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Caution at the Crossroads: How China Positions Itself in Taliban-Ruled Afghanistan without Going All In — Caution at the Crossroads: How China Positions Itself in Taliban-Ruled Afghanistan without Going All In

This issue brief by Adil Brar examines China’s engagement with Taliban-ruled Afghanistan since August 2021 through four linked dimensions: connectivity and Belt and Road Initiative planning, diplomatic normalization, economic engagement in energy and minerals, and the security calculus linking Xinjiang, Pakistan, and Central Asia. The author argues that Beijing’s strategy is best understood as incremental positioning rather than rapid transformation—locking in option-value positions in resources and infrastructure while avoiding high sunk costs or formal recognition. Recent developments, including attacks on Chinese nationals in Kabul and worsening Pakistan-Afghanistan tensions, suggest China is entering a phase of long-term strategic caution: maintaining diplomatic engagement and border security infrastructure while limiting physical commercial exposure, writes Brar.

Recasting order in the Indo‑Pacific: Europe, Asia, and the future of the Liberal International Order — Recasting order in the Indo‑Pacific: Europe, Asia, and the future of the Liberal International Order

The Liberal International Order (LIO) is increasingly under threat—not only from revisionist and authoritarian states like China and Russia but also from within the USA itself. Unlike his predecessors, who recognized significant benefits for the USA in upholding and defending the rules-based order globally and in the Indo-Pacific, President Donald Trump views the existing LIO as detrimental to American interests. This special issue in the Asia Europe Journal, edited by Jagannath Panda and Alfred Gerstle, brings together scholars in Europe and the Indo-Pacific to examine the mounting challenges facing the LIO in the Indo-Pacific. Crucially, the contributions highlight that there has never been a shared consensus on what the LIO—or more neutrally: the rules-based order—entails, but a fragile coexistence of visions. Read the introduction of this special issue here.

Report of the Silk Cage Webinar-IV: Corridors of Influence? The China–Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor and Beijing’s Expanding Power Architecture — Report of the Silk Cage Webinar-IV: Corridors of Influence? The China–Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor and Beijing’s Expanding Power Architecture

This webinar report, the fourth in the Silk Cage Series, moves beyond South Asia to examine how China’s continental corridors interface with maritime strategy, influence operations, and broader geopolitical contestation. It situates the China–Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor (CICPEC) within a wider strategic arc linking the South China Sea to the Bay of Bengal and further into the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). As part of the Stockholm Center for South Asian and Indo-Pacific Affairs (SCSA-IPA) project, “The Silk Noose: China’s Power Architecture in South Asia and the Indian Ocean Region,” the discussion explored how China is constructing not only economic corridors, but an interlinked power architecture stretching from continental Southeast Asia into the Indian Ocean. Within this framework, South Asia represents a central theater of this evolving system, while CICPEC illustrates how adjacent regions reinforce, extend, and sustain it. Read and download the webinar report here.

Greenland and Arctic Security: What’s at Stake? — Greenland and Arctic Security: What’s at Stake?

This ISDP factsheet maps key developments shaping Greenland’s role in Arctic security, including its governance status, economic dependence, and resource potential, as well as U.S. expansion plans, NATO’s response, and allied initiatives on critical minerals and energy cooperation. It presents key data and visual insights on emerging Arctic dynamics and highlights the implications for European security, NATO cohesion, and the evolving balance of power in the region.

From Corridors to Code: China’s Digital Statecraft through CPEC — From Corridors to Code: China’s Digital Statecraft through CPEC

This issue brief by Tristan Eng analyzes the digital dimension of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), arguing that the significance of the corridor lies less in physical connectivity and more in the expansion of energy and technological infrastructure. It examines how projects such as fiber-optic networks, surveillance systems, and satellite cooperation reshape Pakistan’s security practices and economic development. The author argues that these initiatives embed Pakistan within Chinese technological standards and ecosystems, potentially generating long-term dependencies while advancing China’s strategic interests. In the long term, Pakistan’s embeddedness may complicate its ability to maintain strategic autonomy in an era of intensifying geopolitical competition, writes Tristan Eng. Read and download the issue brief here.

Techno-Strategic Pragmatism: The UAE–Sweden Defense Partnership in Comparative Perspective — Techno-Strategic Pragmatism: The UAE–Sweden Defense Partnership in Comparative Perspective

Kristian Alexander argues in this piece that the UAE–Sweden defense partnership demonstrates that security cooperation need not be alliance-based to be strategically meaningful. It is a calibrated, technology-driven relationship that reinforces surveillance, resilience, and deterrence without escalating into overt political alignment. He further writes that compared to the platform-heavy South Korean relationship and the co-development-oriented Brazilian track, the Swedish lane stands out for its focus on enabling technologies, industrial depth, and normative predictability. It embodies techno-strategic pragmatism with guardrails: deep enough to matter, structured enough to endure, and constrained enough to remain politically sustainable, writes Alexander. Read the full piece here.

The Silk Road and South Asia: China’s Bridge from Regional to Global Politics — The Silk Road and South Asia: China’s Bridge from Regional to Global Politics

John S. Van Oudenaren, in this issue brief, writes that China’s shift under Xi Jinping from a regionally focused foreign policy in East Asia to a global strategy challenging U.S. leadership may seem abrupt, but it has unfolded gradually. South Asia has been central to this transition, particularly through its role in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which has helped extend China’s influence beyond its immediate neighborhood. Several factors explain the region’s importance. South Asia’s strategic geography is critical to China’s connectivity and security objectives. Its complex power dynamics also allow Beijing to exploit tensions between India’s traditional dominance and the ambitions of states such as Pakistan and Bangladesh, writes Oudenaren. He further writes that the absence of cohesive regional institutions comparable to ASEAN enables China to expand its influence through overlapping, Sino-centric multilateral frameworks. Read and download this issue brief here.

‘Bridge to the West’ – Factsheet on Swedish-DPRK Relations — ‘Bridge to the West’ – Factsheet on Swedish-DPRK Relations

Sweden is frequently referred to as the “bridge to the West” of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, commonly referred to as North Korea) due to its long-standing and reliable diplomatic presence in Pyongyang. Sweden was the first Western country to open an embassy in the DPRK in 1975, and it is still one of the few European nations with a presence there. Using its historical neutrality and stable engagement with Pyongyang, Sweden has taken on the crucial duty of promoting the interests of several countries involved in the security dynamics on the Korean Peninsula, particularly the United States of America (USA) and the Republic of Korea (ROK, commonly referred to as South Korea). This factsheet by Josephine Ørgaard Rasmussen outlines how Sweden has established itself as a reliable partner of the DPRK via ongoing engagement and constructive communication. Download and refer to the factsheet here.

Events »

20 May

Research and Innovation Series (RIS) – Part VII: Canada’s Approach to Research and Innovation Security

Publications »

Caution at the Crossroads: How China Positions Itself in Taliban-Ruled Afghanistan without Going All In

Recasting order in the Indo‑Pacific: Europe, Asia, and the future of the Liberal International Order

Jagannath Panda and Alfred Gerstl

Corridors of Influence? The China–Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor and Beijing’s Expanding Power Architecture

Bill Hayton, Katarzyna Anna Nawrot, Kentaro Furuya, Angeline Tan, Rajeev Ranjan Chaturvedy, Jagannath Panda, Tristan Eng, Anne Weiler and Sevil Khikmatova

Greenland and Arctic Security: What’s at Stake?

Fatoumata Diallo

From Corridors to Code: China’s Digital Statecraft through CPEC

The Silk Road and South Asia: China’s Bridge from Regional to Global Politics

John S. Van Oudenaren

ISDP Spotlight

Polish Perspectives on Research and Innovation Security: ISDP welcomed Marcin Grabowski for a roundtable discussion — Polish Perspectives on Research and Innovation Security: ISDP welcomed Marcin Grabowski for a roundtable discussion

The ISDP team had the pleasure of hosting a roundtable discussion with Dr. Marcin Grabowski, Associated Senior Research Fellow with ISDP’s Stockholm Center for Research and Innovation Security (SCRIS). Marcin Grabowski presented current challenges concerning research and innovation security in Poland as well as core findings from “The Research and Education Security Report”.

Looking back at the Korea Foundation Guest Researcher Lieutenant General (ret.) Chun In-Bum’s stay in Stockholm — Looking back at the Korea Foundation Guest Researcher Lieutenant General (ret.) Chun In-Bum’s stay in Stockholm

During his stay at ISDP as a guest researcher (April 4th – May 10th), Lieutenant General (Ret.) In-bum Chun, a three-star general of the Republic of Korea Army, engaged in a series of high-level exchanges across Stockholm, all around his research into how middle powers adapt their defense postures to shifting security environments, with a focus on cognitive warfare, critical maritime infrastructure, and alliance adaptation.

Jagannath Panda spoke at a conference in Kyiv organized by he Foreign Policy Council “Ukrainian Prism” and the Representative Office of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung in Ukraine — Jagannath Panda spoke at a conference in Kyiv organized by he Foreign Policy Council “Ukrainian Prism” and the Representative Office of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung in Ukraine

Dr. Jagannath Panda, Head of the Stockholm Center for South Asian and Indo-Pacific Affairs, visited Kyiv in Ukraine and spoke at a conference titled “From Diplomacy of Resistance to Diplomacy of Action” organized by the Foreign Policy Council “Ukrainian Prism” along with the Representative Office of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung in Ukraine. This conference was held on April 28, 2026, with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation.

ISDP signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR) — ISDP signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR)

On April 22, building on a close relationship established in 2019, ISDP signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR). This MoU marks an important step in further enhancing collaboration and knowledge exchange between the two institutions.

The Taiwan-Nordic Forum 2026 Emphasizes Resilience Through Cooperation as Central to Defense — The Taiwan-Nordic Forum 2026 Emphasizes Resilience Through Cooperation as Central to Defense

The Taiwan-Nordic Forum 2026, titled Resilience as Defense, was held on April 15, 2026, in Stockholm and called for closer cooperation, deeper knowledge sharing, and strengthened joint expertise between Taiwan and the Nordic and Baltic countries to meet emerging challenges together.