Society

Nigel Grier Australia is approaching a moment of strategic reckoning in Asia. For years, it has maintained a posture of alliance loyalty to the United States while professing regional engagement. This balancing act is losing credibility. As Warwick Powell, adjunct professor at Queensland University of Technology and senior …

Mohammad Fouad In economic policy discourse, numbers are presumed to speak truth. GDP growth, poverty rates, unemployment figures, and fiscal balances are the dashboards of modern governance—objective metrics designed to inform planning and enable accountability. Yet numbers can mislead. When indicators become ends in themselves—targets to hit rather …

Alisya Kinyara Is the digital economy truly empowering and inclusive, or is it silently reinforcing new forms of exploitation, masked behind algorithms and convenience? This question grows more urgent as millions of gig workers across Southeast Asia, particularly motorcycle taxi drivers in countries like Indonesia and Vietnam, begin …

Abdul Haq The public and dramatic clash between the incumbent President Donald Trump and tech tycoon Elon Musk—two of the United States’ most popular and powerful figures—has escalated the political chaos of a novel sort in the U.S. political culture. In addition to shocking their supporters, their recent …

Jenny Adams Yet another exciting session of the ‘Understanding AI Program’ presented by the Silkroad 4.0 Platform, the International Institute for Middle East and Balkan Studies (IFIMES) and their consortium of partners (such as Modern Diplomacy, ICCD, D-8, IAF, THC, and the like), the focus turned to how …

In today’s fast-changing world, where uncertainty and power rivalries are on the rise, some voices are calling for a return to old-style diplomacy—a new version of the 1945 Yalta Conference. This idea, often referred to as “Yalta 2.0,” imagines the world’s major powers—the United States, Russia, and China—coming …

Peter Rogers The image of Donald Trump shaking hands with Ahmad al-Sharaa, Syria’s current leader, in Riyadh is one that, until recently, would have seemed unimaginable. Al-Sharaa, once on the U.S. most-wanted list with a $10 million bounty for information leading to his capture, now stood alongside Trump …

In an era of rising global tensions, air power remains critical to national security and deterrence. To illustrate the stakes, consider the 2025 India-Pakistan aerial strikes and skirmishes. A terrorist attack in Kashmir kills dozens, prompting India’s Operation Sindoor to strike militant targets. Pakistan’s counterstrikes, using missiles and …

In the digital era, personal data is becoming one of the most important resources for innovation and economic growth. A recent survey shows that 58% of most Americans use email and 59% engage with social media multiple times a day, with dependence on these platforms growing steadily. Businesses …