by Valentin Weber — In 1863 Samuel Butler wrote a seminal piece titled “Darwin among the Machines”. It is one of the first to recognize that machines might become sentient one day. About 100 years later, George Dyson took Butler’s idea further in his book “The Evolution of Global Intelligence”.[1] By that time the…

by Mariah Thornton — Abstract This report introduces the challenges posed by China’s united front work, which has significantly expanded due to unprecedented institutional elevation and support under Xi Jinping. I argue that Taiwan — a country that has effectively resisted China’s united front activities for several decades — can serve as an instructive…

by Leon Hartwell, Agnė Rakštytė, Julia Ryng, and Ēriks K. Selga

by Charlotte Lenz — Since China’s ‘Going Global’ strategy in the early 2000s, Chinese provinces have joined a growing number of actors involved in China’s South-South relations, and in China-Africa relations in particular. Each actor is driven by different interests and enmeshed in various partnerships and institutional frameworks. Despite scholarly work pointing to the…

Michael Cox — Foreword by Christopher Coker The Ukrainian war marks the end of an exceptional period, writes Simon Sebag Montefiore, a seventy-year peace divided into two phases: forty-five years of the Cold War, and twenty-five of American ‘unipotency.’¹ The invasion is not a new way of exerting power; it is a return…

LSE IDEAS Strategic Update by Jonny Hall and Hugh Sandeman — Agreeing the Concept: how Russia made it easier As an often disparate Alliance of 30 nations whose initial purpose lapsed when the Soviet Union dissolved itself three decades ago, NATO needs to tell a convincing story to politicians and the public in its member states — and to itself —…

Colonel (COL) Robert A. McVey, Jr. U.S. Army The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government. Summary In this latest Strategic Update, COL Robert A. McVey…

LSE IDEAS Strategic Update by Buğra Süsler — 1. Introduction Libya has been in crisis since the toppling of long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi more than a decade ago. The conflict, which began as a part of the Arab Spring in 2011, transformed into an internationalised civil war where foreign governments provided weapons, money, and even fighters to opposing…

LSE IDEAS Strategic Update by Dr Zulfikar Rakhmat — Summary: This Strategic Update discusses the progress of China’s Digital Silk Road in Indonesia, a major destination, in both its hard and soft aspects, as well as the potential impact of its implementation. Chinese companies are offering a response to Indonesia’s needs, but concerns exist, especially surrounding security and surveillance…