Human Rights
Part 2: Geolocating Growth of Suspect “Boarding” Facilities in Xinjiang China
In partnership with RAND
Last updated: 81 Days Ago
RAND has identified 55 facilities suspected of housing young children the construction of which coincided with a publicly stated policy to build “boarding schools” in Xinjiang. Western researchers and press allege that Xinjiang authorities are using repurposed and newly built schools to board Uyghur youth as part of a policy of intergenerational separation.
Geolocating Explosive Growth in Preschools in Western China due to ‘re-education’ Policies
In partnership with RAND
Last updated: 164 Days Ago
Twenty facilities that imagery analysis, press and professional journals suggest house Uyghur children have been identified in this first study of geolocating China's detention infrastructure targeting Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups.
Special Economic Zones
Sustainability of China’s Overseas Special Economic Zones: Introduction
In partnership with Columbia University
Last updated: 131 Days Ago
China’s economic diplomacy has encouraged the use of special economic zones (SEZs) abroad. These areas of specialized regulation and incentives are aimed at attracting foreign investment. However, China’s emphasis on SEZs to promote quick economic growth has raised questions about whether China is sacrificing sustainable development for speed.
Sustainability of China’s Overseas Special Economic Zones: Environmental Sustainability
In partnership with Columbia University
Last updated: 131 Days Ago
Evaluating the impact of SEZ development on land, water and air using satellite imagery, we identify examples of where zones appear to be succeeding or struggling to preserve and protect their local environmental conditions.
Sustainability of China’s Overseas Special Economic Zones: Social Sustainability
In partnership with Columbia University
Last updated: 131 Days Ago
Social sustainability revolves around how the zone treats its workers and the surrounding community. We observed variation in the provision of housing, training facilities and quality of infrastructure supporting workers' commutes.
Sustainability of China’s Overseas Special Economic Zones: Zambia
In partnership with Columbia University
Last updated: 131 Days Ago
Despite significant strides in implementing domestic regulation to curb environmental degradation, the Zambia-China Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone (ZCCZ) is an example of gaps that exist in China's sustainability practices overseas.
North Korea's Economy
North Korea’s Hydroelectric Power – The Paektusan Hero Youth Power Stations
In partnership with Stimson/38 North
Last updated: 226 Days Ago
North Korea’s northeastern provinces, especially Ryanggang Province, play an important role in the country’s hydropower development plans. The Paektusan power station project was designed to provide uninterrupted electrical power to this area, where the recently opened showcase city of Samjiyon is situated, to fuel its success.
Mining North Korea: Magnesite Production at the Taehung Youth Hero Mine
In partnership with CSIS
Last updated: 314 Days Ago
Antiquated facilities, equipment, and processes, together with the continual plague of electricity shortages, will hinder any dramatic production increases of magnesite at North Korea's Taehung Youth Hero Mine.
North Korea’s Hydroelectric Power – The Tanchon Power Station Project
In partnership with Stimson/38 North
Last updated: 351 Days Ago
To help meet North Korea’s electrical energy needs, it has placed great emphasis on the use of hydropower. One strategy to improve this sector has been to shift focus from large-scale dams and hydropower plants to smaller ones, arranged in tiers.
North Korea’s Hydroelectric Power – Part II
In partnership with Stimson/38 North
Last updated: 395 Days Ago
North Korea has faced persistent challenges in generating sufficient electricity to meet its industrial and civil needs. While coal is a primary source of energy consumption, hydroelectric power is the predominant method of electricity production.
Mining North Korea: Magnesite Production at Ryongyang Mine
In partnership with CSIS
Last updated: 422 Days Ago
Ryongyang Mine is the largest magnesite mine in North Korea and one of the largest in the world. However, satellite and ground imagery show the infrastructure and technology in use at the mines is dated and obsolete when compared to world standards.
North Korea’s Hydroelectric Power – Part I
In partnership with Stimson/38 North
Last updated: 451 Days Ago
North Korea has faced persistent challenges in generating sufficient electricity to meet its industrial and civil needs. While coal is a primary source of energy consumption, hydroelectric power is the predominant method of electricity production.
A Snapshot of North Korea’s Supply Chain Coal Activity – Part II
In partnership with Stimson/38 North
Last updated: 544 Days Ago
Based on an initial look at North Korea's coal industry, the country's larger coal mines have remained active despite the increasing restrictions on the North's coal exports.
A Snapshot of North Korea’s Supply Chain Coal Activity
In partnership with Stimson/38 North
Last updated: 559 Days Ago
Despite increasing restrictions on the DPRK's coal exports, the country's larger coal mines have remained active from 2015 to 2019 and improvements have been made to its coal supply-chain infrastructure.
Making Solid Tracks: North Korea’s Railway Connections with China and Russia
In partnership with CSIS
Last updated: 629 Days Ago
North and South Korea are moving forward with inter-Korean railway cooperation as a key engine for advancing inter-Korean reconciliation and building the infrastructure for eventual unification. These projects will all be costly and time intensive.
Part 2: Ore Car Activity Up at Wonsan Railway Rolling Stock Complex
In partnership with CSIS
Last updated: 670 Days Ago
Update on North Korea's largest railroad rolling stock manufacturing and repair facility.
China's Belt and Road Initiative
China’s BRI in Latin America: Case Study – Ports
In partnership with College of William & Mary
Last updated: 44 Days Ago
China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is not a monolithic enterprise. Across seven BRI port projects in Central America and the Caribbean, we find evidence that the project partnerships between China and recipient countries vary significantly regarding construction processes and end results.
China’s BRI in Latin America: Case Study – Sustainable Energy in Cuba
In partnership with College of William & Mary
Last updated: 44 Days Ago
In contrast to high carbon-emitting Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) energy projects in other countries, China has supported renewable and sustainable projects in Cuba. What sets the "Green BRI" in Cuba apart from the rest of the region?
China’s BRI in Nigeria: Impact of Lagos-Ibadan Railway on Port Congestion – Part 2
In partnership with Columbia University
Last updated: 503 Days Ago
A new rail extension to Apapa port aims to connect Nigeria’s hinterland to global markets to diversify its economy. However, the rail extension may fail to address severe congestion in Lagos’ port areas and high shipping costs will remain.
China’s BRI in Nigeria: Spillover Effects of Lagos-Ibadan Railway to the Regional Economy – Part 1
In partnership with Columbia University
Last updated: 506 Days Ago
Despite anticipated positive impacts to the Nigerian economy, the Lagos-Ibadan railway has failed to generate positive economic spillover. Nigeria will need additional infrastructure investment to meet the promise of positive economic development.
Arctic
The Ice Curtain: Kola Peninsula Part 2: Expanded Maritime Facilities
In partnership with CSIS
Last updated: 201 Days Ago
GEOINT analysis confirms Russian public declarations to expand the storage facilities at Okolnaya submarine support base and Gadzhiyevo submarine base.
The Ice Curtain: Kola Peninsula Part 1: Slow Modernization of Severomorsk-1 Air Base
In partnership with CSIS
Last updated: 201 Days Ago
Upgrades at Severomorsk-1 Air base increases Russia's operational readiness, presence, and capabilities in the northwest Arctic region, improving domain awareness and operational capacity around the Kola Peninsula. Further upgrades would expand operational capacity towards the GIUK-N Gap. However, GEOINT analysis shows slow construction progress.
The Ice Curtain: Enhanced Defense of Russia’s Western Arctic
In partnership with CSIS
Last updated: 282 Days Ago
Russia's military posture and the deployment of S-400s in its Western Arctic reflects the Soviet legacy of bastion defense comprised of "concentric circles" designed to protect strategic territory.
The Ice Curtain: Russia’s Military Moves Further North
In partnership with CSIS
Last updated: 362 Days Ago
Alexandra Land provides air-sea-land capabilities that reinforce Russia’s multi-layered maritime and air denial power; safeguard the Kola Peninsula which is home to Northern Fleet headquarters and Russia's control over the Northern Sea Route (NSR).
The Ice Curtain: Tiksi Airbase; Many Russian Announcements, Little Equipment
In partnership with CSIS
Last updated: 475 Days Ago
Current imagery does not show evidence of the Russian government's plans to expand Tiksi Airbase into a Northern Fleet air defense base, complete with 11 interconnected structures, and a regiment of S-400 surface-to-air missiles.
The Ice Curtain: Protecting the Arctic Motherland
In partnership with CSIS
Last updated: 523 Days Ago
A complex layered coastal defense arrangement on Kotelny Island allows Russia to better defend and to deny aerial, maritime, or land access to NATO or U.S. forces.
The Ice Curtain: Why is there a new Russian military facility 300 miles from Alaska?
In partnership with CSIS
Last updated: 592 Days Ago
In 2007 Russia re-prioritized the Arctic in keeping with Vladimir Putin's vision of restoring Russia's status as a great power. Now more than a decade later, Russia's military returns to the Arctic with strategic implications for the United States.
