The hold up is the fact that the combat results don't seem to be reflecting the state of research between both nations. It's been frustrating me for a while now - due to the way advantages and counters are handled, I'm having trouble making the combat engine behave in a way that makes sense.
For example, when Moskurg spent several turns researching Anti-magic, Arstotzka researched anti-mindreading and a newer fireball that can be cast more rapidly, yet there was hardly any effect in the battles that happened during that period. There's been other weird results like this and I've been trying to tweak the engine to work in a way that makes sense. For the past few turns (and this turn, especially) you guys have been doing remarkably well. I love you guys, but this turn you just blew through Arstotzka and since I have knowledge of both sides capabilities I can say objectively that that should not be happening.
In all honesty, I'm tempted to abandon Iituem's python file altogether and move to the system that Sensei uses - simply determining how both sides are doing from a practical standpoint, figuring out how a new piece of technology would affect the battlefield, and progressing from there to subjectively determine which side gains/loses ground in an area based on what would be effective in what area. This would mean changing the system mid-way through the game, though, and I'm not sure that's fair to either side.