Writing about Russia, China and authoritarian politics for the New Statesman. Author of Dancing on Bones: History and Power in China, Russia, and North Korea (OUP). Former Wilson Center fellow. Based in DC. Previously Beijing and Moscow.
“The crux of it is that we’re back in a world where major great power war is thinkable." @nktpnd.bsky.social in @newstatesman1913.bsky.social on our dangerous new nuclear age: www.newstatesman.com/cover-story/...
The new nuclear terrorOur Cold War nightmares have returned as a global arms racewww.newstatesman.comThe key question is not how much longer Putin can sustain this conflict, but what kind of war he believes he is fighting. In this week's @newstatesman1913.bsky.social with thanks to @carnegierussia.bsky.social's Alexandra Prokopenko and @samagreene.bsky.social: www.newstatesman.com/internationa...
Vladimir Putin has no way outBut he may not want onewww.newstatesman.comLess than 24 hours after Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz “completely open,” it was effectively closed again. The US has fired on and seized an Iranian cargo ship. The mirage of an imminent end to this conflict has dissipated. In @newstatesman1913.bsky.social www.newstatesman.com/world/middle...
The Iran war is far from overThe Strait of Hormuz remains a deadly chokepoint in this rolling stand-offwww.newstatesman.comThe extraordinary rescue of the US weapons officer shot down over Iran and the dangerous logic of escalation for Donald Trump, in @newstatesman1913.bsky.social: www.newstatesman.com/internationa...
Why Trump keeps escalating in IranThe daring rescue of a stranded US airman in Iran has only emboldened the presidentwww.newstatesman.com"They could rapidly deploy using amphibious vehicles, helicopters, or parachutes to seize a small piece of territory." @2eatsoup.bsky.social up in @newstatesman1913.bsky.social man on how a US ground assault in Iran could unfold, and the risks involved: www.newstatesman.com/internationa...
How would a US ground assault on Iran unfold?Trump now has the forces in place to carry out a limited operation, but it would be fraught with riskwww.newstatesman.comBeijing has an obvious interest in understanding how MPs view geopolitical issues + more prosaic concerns like how long Starmer has left & who is most likely to come next. (And what are their views...) @newstatesman1913.bsky.social on Chinese espionage in the UK: www.newstatesman.com/internationa...
How China spies on the UKIntelligence agencies have been warning about efforts by Chinese spies to recruit British assets for yearswww.newstatesman.comWhat the war in Iran means for China and Russia. In this week's @newstatesman1913.bsky.social: www.newstatesman.com/internationa...
What the war in Iran means for China and RussiaChina's leadership will not welcome the prospect of a global oil shockwww.newstatesman.comThe Kremlin's calculus on Iran, featuring expertise from @hannanotte.bsky.social and @nicolegrajewski.bsky.social in @newstatesman1913.bsky.social: www.newstatesman.com/internationa...
How Putin is backing Iran's war effortA prolonged conflict in the Middle East would serve Russia’s interestswww.newstatesman.com“When we are finished, take over your government." As Trump tells Iranians their "hour of your freedom is at hand" and warns Americans to expect military casualties, what is the US endgame in Iran? For @newstatesman1913.bsky.social: www.newstatesman.com/internationa...
What is the endgame in Iran?Trump's many justifications for the US strikes provide little claritywww.newstatesman.comHere is the full @newstatesman1913.bsky.social with Carlo Masala on Vladimir Putin's ambitions beyond Ukraine: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Glm-...
What if Russia wins? | UK Politics | The New StatesmanYouTube video by The New Statesmanwww.youtube.com“They are already at war against the West.” Carlo Masala, author of If Russia Wins, on Russia's ambitions beyond Ukraine, how Putin might test Article Five, and how Europe can defend itself without the US. @newstatesman1913.bsky.social's weekend interview: www.newstatesman.com/internationa...
Putin will attack Europe next"If Russia Wins" author Carlo Masala on why Moscow is already looking beyond Ukraine, and how Europe can defend itself without Americawww.newstatesman.comIf China had abided by the terms of its treaty with the UK, Jimmy Lai would be a free man. Instead, he has been given what amounts to a death sentence for daring to stand up for the freedoms Hong Kongers were promised in 1997. In @newstatesman1913.bsky.social: www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
The tragic fate of Jimmy LaiThe elderly British media tycoon has been handed an effective death sentence in Hong Kongwww.newstatesman.comKeir Starmer joins a growing list of leaders posing for the same photo in front of the same backdrop with Xi Jinping as he pitches a comparatively predictable form of authoritarianism. The US's self-inflicted loss is China's gain. In @newstatesman1913.bsky.social www.newstatesman.com/internationa...
What Xi Jinping wants from the UKAmerica’s self-inflicted loss is China’s gainwww.newstatesman.comIs Trump backing down over Greenland? In @newstatesman1913.bsky.social: www.newstatesman.com/internationa...
Is Trump backing down over Greenland?The president claimed to rule out using force, while doubling down on his claims to Greenlandwww.newstatesman.com“We would never go to war against the Americans, but we are in Greenland and if US soldiers move in and try to remove our soldiers and our police, then we are at war"- Rasmus Jarlov, chair of Danish parliament's defence committee in @newstatesman1913.bsky.social: www.newstatesman.com/internationa...
Rasmus Jarlov: If the US attempts a military takeover of Greenland, “then we are at war”The chair of the Danish parliament’s defence committee says "you would have to shoot people to get Greenland"www.newstatesman.comDonald Trump claims Russian and Chinese ships are "all over" Greenland. An interview with Polar War author Kenneth R. Rosen in @newstatesman1913.bsky.social on the reality: www.newstatesman.com/internationa...
Trump claims Russian and Chinese ships are “all over” Greenland. This is the realityKenneth R Rosen argues we should take Trump’s threats to Greenland seriouslywww.newstatesman.com"In acting alone, we have alienated our democratic allies and dealt another blow to the already beleaguered rules-based international system that has served us so well for the last 80 years." - @mcfaulmike.bsky.social in @newstatesman1913.bsky.social: www.newstatesman.com/internationa...
Trump's Venezuela intervention is a gift to China and RussiaThe US has alienated its democratic allies and fuelled polarisation at homewww.newstatesman.comFor the third time in 13 months, Vladimir Putin has proved unable or unwilling to intervene to prop up a supposed strategic partner during a moment of crisis. Putin's calculus on Venezuela and Ukraine in @newstatesman1913.bsky.social: www.newstatesman.com/internationa...
Vladimir Putin’s confidence gameThe Russian leader will only be emboldened by Donald Trump’s assault on Venezuelawww.newstatesman.comMaduro was meeting with China's special envoy in Caracas in the hours before the US attack. Welcome to the era of rogue superpowers. For @newstatesman1913.bsky.social: www.newstatesman.com/internationa...
Trump ushers in a new era of rogue superpowersWith the strike on Venezuela, the US joins Russia and China in carving up the globe into spheres of influencewww.newstatesman.comWe now know precisely why UK prosecutors dropped their case against two British men accused of spying for China: www.newstatesman.com/world/asia/c...
The China spies case's million-dollar questionWhy the case against two British men accused of spying for China was droppedwww.newstatesman.com