Related by context. Frequent words. (Click for all words.) 56 assertiveness 53 assertive 45 authoritarian 45 increasingly 43 Islamist insurgency 43 restive 43 disputed islands 43 hard liners 42 territorial disputes 42 hardline 42 emboldened 42 bellicose 42 belligerence 41 breakaway regions 41 impatience 41 hardliners 41 nuclear ambitions 41 intransigent 40 closest ally 40 hegemonic 40 Islamic militancy 40 heightened tensions 39 wariness 39 ex Soviet republic 39 resurgent 39 expansionist 39 veto wielding 39 uneasy 38 ex Soviet 38 authoritarianism 38 belligerent 38 resurgent Taliban 38 US allied 38 naval exercises 38 clout 38 unilateralism 38 strident 37 autocratic 37 defuse tensions 37 superpower 37 former Soviet republics 37 hegemony 37 territorial dispute 37 impatient 37 Kremlin 36 saber rattling 36 counterweight 36 unease 36 conciliatory 36 former Soviet republic 36 separatist regions 36 authoritarian regime 36 ally 36 brutal crackdown 36 escalating tensions 36 allies 36 ultranationalist 36 emerging economies 35 Islamic militant 35 Islamist militants 35 intensifying 35 Shanghai Cooperation 35 Russia 35 reassert 35 autocrats 35 Islamic militants 35 hardliner 35 aggressive 35 President Vladimir Putin 35 disquiet 34 Islamic republic 34 Shiite dominated 34 authoritarian rule 34 bordering Afghanistan 34 antagonistic 34 tensions 34 influence 34 resentful 34 rapprochement 34 wary 34 disenchantment 34 autocratic rule 34 tighten monetary 34 prickly 34 de facto independence 34 overbearing 34 US backed 34 waning 33 Putin 33 deeply unpopular 33 existential threat 33 insurgency 33 blocs 33 China 33 separatist rebels 33 domineering 33 Iran 33 authoritarian regimes 33 bloc 33 brinkmanship 33 ascendant