Political risk must-reads

Eurasia Group’s weekly selection of essential reading for the political risk junkie — presented in no particular order. As always, feel free to give us your feedback or selections @EurasiaGroup or @ianbremmer.

Must-reads

"U.S. Blames China’s Military Directly for Cyberattacks"
David E. Sanger, New York Times
For the first time, Barack Obama’s administration explicitly accused China’s military of responsibility for cyberattacks on U.S. government computer systems. By some estimates, 90 percent of the cyber-espionage in the United States originates in China.

"Russia’s Energy Bully Takes a Fall"
Alexandros Petersen, Foreign Policy
Is Russia’s coercive use of natural gas exports to bully its neighbors finally unraveling? Will cheaper gas worldwide exacerbate Russia’s "reverse dependence" on European markets?

"Japan’s leading exporters say the weak yen is helping them, to a point"
Gwynn Guilford, Quartz
Is Abenomics for real? It certainly had an impact on many exporters’ first-quarter bottom line. The weaker yen accounted for 43.2 billion yen of Nissan’s 174.4 billion yen operating profit (up almost 50 percent from the same period last year).

"In China, Power Is Arrogant"
Yu Hua, New York Times
In 2001, hospital officials in Shenzhen stipulated that nurses should "show precisely eight teeth when smiling." This piece addresses the "wacky and arbitrary nature" of many Chinese regulations.

"This Is The World’s First Entirely 3D-Printed Gun"
Andy Greenberg, Forbes
What happens when rapidly evolving technologies meet an age-old political debate? Twenty-five-year-old Cody Wilson is utilizing 3-D printers to print guns — and is sharing the blueprints in downloadable open-source format on his website in a bid to undermine gun control efforts. Here is a disturbing documentary from Vice on the process and its implications.