Russia-CIS

The battle for Venezuela’s oil is no longer a narrow tug‑of‑war among competing commercial interests. It has become a central theatre of strategic competition between Washington and Beijing — one that could reshape global energy markets and the geopolitical balance of the 21st century. At the heart of …

Daniah Orkoubi   From Adam Smith, the pioneer of the classical school, and his concept of the invisible hand that regulates markets, to Milton Friedman, the theorist of the neo-capitalist school, the state’s role has traditionally been limited to that of an economic regulator. Governments’ job was to …

Lisdey Espinoza Pedraza Long before Nicolás Maduro was captured on January 3, 2026, the United States had been laying the rhetorical and strategic groundwork for escalation. Under Donald Trump’s second presidency, Venezuela was increasingly framed as a security threat rather than a diplomatic challenge. Public warnings intensified, sanctions …

For years, the United Arab Emirates was portrayed as the region’s master of “quiet diplomacy”—a state that preferred economic leverage, discreet mediation, and influence exercised behind closed doors. That image no longer holds. The open military confrontation with Saudi Arabia in Yemen marks a decisive rupture with the …

Hiba Malik Across Asia, governments are pouring billions into artificial intelligence, viewing technological advancement as a path to strategic autonomy and economic resilience. Yet, with massive AI and chip investments, Asia is becoming less, not more, secure in the technology politics. Despite colossal investments by Asia, the most …

The idea of a “Global South” has returned to the forefront of strategic discourse, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. With the growing influence of BRICS, G77, ASEAN, the African Union, and CELAC, a multipolar world appears to be taking shape. Yet …

In discussions about the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), naval spending, maritime chokepoints, and great-power competition usually dominate the headlines. Yet a quieter, transformative threat is emerging: cyberbiosecurity—the protection of digitally enabled biological systems and their associated data, from health facilities and laboratories to biomanufacturing and cold-chain logistics. This …

Rameen Siddiqui  The final week of 2024 delivered a stark message: the era of easy money is over. In a synchronized pivot, the world’s major central banks turned hawkish—the Bank of Japan hiked rates to a thirty-year high, and the ECB signaled an end to easing. This monetary …

Zineb Riboua China’s inroads in the Middle East demonstrate how the region is still a critical front in the era of US-China competition. The 2025 US National Security Strategy signals the most significant shift in Middle East policy since the Iraq War. The new framework aims to reallocate …