Intelligence Review 

*Uprising tide - Arab Spring Islamists concern the US
The Middle East in 2012 looks very different from a year ago. With new regimes in place in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt, and ongoing conflict...
31-Jan-2012
*Trafficker signs - Illegal trade across the China-North Korea border
Isolated from the vast majority of global trading markets, the North Korean economy is heavily dependent on trade with its neighbour and ally China. Nowhere...
27-Jan-2012
*Power brokers - Qatar and the UAE take centre stage
When Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced in March 2011 that they were sending military forces to join the UN-sanctioned effort to protect...
21-Dec-2011
*A tumultuous year - Political and economic upheaval spreads
A number of major global events took place in 2011, leading to sharp falls in the political and economic stability of the many countries affected....
09-Dec-2011
*Private practice - Security companies assume counter-piracy role
Piracy in the vicinity of the Horn of Africa, Gulf of Aden and southern Red Sea has escalated significantly since 2008 and shows no sign...
29-Nov-2011
*Chill winds - The race for resources in the Arctic
Of all the current or potential geopolitical competitions in the world, the slowest moving is that of the Arctic. Seasonal sea ice in the region...
10-Nov-2011
*Coastal command - Philippines leads on regional maritime security
In 2006, the government of the Philippines created the concept of a 'Coast Watch South' programme to improve maritime domain awareness in the Sulawesi-Mindanao tri-border...
24-Oct-2011
*Power play - Russian ambitions drive maritime resurgence
Russia is making efforts to significantly enhance its naval amphibious capabilities, with the aim of increasing its ability to undertake operations across the globe. ...
13-Oct-2011
*Three-way bet - Hizbullah's strategic dilemma in Lebanon
Lebanon's militant Shia Hizbullah organisation is in a critical position. It is arguably militarily and politically stronger now than at any other time in its...
13-Oct-2011
*Cyber men - A new age of online co-operation
In November, the UK will host the world's first international, intra-government conference on cyber security, demonstrating how seriously many countries are now taking the potential...
12-Oct-2011
*Broken peace - Violence returns to Northern Ireland
There has been a notable escalation in violence in Northern Ireland over the past three years, with more shootings, bombings and intensified rioting. Many of...
11-Oct-2011
*Kuril claim - Tensions rise between Russia and Japan
The territorial dispute between Russia and Japan over the Kuril Islands (known as the Northern Territories or Chishima Islands in Japan) entered a new phase...
13-Sep-2011
*Friends disunited - The US and Pakistan's strained partnership
For 60 years, relations between the United States and Pakistan have been subject to disagreements, misunderstandings and tension. Recent events have continued to strain an...
25-Aug-2011
*Shock of the new - Aftermath of South Sudan's secession
The Republic of South Sudan became the world's youngest country on 9 July, seceding from Sudan against a backdrop of international support and much celebration ...
10-Aug-2011
*War of words - Social media as a weapon in Libya's conflict
From early 2011, the Middle East and North Africa have been convulsed by revolutions, social unrest and conflict as part of the so-called 'Arab Spring'....
01-Aug-2011
*Note perfect - Counterfeiting and asymmetric warfare
On 4 March, the UK authorities announced they had impounded a vessel, the Antigua-flagged Sloman Provider, carrying a consignment of LYD200 million (about USD163 million)...
15-Jul-2011
*State of the Union - The future of the African Union
The ongoing crisis in Libya, where the regime of Colonel Muammar Ghadaffi continues to grapple with an uprising that began in February, has provided a...
07-Jul-2011
*Internal affairs - EU immigration policy and North Africa
It took the unforeseen arrival of just 25,000 immigrants from Tunisia to Lampedusa since the beginning of 2011 to throw one of the key policies...
15-Jun-2011
*Counting the cost - Lessons of Libya for European defence policy
Nearly three months after international military action was first approved against Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Ghadaffi, the NATO-led campaign appears to be becoming bogged down,...
09-Jun-2011
*Tipping the balance - Armed forces capability on Korean peninsula
The South Korean military was caught unawares twice in 2010 by surprise attacks from North Korea, resulting in substantial loss of life: the sinking ...
19-May-2011
*Block party - Breaking Somalia's political paralysis
The mandate of Somalia's UN-backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG), first established in Nairobi in January 2004, is due to expire on 20 August. Despite the...
19-May-2011
*Frontier fracture - India and China's border dispute deepens
In November 2010, India announced plans to create two additional army divisions, totalling around 36,000 troops, to be deployed to its northern border regions with...
19-May-2011
*Waves of concern - Southeast Asian states plan naval defences
Submariners joke that despite all the abbreviations, acronyms and ship designations in naval discourse, there are really only two types of vessels: submarines and targets....
14-Apr-2011
*Imperial defence - Japan counters China's military confidence
When a Chinese fishing trawler collided with Japan Coast Guard (JCG) patrol boats near the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu islands on 7 September 2010, it caused a...
07-Mar-2011
*Tight leash - Azerbaijan-Armenia arms race accelerates
The frozen conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh continues to fester, despite a number of bilateral diplomatic efforts in recent...
25-Feb-2011
*Bear necessity - Why NATO needs Russia onside
When he took office in August 2009, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen made improving relations between Russia and NATO one of his most important and...
01-Feb-2011
*Intelligence burden: Afghanistan grapples with security reforms
At the end of November 2010, a spokesman for Afghanistan's intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security (NDS), said 10 insurgents had been arrested in...
06-Jan-2011
*Two's company - Anglo-French defence co-operation pact
The entente cordiale had never been so cordial. At a joint UK-France summit in London on 2 November 2010, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and UK...
31-Dec-2010
*Changing times - Countries experience differing security fortunes
Considerable fluctuations in global security have taken place in 2010. While the recovering global economy has resulted in levels of stability improving in a number...
07-Dec-2010
*Mutual aid - The US and India strengthen ties
On a visit to India in 2000, former United States president Bill Clinton charmed his hosts, from the austere halls of parliament in New Delhi...
06-Dec-2010
*Intelligence centres - The EU mulls a strategic intelligence rethink
As mainland Europe returned to work in September following its traditional August break, a familiar spectre reared its head. Western intelligence sources on 29 September...
12-Nov-2010
*Mind games - Avoiding groupthink in international relations
The adage 'great minds think alike' is generally taken as an indication of fortuitous agreement. However, there are times when this can prove dangerous rather...
08-Oct-2010
*Trafficking jams - The future of drugs policies in Latin America
Wherever discussions about drugs policy are held, the term 'legalisation' is considered the dirtiest of dirty words. So when former Mexican president Vicente Fox broached...
29-Sep-2010
*Destination unknown - The US military posture post-Iraq
On 31 August, United States President Barack Obama declared: "Operation Iraqi Freedom is over." It has been supplanted by Operation New Dawn, which comes with...
16-Sep-2010
*Olympian effort - Providing security for major sporting events
If press reports in the run-up to the FIFA World Cup in South Africa in June and July 2010 had been anything to go by,...
16-Sep-2010