REGIONS

Cristina Vanberghen When U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed the Munich Security Conference, European officials did not hear rupture.[1] They heard recalibration. Rubio’s speech was conciliatory in tone. He stressed that Europe and the United States “belong together,” reaffirmed NATO’s importance, and framed Washington’s demands as a …

Dr. Shehab Al-Makahleh There are moments in protracted conflicts when the vocabulary changes before the maps do, when administrative adjustments quietly outrun diplomacy, and when legal instruments become more decisive than armored brigades; February 13, 2026 may prove to be such a moment, as the Israeli Security Cabinet …

Alexei Bayer Medvedev and Vance hate liberal democracy and see Western Europe as a dangerous repository of liberal democratic values. Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev and JD Vance have a similar background. Both are lawyers, with Medvedev getting his law degree from the Leningrad State University and Vance from Yale. …

Mohammed Ayoob Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman in a close-up photo. The Saudi royal’s relationship with his counterpart UAE president Mohammed bin Zayed has deteriorated over the last half-decade. (Shutterstock/Fotofield) While the chances of direct conflict between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are slim, the …

Emily Day An aerial view of the Pickering Nuclear Energy Station in Ontario, Canada. (Shutterstock/The Bold Bureau). Nuclear Energy Now tracks the latest nuclear energy developments across technology, diplomacy, industry trends, and geopolitics. Ontario Advances Plans for a 10 GW Nuclear Expansion In Canada, Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and …

Stavros Atlamazoglou British Secretary of Defense John Healy recently announced that the British military contingent in Norway would double in the next three years from 1,000 troops to 2,000. A Surveillance and Reconnaissance Squadron (SRS) of the UK’s Royal Marines conducting Live Firing Tactical Training during Winter Deployment …

Omar H. Rahman President Donald Trump’s maximalist demands on Iran are making the chances of US intervention more likely. A US F-35 fighter jet takes off. F-35 fighter jets may be used in a US strike on Iran ( Shutterstock/Gece333). Escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran appear to …

Stephan Richter and Uwe Bott Donald Trump has blown up any notion of the United States continuing to act as a benevolent hegemon to Europe and the so-called “free world”. Even before, that benevolence always came with significant commercial and financial benefits the country and its corporations derived …

While the world fixates on tariffs, sanctions, and military posturing, a quieter shift is reshaping international influence. At the World Economic Forum in Davos last month, Brand Finance launched its 2026 Global Soft Power Index and the results tell a story that runs counter to almost everything dominating …