Op-ed

Key Takeaways Central Asia’s Heavy Dependence on Russia Exposed — Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries have caused severe fuel shortages across the region, particularly in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, highlighting decades of over-reliance on Russian petroleum products. Short-Term Policy Failures — Governments in Central Asia have prioritized short-term political stability …

Altaf Moti Key Takeaways Trump’s Intervention Turned a Sporting Decision into a Political Issue — The US President publicly confirmed calling FIFA President Gianni Infantino to request a review of Folarin Balogun’s red card, leading to the suspension being overturned and sparking widespread debate about political influence in football. …

Key Takeaways Serbia’s Economic Rise is Multifaceted — The country’s strong growth over the past decade is the result of political stability, proactive development policies, strategic infrastructure investment, successful attraction of foreign direct investment, and fiscal discipline. Tangible Improvements in Living Standards — Average net salaries have nearly tripled (from …

Dr. Pierre Thévenin Key Takeaways US-Iran Deal May Undermine Freedom of Navigation — The Islamabad Memorandum’s wording (especially Paragraph 5) could allow Iran to impose tolls or restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz after the 60-day period, violating the non-suspendable innocent passage regime under international law. Broader …

Collins Chong Yew Keat Key Takeaways Strategic Deepening of Ties — The Nikkei Forum and related engagements underscore Malaysia’s growing role as a key partner for Japan in semiconductors, energy (LNG), AI, critical minerals, and supply-chain resilience. This moves the relationship beyond the traditional “Look East Policy” toward high-value …

Dr. Ju Hyung Kim The United Arab Emirates’ move to revive the acquisition and local production of South Korea’s K9 self-propelled howitzer is more than a conventional arms deal. This reflects a broader shift in Gulf security thinking amid the ongoing Iranian war. For years, military modernization in …

Hadi Elis For nearly eight decades, the conflict in Balochistan has been portrayed by Islamabad as a separatist insurgency threatening Pakistan’s territorial integrity. Yet for many Baloch nationalists, the struggle is not about separation from Pakistan—it is about liberation from what they regard as a historical occupation. Their …

“The Russia–Ukraine War has now exceeded the duration of the First World War, yet Russia is short of achieving its original political objectives, and Ukraine, supported by NATO, hasn’t given up.” This prolonged contest of wills has morphed into a grinding, industrial-age war of attrition fought with twenty-first-century …

Until not so long ago Latin America had been considered a quiet region, located far from the world’s superpower main strategic confrontations, with sporadic but crucial moments that helped to shape the international order as we know it today. The Cuban Missile Crisis is the clearest example: it …