Sharper: Axis of Upheaval

A loose but growing coalition between Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea demonstrates that their combined strategic interests have the potential to pose significant economic and military threats to a democratic international order. How should the United States and its partners and allies address the coordination of activities that strengthen this axis' destabilization of the geopolitical landscape? CNAS experts are sharpening the discussion around this “axis of upheaval.” Continue reading this edition of Sharper to explore their ideas and recommendations.

Features

Confronting the Axis of Upheaval

An axis of authoritarian leaders—China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and extremist groups, coined CRINGE by Rep. Adam Smith—working together and separately, poses a number of threats to the international rules-based order. Their combined economic and military strength has influenced the war and instability in Ukraine, the Middle East, and the Indo-Pacific. To discuss how the United States and its partners should confront this axis, CNAS will host a conversation on Friday, September 20, with House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) and Vice Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Rob Wittman (R-VA). Jonathan Lord, senior fellow and director of the Middle East Security program will moderate the conversation.

The Axis of Upheaval

“The support from China, Iran, and North Korea has strengthened Russia’s position on the battlefield, undermined Western attempts to isolate Moscow, and harmed Ukraine,” write Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Richard Fontaine in Foreign Affairs. “This collaboration, however, is just the tip of the iceberg. Cooperation among the four countries was expanding before 2022, but the war has accelerated their deepening economic, military, political, and technological ties. The four powers increasingly identify common interests, match up their rhetoric, and coordinate their military and diplomatic activities. Their convergence is creating a new axis of upheaval—a development that is fundamentally altering the geopolitical landscape.”

NATO Public Forum: The Axis of Upheaval

During the NATO Public Forum, CNAS hosted a panel discussion that featured David Shullman, senior director of Global China Hub for the Atlantic Council, Benedetta Berti, head of Policy Planning at NATO, and Jon Alterman, senior vice president at CSIS. They had a wide-ranging conversation about the threats posed to Ukraine by the support Russia receives from the growing authoritarian collaboration.

Richard Fontaine and Hal Brands Discuss the Axis of Upheaval

The effects of Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine are reverberating far beyond Ukraine’s borders. Perhaps most fundamentally, Putin’s invasion has catalyzed deepening cooperation among Russia and its like-minded partners in China, Iran, and North Korea. Cooperation among these four countries was already expanding before 2022, but the war has accelerated the deepening of their economic, military, political, and technological ties. The critical questions no longer center on whether cooperation between these countries will grow, but rather on how deep and durable the cooperation will be, how it will affect U.S. and European interests, and what the West can do to shape its trajectory and ameliorate its negative effects. To discuss all of this and more, Richard Fontaine and Hal Brands join Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend on this week’s episode of Brussels Sprouts.

In the News

Commentary and analysis from Richard Fontaine, Andrea Kendall-Taylor, and Jonathan Lord

About the Sharper Series

The CNAS Sharper series features curated analysis and commentary from CNAS experts on the most critical challenges in U.S. foreign policy. From the future of America's relationship with China to the state of U.S. sanctions policy and more, each collection draws on the reports, interviews, and other commentaries produced by experts across the Center to explore how America can strengthen its competitive edge.