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 by tweeting at us via @EurasiaGroup or @ianbremmer. Must-reads "Russia to invest $1 bln in rare earths to cut dependence on China" Gleb Stolyarov, Reuters With China currently producing 90 ...

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 by tweeting at us via @EurasiaGroup or @ianbremmer.

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 by tweeting at us via @EurasiaGroup or @ianbremmer.

Must-reads

"Russia to invest $1 bln in rare earths to cut dependence on China"
Gleb Stolyarov, Reuters
With China currently producing 90 percent of the world’s rare-earth supplies, Russia has announced its desire to get involved too. After all, Russia’s rare-earths consumption is expected to quadruple by 2020.

"China Billionaires: Sharp Rise in Richest"
Sky News
A decade ago, China had no dollar billionaires. Now China has more than any other country except the United States. What sectors do the wealthiest Chinese hail from?

"Fertility Rate Stabilizes as the Economy Grows"
Sabrina Tavernise, New York Times
The financial crisis wasn’t just a market crash; the United States’ birth rate fell precipitously too. Has that trend finally bottomed out?

Longer read

"A House Divided: Finding Peace in Multiethnic Myanmar"
Jim Della-Giacoma, Richard Horsey, World Politics Review
Ethnic tensions in Myanmar run deep, but there hasn’t been an ethnic census in Myanmar since 1931, when the country was still under British rule. Can a government in the midst of a political opening secure peace between various ethnic groups?

Weekly bonus

"How Much Will the Defense Industry Make From a Missile Strike Against Syria?"
Ray Downs, Vice
Interested in the price tag for a limited strike against Syria? This piece conjectures and crunches the numbers.

More from Foreign Policy

Children are hooked up to IV drips on the stairs at a children's hospital in Beijing.
Children are hooked up to IV drips on the stairs at a children's hospital in Beijing.

Chinese Hospitals Are Housing Another Deadly Outbreak

Authorities are covering up the spread of antibiotic-resistant pneumonia.

Henry Kissinger during an interview in Washington in August 1980.
Henry Kissinger during an interview in Washington in August 1980.

Henry Kissinger, Colossus on the World Stage

The late statesman was a master of realpolitik—whom some regarded as a war criminal.

A Ukrainian soldier in helmet and fatigues holds a cell phone and looks up at the night sky as an explosion lights up the horizon behind him.
A Ukrainian soldier in helmet and fatigues holds a cell phone and looks up at the night sky as an explosion lights up the horizon behind him.

The West’s False Choice in Ukraine

The crossroads is not between war and compromise, but between victory and defeat.

Illustrated portraits of Reps. MIke Gallagher, right, and Raja Krishnamoorthi
Illustrated portraits of Reps. MIke Gallagher, right, and Raja Krishnamoorthi

The Masterminds

Washington wants to get tough on China, and the leaders of the House China Committee are in the driver’s seat.