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What the West Gets Wrong About the Rest

This week on Hold Your Fire, Richard is joined by Crisis Group experts Jerome Drevon, Ibraheem Bahiss and Olga Oliker to discuss the ISIS-claimed attack on a music venue in a Moscow suburb, the global threat ISIS and its affiliates pose and what the strike might mean for Russia and the war in Ukraine. 

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has announced that he will no longer support the longstanding goal of eventually reunifying the two Koreas. The change of position, coupled with Kim’s flexing of his country’s military muscle, has troubling implications for the Korean peninsula’s stability.

Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have left ECOWAS, the regional bloc that sanctioned them after military officers seized power in each. In this Q&A, Crisis Group expert Nnamdi Obasi assesses the import of these events for West Africa’s security architecture and Nigeria’s influence therein. 

The Backers of Israel and Hamas Didn’t Start the War in Gaza—but They Can End It

The two jihadist groups in north-eastern Nigeria have bruised each other badly in internecine fighting. But they are still a menace to civilians, both in Nigeria and in the other Lake Chad states. The governments cannot afford to shift their gaze from the militant danger.

This week on Ripple Effect, Michael is joined by Leslie Vinjamuri, U.S. and Americas program director at Chatham House and Richard Gowan, Crisis Group’s UN director, to discuss how the November elections might change U.S. approach to multilateralism and Washington’s relations with the UN.

Beijing has more pull with Myanmar’s military rulers than any other outsider. While its influence has limits, it can help quiet border areas, by fighting organised crime and encouraging licit economies. Other powers should probe for areas of potential cooperation in resolving the post-coup crisis.

ISIS has claimed the lethal assault on a music venue outside the Russian capital. In this Q&A, Crisis Group expert Jerome Drevon explores the various implications of this attack.

This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard speaks with Crisis Group’s President & CEO Comfort Ero and Chief of Policy Stephen Pomper, first, about what recent conferences in Germany, India and Türkiye say about world politics and, secondly, why so few recent wars have ended in negotiated settlements.