Middle East

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 …

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 …

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 …

Arthur Michelino The American attempt to end the war with Iran on its own terms has also been an attempt to rearrange the region around it. Alongside the terms it pressed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and lift its blockade, the United States pressed the Gulf and …

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 …

U. S. and Pakistani leaders are expecting a framework agreement to be signed on Sunday to end the ongoing fighting between the U. S. and Iran. President Donald Trump announced that the deal is set to coincide with his 80th birthday. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif mentioned that …

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 …

Khizar Hayat “Rejoice! For by God, they have handed their land over to us.” And then the world saw how the Arab Commander turned a basket of intended humiliation into the very omen that brought the Great Persian Empire crashing down. Sometimes, in arrogance or in folly, we …

Jenny Williams There is a familiar cruelty in the way Lebanon is treated whenever Israel wants to change the regional conversation. A village becomes a message. A suburb becomes a signal. A border town becomes a lever in someone else’s negotiation. Last night’s escalation was not an isolated …