s growing ambivalence to Putin’s war

Written by Lunting Wu and Kamil Matusiewicz

Functional, strategic and normative factors have shaped Beijing’s growing ambivalence towards the war, and despite the absence of outright condemnation, a subtle shift and distancing can be discerned.

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Russia’s self-inflicted annus horribilis

Written by Joe Varner

The strategic importance of the Russian Pacific Fleet has never been greater to Moscow than it is now as the key means to engage and support Chinese foreign policy objectives in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.

Most Popular, Pacific9DLNovember 2, 2022Russia, Russian Armed Forces, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian Federation, Kyiv, Ukraine, Ukraine war, military, Black Sea Fleet, Moskva, cruiser Moskva, Russian Navy, Snake Island, nuclear weapons, sanctions, Admiral Gorshkov, Soviet, aircraft carrier, cruisers, destroyers, China, Russia’s Pacific Command, Pacific Fleet, Eastern Military District Headquarters, Khabarovsk, Russia’s Pacific fleet, nuclear deterrence, naval diplomacy, Indo-Pacific region, Mediterranean, International Institute of Strategic Studie, Borey-class, Delta III nuclear-powered strategic ballistic missile submarines (SSBN), Oscar II and Yasen-class nuclear-powered guided-missile submarines (SSGN), Akula and Akula II attack submarines (SSN), conventional-powered Kilo and improved Kilo patrol submarines (SSK), Slava-class guided missile cruiser, Udaloy I and Sovremenny-class guided missile destroyers, Steregushchiy-class frigates, corvettes, mine warfare ships, amphibious vessels, anti-ship missile brigades, fighter squadron, attack helicopter squadrons, squadron of Tu-142 Bear strategic bombers, electronic warfare, Russia’s nuclear deterrent, Soviet-era, Borey-class submarines, Delta III submarine, Steregushchiy-class corvettes, Eastern Military District’s Naval Infantry, Second World War, geography, geostrategic, Finland and Sweden’s accession to NATO, Finland, Sweden, NATO, Russia’s Baltic Fleet, Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, Turkey, Moscow, Norway, Russia’s Northern Fleet, Kola peninsula, Russia’s Pacific Fleet, Sea of Okhotsk, ballistic missile submarines, forgotten Pacific power, Chinese Civil War, Korean War, North Korea, Indo-Pacific, the West, Beijing, Baltic region, Central Europe, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Xi Jinping, US, allies, Japan, Taiwan, Sea of Japan, East China Sea, Pacific Ocean, Tsushima Strait, South Korea, La Pérouse Strait, Russian Ministry of Defence, Russian war games, Vostok 2022, Russia’s Far East, India, Laos, Mongolia, Nicaragua, Syria, United States Coast Guard, Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands, United States Exclusive Economic Zone, Cape Soya, Hokkaido, Hokkaidō, green-water navy, Russia’s self-inflicted annus horribilis, Joe Varner, Black Sea, Pacific, International Institute of Strategic Studies, SSBN, Ukraine War, Xi Jingping

In Brief: David McAllister MEP

Europe and the Indo-Pacific face increasingly similar challenges in a number of security related areas, such as cyber security, terrorism, organised crime, nuclear security, and non-proliferation. It makes sense to work together more.

In Brief9DLOctober 17, 2022In Brief, 9DashLine, In Brief: David McAllister MEP, Tereza Novotna, European Parliament, European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, Committee on Foreign Affairs, David McAllister, David McAllister MEP, EPP, European People's Party, Germany, Korea, Indo-Pacific, European Union, Russia, Ukraine, Russian aggression, energy crisis, climate change, COVID-19, geostrategic, France, member states, EU Member States, oversea territories, Taiwan Strait, geopolitical, geopolitical competition, Japan, Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Russian war, sanctions, Moscow, cyber security, terrorism, organised crime, nuclear security, Non-proliferation, Indo-Pacific strategy, like-minded partners, ASEAN, European Council, Council of the European Union, Coordinated Maritime Presences, North-Western Indian Ocean, Maritime Area of Interest, Indian Ocean, naval exercises, Djibouti, India, Global Gateway, Europe’s Global Gateway, Global Gateway initiative, Brussels, Taipei, EU-Taiwan dialogue, European Army, Strategic Compass, Rapid Deployment Force, IN BRIEF: DAVID MCALLISTER MEP

Samarkand 2022 — the ‘China Dream’ of SCO Summits

Written by Giulia Sciorati

As the SCO opens to other Asian sub-regions and even the African continent, Central Asia risks losing its centrality and becoming a minor geographical area compared to the Gulf or Southeast Asia, where the national interests of SCO member states (and China, above all) are prominent.

Editor's Picks9DLOctober 12, 20229DashLine, Samarkand 2022 — the ‘China Dream’ of SCO Summits, Giulia Sciorati, Samarkand, SCO, SCO Summit, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, China, Russia, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian war, sphere of influence, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), Uzbekistan, Eurasian, Samarkand Declaration, non-interference, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Xi Jinping, harmonious coexistence of man and nature, bilateral, trilateral, multilateral, multilateralism, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Wang Yi, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Narendra Modi, India, SCO member states, observer states, Central Asia, India-China border dispute, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Vladimir Putin, COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19, China-Kazakhstan joint statement, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Sadyr Japarov, Iran, Belarus, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Maldives, Kuwait, UAE, myanmar, the Gulf, North Africa, South and Southeast Asia, economy, China Dream, Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), CSTO, Peacekeeping, peacekeepers, Beijing, Moscow, post-Soviet space

Japan-Russia relations: Stronger stance needed on energy imports

Written by James DJ Brown

The Kishida administration’s record since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is impressive, especially compared to Abe’s pandering to Putin. Yet Japan needs to go one step further by rapidly cutting imports of Russian gas.

Faultlines9DLOctober 7, 20229DashLine, Stronger stance needed on energy imports: Japan-Russia relations, James DJ Brown, Japan, Russia, Russian aggression, Russia-Ukraine war, G7, energy, Putin, Kishida, Crimea annexation, Shinzo Abe, solidarity, Russian economy, territorial dispute, eight-point economic cooperation plan, General Oleg Salyukov, Salyukov, Fumio Kishida, Ukraine, international law, China, Kishida government, shinryaku, sanctions, sanctions package, Russian energy, coal and gas imports, expelling diplomats, fiscal support, non-lethal equipment, overseas transfer of defence equipment, Ukrainian refugees, Tokyo, Moscow, Nikolai Patrushev, Russophobes, Kuril Islands, Southern Kurils, military activities, live-fire drills, Vostok-2022 exercises, Defence Minister Hamada Yasukazu, Yasukazu Hamada, strategic bombers, warships, Sergey Lavrov, Federal Security Service, FSB, Zelensky, Minister for Economic Cooperation with Russia, LNG, liquified natural gas, hydrocarbons, energy security, Hagiuda Koichi, gas imports, Russian gas

In Conversation: Katie Stallard on ‘Dancing on Bones’

9DASHLINE recently sat down with Katie Stallard to discuss her new book ‘Dancing on Bones: History and Power in China, Russia, and North Korea’. Drawing on first-hand, on-the-ground reporting, this fascinating book examines how the leaders of China, Russia, and North Korea manipulate the past to serve the present and secure the future of authoritarian rule.

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The China-Russia ‘no-limits’ friendship in full swing

Written by Justyna Szczudlik

Possible concessions from China would neither be cost- and condition-free, nor change the nature of Beijing-Moscow ties. The best way for the West to deal with the China-Russia alignment is to acknowledge that these bonds are strong and to improve its own resilience and deterrence capacities.