Lima Charlie News

Soft Power as Dominion: Speaking Softly, Building Systems

The most durable power is not enforced at gunpoint; it is embedded in systems. My industry has a simple rule: never do something for one reason when you can do it for

The Currency War Nobody Wants to Name

Venezuela did not become problematic because it was authoritarian, corrupt, or illegitimate. It had been all three for years without provoking decisive action. The problem emerged when strategic resources began drifting outside

Vae Victis: Putin Wins

A frozen conflict would be a Russian victory in anything but name. Why a frozen conflict in Ukraine would amount to a Russian victory—and why Europe’s real vulnerability lies not in military

Europe’s Liberal Self-Deception

Order was once built; its absence is now assumed. Europe is not undergoing an ideological shift, but an analytical collapse. Great powers have not changed their behaviour. What has eroded is Europe’s

Weaponisation of the Suffering – Frozen Conflicts, Displacement, and the Utility of Human Movement

Human suffering scales efficiently when it is managed. The weaponisation of refugees is a low-cost, high-leverage instrument for states able to tolerate ambiguity and export instability. Public vocabulary treats refugees as a

Europe must decide whether it intends to remain a consumer of security or finally become its producer

The Russia-Ukraine conflict endures not because it is strategically complex, but because it is strategically convenient. But the truth beneath the rhetoric is simpler and colder: Europe must outsource violence deliberately if

Europe will survive only if it pays someone else to die in its place

Toute vérité n’est pas bonne à dire: Purchased Frontiers. “War is not about who is right, but who is left.” Sweden does not suffer from incompetence. We build precise instruments of violence

The Dodik Problem – Civil War in the Balkans Looms Large

As the U.S. and E.U. remain asleep at the wheel, the Balkans face what could be another Serb, Bosnian, Croat civil war, drawing Russia and Turkey into the fray. Will Milorad Dodik

American Insurgency – What Does a Peaceful Transition of Power Look Like Now?

America is supposed to be the world’s exporter of democracy, a profile in and of the peaceful transition of power for our generation and generations to come. As the country transitions from

As Trump’s hold on power fades domestic hybrid warfare rages on

Behind the scenes of a Trump power grab, America remains engaged in its own, internal, political hybrid warfare.

The Kurds – Betrayal and an ignored report highlight US policy failures

A US administration ignores the obvious, choosing betrayal over allies, trading Kurdish lives for a path towards US foreign policy failure.

Netflix series ‘The Paper’ (Novine) reflects reality of politics, corruption and freedom of expression in Croatia, the Balkans and beyond

Why should anyone outside of Croatia and the greater Balkans watch Netflix’s hit show “The Paper” other than entertainment value and loads of sex, violence, and titillating political and church scandals?

Blossoming Russo-Turkish alliance leaves U.S., NATO behind

Amid the failed politics of Patriot missiles and F-35s, Moscow and Ankara’s blossoming relationship has left NATO and U.S. interests exposed.

Cyber Warfare Now – Tales from the Digital Battlefield

Democracies worldwide are facing critical challenges from ever expanding cyberwarfare operations with the ability to not just threaten infrastructure, but to control information. Until recently, it was generally accepted that there were

Middle East – North Africa News Brief

February 5, 2018

by MENA Bureau

Extended Middle East and Northern Africa News Composition Briefing: Regional Low Intensity Conflicts, January 30th to February 4th – Current as of February 5,

Cobalt mining, China, and the fight for Congo’s minerals

February 4, 2018

by Lima Charlie

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is attempting to increase revenue from the 270% surge in cobalt prices in the last

Bahrain courts continue to strip protesters of citizenship

February 4, 2018

by Lima Charlie

Bahraini authorities have deported eight Bahrainis, having stripped them of their citizenship, since January 29, 2018, Human Rights Watch reported today. Bahraini courts

Image Lebanon cracks down on criticism of Saudi Arabia

Lebanon cracks down on media over criticism of Saudi Arabia

February 4, 2018

by Lima Charlie

Lebanon’s judiciary has begun cracking down on Lebanese media personalities for their critiques on Saudi Arabia; this comes in the wake of

Biologists uncover a possible connection between three birds’ evolution

February 4, 2018

by Lima Charlie

Brood parasitism has fascinated many scientists since the behavior was identified. Popular human affection for the devoir of child rearing has induced

Image China facing consequences of the one-child policy [Image: Zhou Yuwei, 1986]

China facing consequences of one-child policy

February 2, 2018

by Lima Charlie

Between 1949 and 1976, China’s population had almost doubled from 540 to 940 million. Naturally, the strain on resources was dramatic. Under

China’s largest cities drop in population after mass displacement

February 2, 2018

by Lima Charlie

On Jan. 24, China officially announced that the population of China’s two largest cities, Beijing and Shanghai, decreased in 2017. This is

Trump refusal to sanction Russia despite bi-partisan mandate ‘perplexing’

February 1, 2018

by Lima Charlie

On Monday, January 29, the Trump administration reached a deadline to respond to Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine and Russian efforts to

Middle East – North Africa News Brief

January 31, 2018

by MENA Bureau

Extended Middle East and Northern Africa News Composition Briefing: Regional Low Intensity Conflicts, January 23rd to January 29th – Current as of January 30,

Image Gaming industry inspired supercomputer to help scientists study mysterious radio emissions from space [Lima Charlie News]

Gaming industry inspired supercomputer to help study mysterious radio emissions from space, FRBs

January 28, 2018

by Lima Charlie

Last week, ASTRON—the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, announced that in the search for and study of fast radio bursts (FRBs), millisecond-long radio

Economic stagnation drives Tunisia’s ongoing anti-austerity ‘Fech Nestannew’ protests

January 28, 2018

by Lima Charlie

Protests have entered their fourth week in the North African country of Tunisia, as thousands have joined anti-austerity protests amid economic hardship.

Cameroonian refugees rush to Nigeria to escape conflict between English speakers and French speakers

January 28, 2018

by Lima Charlie

Cameroonian refugees are flooding into Nigeria, following a military crackdown on separatists in the Anglophone (english-speaking) region of Cameroon. The United Nations (UN)