LABORATORIO DI RICERCA COMPLESSA / COMPLEX RESEARCH LABORATORY
Daily from global think tanks
(the analyzes here recalled do not necessarily correspond to the geostrategic thinking of The Global Eye)
Bangladesh
Crisis Group writes that the ruling Awami League and the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party are competing in the January 7 general elections. Amid growing discontent over the ruling party’s authoritarianism and economic mismanagement, the government’s crackdown on mostly peaceful protests and the arrest of senior opposition leaders have inflamed tensions
Beyond the Election: Overcoming Bangladesh’s Political Deadlock | Crisis Group
Biotechnology in Warfare
Luke J. Matthews, Mary Lee, Brandon De Bruhl, Daniel Elinoff, Christopher A. Eusebi (RAND Corporation) examine, in a report, current and potential future uses of biotechnology in warfare. The Authors envision a future in which biotechnology is used by both state and non-state actors to influence warfighting. Future actors could use pathogens, brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), genomic enhancements, and wearable technology to complement and strengthen warfighters
Plagues, Cyborgs, and Supersoldiers: The Human Domain of War | RAND
China
1 – Arran Hope (The Jamestown Foundation) writes about President Xi’s end-of-year speech. While the form of this year’s event was no different from previous years, the content diverged in ways that are indicative of Xi’s changing priorities and the Party’s growing concerns about the state of the nation
Xi’s New Year’s Speech Dismisses Difficulties – Jamestown
2 – Zoë Moore (The Jamestown Foundation) writes about advances in brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) in China. This technology represents an increasingly important part of China’s ambitions to become a scientific and technological superpower. BCIs are, for Beijing, a key technology, among the seven cutting-edge technologies identified by the 14th Five-Year Plan and its long-term goals up to 2035. BCIs are a subfield of neuroscience and engineering research that relies on enormous amounts of data to interpret biological states. Regarding use, outside the medical area, there are concerns about human-machine integration in military applications and data privacy
Brain-Computer Interfaces: Medical Miracles and Innovation Policy – Jamestown
China – Taiwan
Kristian McGuire (The Jamestown Foundation) write about the importance of Kinmen and Lienchiang counties, crucial for cross-Strait activities, in the framework of relations between China and Taiwan
Taiwan’s Offshore Islands: Assessments Of Support For Integration – Jamestown
Climate Action
Matt Ince (Royal United Services Institute) writes that more than a third of states recognize that climate change represents a significant and growing challenge to global stability. Keeping pace with the myriad of climate-related security risks, however, requires strong leadership driven by actionable intelligence and a greater focus on strategic early warning
Haiti
Crisis Group writes that foreign security personnel are expected to begin arriving in Haiti in early 2024 to assist the national police in the fight against the gangs that besiege much of the country. Authorized by the United Nations, led by Kenya and planned with support from the United States, this multinational mission aims to restore security and enable long-overdue elections
Haiti’s Gangs: Can a Foreign Mission Break Their Stranglehold? | Crisis Group
Near East
Noah Berman (Council on Foreign Relations) writes that, since mid-November 2023, Yemen’s Houthis have attacked dozens of commercial ships in the Red Sea. An exodus of shipping companies from the region now threatens to strain supply chains and raise consumer prices just as global inflation begins to ease. The United States has announced an international security initiative to protect commercial shipping, but some experts say the effort is not enough to provide the necessary deterrence, while others fear that a strong response could push the region into a broader conflict
How Houthi Attacks in the Red Sea Threaten Global Shipping | Council on Foreign Relations (cfr.org)
Pakistan
Shuja Nawaz (East Asia Forum) writes that, in 2023, Pakistan found itself in the midst of a dramatic economic crisis. Inflation reached 40%, energy shortages were frequent, while exports, remittances and foreign direct investment declined. The country faces a constitutional crisis, with Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces failing to hold elections within the stipulated 90 days of the dissolution of their assemblies. Former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s national coalition, which took power after ousting former Prime Minister Imran Khan in a no-confidence vote, has decided to hold new elections in February 2024
Military influence and political peril in Pakistan | East Asia Forum
Taiwan
Billy Stampfl (East Asia Forum) writes that both the United States and China will strategically observe the outcome of Taiwan’s 2024 presidential election
China and the United States eye Taiwan’s presidential tussle | East Asia Forum
USA
William H. Frey (Brookings) writes that the latest Census Bureau statistics show that continued increases in immigration are the main driver of the United States’ modest population growth rate as the nation attempts to recover from historic pandemic lows
Nuovo Umanesimo / New Humanism (Marco Emanuele)
- Nuovo umanesimo e pace. La storiografia del profondo / New humanism and peace. The historiography of the depths
- Nuovo umanesimo e pace. Dentro la ‘tri-unità’ / New humanism and peace. Inside the ‘tri-unity’
- Nuovo umanesimo e pace. Un lavoro ‘tri-unitario’ / New humanism and peace. A ‘tri-unitary’ work
- Nuovo umanesimo e pace. Occorre spezzare il circolo vizioso del ri-vendicare / New humanism and peace. We need to break the vicious cycle of re-avenging
- Medio Oriente: la guerra liquida del terrorismo / Middle East: the liquid war of terrorism (Carlo Rebecchi)
- Africa, in grande spolvero il mercato dei droni / Africa, the drone market is booming (Carlo Rebecchi)
The Science of Where Magazine (Direttore: Emilio Albertario)
