The Brief

Protests have swept across Russia once again, and the Kremlin has wasted no time in moving to quash them. Demonstrators, many of whom were answering the calls of prominent Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny, flooded into the streets of more than 145 cities across the country on June 12 to demand an end to corruption, better standards of living and some form of democracy.

Essential Reading

In Mexico, a Political Straitjacket for Populism

If his third run for the
presidency proves the charm next year, Lopez Obrador will find it difficult to buck his country’s long-standing policies.

In the Philippines, the Islamic State Fights to Set the Narrative

As a bid to claim territory, the jihadist siege on Marawi City failed. As a propaganda opportunity, on the other hand, the gambit may yet succeed.

A History of the Olympic Spy Games

For years, the CIA and KGB defied the event's political neutrality to wage Cold War, and the Sochi Games show that intelligence agencies still find the event an attractive target.

Watch and Listen

Podcast: The Geopolitics of Baseball
This episode explores the geopolitics of baseball with Professors Tolga Ozyurtcu and Thomas Hunt from the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education at The University of Texas at Austin, regular contributors to Stratfor Worldview’s series on the geopolitics of sports.