Asia Pacific

Alice Johnson The choice of military escalation in the conflict with Iran is an important juncture in modern geopolitics. However, while the conflict is justified in the context of demonstrating power and deterring future threats, early evidence suggests that the long-term implications may differ significantly from the initial …

Dr. Shehab Al-Makahleh I. Introduction: War Beyond Reason In the evolving landscape of great power competition and regional conflict, few phenomena are as destabilizing as the gradual erosion of strategic rationality. What begins as a calculated intervention, framed within the lexicon of deterrence and preemption, can rapidly devolve …

By Lama Al-Rakad In today’s world, Western discourse often takes center stage as the global defender of human rights and minority protections. From the Middle East to other conflict zones, it speaks in the language of justice—championing “self-determination” and “the protection of minorities” as universal, non-negotiable principles. Yet …

Iran’s missile attacks have alienated the Hashemite Kingdom, but the chances of Jordan joining the war are still slim. Aaron Magid On Christmas Eve 2004, a suicide truck bomb headed to Jordan’s Embassy in Baghdad exploded, killing nine people. King Abdullah II later blamed a Shia group with …

Alon ben Meir Three weeks into launching the war of choice with Iran, the Trump administration still has no plausible exit strategy. Four scenarios Several scenarios are being debated: First, a prolonged air and naval campaign ending in a unilateral U.S. declaration of “victory”. Second, a ceasefire mediated …

Hani Abu Hassan For decades, globalization wore a Western face. It was shaped by the principles of free markets, privatization, and political conditionality—an architecture often associated with what became known as the “Washington Consensus.” But that era is no longer uncontested. Today, China is not merely participating in …

Yen Mo The Iran war has been going on for nearly three weeks, and one question that keeps coming up is, “Why isn’t China actively stepping in to mediate this conflict, which is harmful to the global economy—and to its own interests as well?” The answer is very …

The modern international system is no longer characterized by the conflicts based on the territorial boundaries but the tensions concerning the strategic routes that support the global economy. Among them, there is a revival of maritime chokepoints as an essential arena of power rivalry. The more recent uproar …

Fourteen days into Operation Epic Fury, the most consequential American military campaign in the Middle East since the invasion of Iraq, the Trump administration has yet to say what victory will actually look like. The president has variously toggled between declaring Iran has “practically nothing left,” indicating that …