Editorial paper at Robert Lansing Institute

Russia’s Madagascar Gambit: GRU, Ports and a New Indian Ocean Foothold

Russia appears to be building in Madagascar something more consequential than another African security partnership. The pattern described in the September 23 investigation by Radio Liberty points toward an emerging integrated…

September 26, 2026Madagascar, Wagner Group

Democracy Governance ideology

“The Boundaries of Acceptability: The Tanguy Scandal and the Normalization of Radical-Right Discourse in France”

French National Rally (Rassemblement national, RN) MP Jean-Philippe Tanguy found himself at the center of a political controversy after using the phrase “work sets you free” (le travail rend libre)…

September 25, 2026France, Rassemblement national, right-wing

Economy Energy Geoeconomics Warfare

Rosneft – A7 – 2Rivers: How Oil Revenues Became a Financial Infrastructure for Sanctions Evasion

The leak of A7’s internal documents reveals the emergence of a parallel mechanism for international settlements in which export revenues from Russian oil provided the foreign-currency liquidity needed to pay…

September 24, 2026China, Russia, shadow fleet

Economy Energy

Russian Flag as a Shield: How Moscow Is Rebuilding the Shadow Fleet After Western Interceptions

Russian Flag as a Shield: How Moscow Is Rebuilding the Shadow Fleet After Western Interceptions The passage of a large group of tankers carrying Russian oil through the English Channel…

September 23, 2026Russia, Sanctions, shadow fleet

Democracy Governance ideology

The AfD’s Two Concepts of Germany: Citizenship, Ethnicity and the Constitutional Red Line

Protests in Düsseldorf and Erftstadt In Düsseldorf, a district convention of Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), held in the assembly hall of St. Benedict School, triggered a protest in which, according…

September 22, 2026AfD, Germany

Geopolitics Governance influence ops

Arras as a Platform for Pro-Russian Mobilization: Florian Philippot’s Network Ahead of the 2027 Campaign

The Assises de la Souveraineté, held near Arras on September 12, 2026 and organized by Florian Philippot’s Les Patriotes, should be viewed as more than another anti-war or anti-sanctions event.…

September 21, 2026France, Phillippot

Economy

Raiffeisen Trap”: How the Kremlin Keeps a Western Banking Channel Inside Russia’s War Economy

The U.S. investment firm Grizzly Research published a report alleging that Raiffeisen facilitated sanctions circumvention and Russia-related trade worth $1.19 billion. During its investigation, the firm identified customs documents linked…

September 18, 2026Austria, Raiffeisen Bank, Russia, Sanctions

Geopolitics Governance

Sudan–Ethiopia: The Emerging Risk of a Second War in the Horn of Africa

The probability of a direct military confrontation between Sudan and Ethiopia has increased substantially in 2026, although a deliberate, full-scale interstate war remains constrained by the fact that both governments…

September 17, 2026Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan

Democracy Governance

Elections as an Instrument of Annexation: Why the Kremlin Needs State Duma Voting in the Occupied Territories of Ukraine

On September 18–20, 2026, Russia is holding elections to the ninth convocation of the State Duma. For the first time since the start of the full-scale invasion, Moscow is incorporating…

September 17, 2026elections, Russia, Ukraine

influence ops Propaganda and Disinformation Psyops

Poland “in Two or Three Days”: The Kremlin Returns to the Model of Psychological Blitzkrieg

On September 15, 2026, Russian presidential aide and former Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev issued a direct threat against Poland, saying that in the event of a military conflict Moscow…

September 16, 2026Patrushev, Poland, Russia

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