Geopolitics

The U.S. and China have reached a framework agreement to transfer ownership of TikTok to U.S.-based control, a deal expected to be finalized during a call between Presidents Trump and Xi on Friday. Teenagers pose for a photo while holding smartphones in front of a TikTok logo in …

Dur e Adan In international relations, soft power is the ability to co-opt rather than coerce, in contrast with hard power. It entails using attractiveness and appeal to influence other people’s preferences. Soft power, which uses foreign policy, political ideals, and culture to effect change, is non-coercive. Joseph …

Shara A. Rondon Symbolism and Stagnation “BRICS in the international system: very relevant countries, but a group of limited importance.” (Viola, 2015) In 2009, BRICS held its first leaders’ summit in Yekaterinburg and since then has cultivated an oversized symbolic presence. BRICS promotes itself as the voice of …

Hrair Balian On August 8, 2025, President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia signed a joint declaration for peace at the White House, with President Donald Trump as witness. Their foreign ministers also initialed, pending “further actions” before signing, an Agreement on Establishment …

Dimitra Staikou Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s presence at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Tianjin at the end of August underscores a shifting global order in which India is emerging not as a junior partner to China and Russia, but as a pivotal swing power. While …

Alexander Langlois In the short term, normalization between Damascus and Jerusalem is not likely. But progress is still possible. In a major moment somewhat overshadowed by the Middle East’s competing headlines, Syria’s transitional government confirmed that it held a second trilateral meeting with Israeli and US officials on …

David M. Hart Instead of being a story of evolution and technological development, the story of China and EVs is one of “involution.” The Chinese economy suffers from an excess of competition. Too many products are chasing too few buyers, which is a recipe for plunging prices and …

Paul R. Pillar Even if they don’t solve the fundamental issues of a conflict, ceasefires are still preferable to continuing carnage.  Ceasefires—the stopping of a war without full resolution of the underlying political issues—have not been in vogue lately. A recent feature article in The New York Times …

A. Wess Mitchell Diplomacy with Russia is not capitulation, and talking to Vladimir Putin is not a reward for good behavior. The recent hardening of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s position on Ukraine has led some critics to claim that the Trump meeting in Anchorage was a waste of …