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 …

George Asatrian Cooperation among leading non-Western countries is increasing. Russia and India will increase the scale of economic cooperation, including in the energy sector. This news has become especially relevant and important in light of recent geopolitical events. It reflects important trends in world politics. Days before, the …

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 …

Donald Trump’s tariffs on India signal that Washington, far from abandoning New Delhi, wants to see more effort and less hedging. When the State Department finally placed the “Foreign Terrorist Organization” label on the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and its suicide outfit, the Majeed Brigade, on August 11, …

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 …