Asia Pacific

Qatar is pursuing two parallel tracks in an increasingly turbulent regional environment: diplomacy on the one hand and security fortification on the other. While Doha continues to present itself as a player capable of opening channels for dialogue, mediation, and de-escalation, it is simultaneously expanding its network of …

Farhat Asif  Today 23 August 2026, citizens across Kazakhstan are electing the first Kurultai under the country’s new Constitution. This is far more than a change in the name of Parliament. The vote will create a new 145-member unicameral legislature with the authority to make laws, represent public …

HCSS – The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies The events of this year have made that abundantly clear. The war in the Middle East and the renewed risk of disruption to the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global fuel supplies, demonstrated how quickly geopolitical crises can …

Namrata Goswami China defines space superiority as achieving space logistics and infrastructure, and then using them for the kind of war it might fight.   This screenshot from CCTV (China Central Television) shows China’s first moon rover Yutu, or Jade Rabbit, in an image taken by the camera …

The 2026 Democratic primary season is producing a political development that would have been difficult to imagine only a few years ago: progressive candidates are winning nominations in contests marked by heavy outside spending, while opposition to political-action-committee money, criticism of Israel, and resistance to U.S. policy toward …

The global race for critical minerals is rapidly becoming one of the defining economic and geopolitical competitions of the twenty-first century. The European Union risks entering that competition from a position of weakness. While Washington and Beijing are moving aggressively to secure access to the minerals required for …

By Dr. Dan Steinbock              For China and the Global South, US-EU tensions are part of a broader struggle over selective globalization. The US increasingly prioritizes technological dominance, supply-chain security, industrial protection and strategic competition with China. Under Trump, this approach has become openly transactional and unilateral: tariffs, market …

Dr. Shehab Al-Makahleh This year, 2026, marks the 18th anniversary of the beginning of the Cold War — the politico-ideological and military-economic confrontation between the blocs led by the United States and the Soviet Union. It also marks the thirty-fifth anniversary of its definitive conclusion, brought about by …

Dan Steinbock              After three months, the Ebola crisis in Central Africa has crossed a critical regional threshold. Concurrently, it reflects the emerging US/China division—and possible complementarity—of global health power. In late May, the principal question was whether the newly declared outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo …