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Israel and Somaliland: The Emerging Alliance Reshaping the Red Sea Geopolitical Order

The growing relationship between Israel and Somaliland is not merely another diplomatic breakthrough. It is part of a broader geopolitical contest unfolding across one of the world’s most strategic regions: the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Horn of Africa. While much international attention remains focused …

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Syria’s Unexpected Oil Windfall: How the Strait of Hormuz Crisis Could Redraw the Middle East’s Energy Map

History has a habit of producing unlikely winners. As the closure of the Strait of Hormuz sends shockwaves through global energy markets and forces oil exporters to scramble for alternative routes, one country—long written off as a geopolitical and economic casualty—has emerged as an unexpected beneficiary: Syria. For …

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Has Trump Found an Exit From the Iran War or Simply Frozen a More Dangerous Conflict?

The conflict began after U.S. and Israeli strikes targeted Iranian military and nuclear facilities. Washington framed the campaign as necessary to eliminate Iran’s nuclear threat and weaken its regional military network. However, the war evolved into a broader regional confrontation. Iran demonstrated its ability to disrupt global energy …

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China’s Private Security Companies in the Middle East: Commercial Actors, Strategic Tools

Dr. John Calabrese Chinese PSCs are state-adjacent actors embedded in China’s overseas economic expansion, particularly under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), generating new arenas of US–China security competition in fragile environments. Existing regulatory frameworks have not significantly constrained this trend. International rules remain fragmented, while domestic regulation …

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The New AI Geopolitics: Governance, Power, and Technological Nationalism

Cristina Vanberghen This article explores the rising convergence of national security considerations and global proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, especially focusing on the geopolitical ramifications of U.S. limitations on exporting cutting-edge AI technologies and its impact on Europe’s technological autonomy. Based on recent political rhetoric and policy …

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Loose Bricks? The Question of BRICS

Mugdha Joshi The spokesperson for India’s External Affairs Ministry, Randhir Jaiswal, said in March that “India is actively engaging with member countries of BRICS to arrive at a common position on the ongoing conflict in West Asia.” These talks ended up an exercise in futility, with member states …

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Who Controls Artificial Intelligence? The Politics of Frontier AI

Pranjal Saraswat Imagine a policy analyst in Brussels arriving at work on an ordinary morning, carrying coffee in one hand and reports on European cyber resilience in the other. Before her meeting begins, she opens an advanced artificial intelligence platform she regularly uses to map cyber vulnerabilities and …

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Al-Makahleh: Ceasefires Are Not Peace: Why the Middle East Is Stuck in a State of No War, No Peace

Dr. Shehab Al-Makahleh The headlines trumpet ceasefires in Gaza, Lebanon, and along Israel’s northern front with Iran’s proxies. Politicians breathe sighs of relief. News anchors speak of de‑escalation. But let us be brutally honest: this is not the end of war. This is the suspension of war. Across …

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Pause, Not Peace: The Iran Ceasefire Framework

Dr. John Calabrase A tentative U.S.–Iran memorandum of understanding appeared close to completion in late May, but Iran’s decision to suspend indirect talks over Israel’s expanding operations in Lebanon has thrown the process into uncertainty. What had looked like an emerging framework now appears less a pathway to …

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