As many geopolitical observers would note, China and Russia have formed a close strategic partnership in recent years, particularly since the ascension to power of China’s President Xi Jinping, in 2013, and that of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the year before.  This “special relationship” is reflected in their trade relations. In 2020, bilateral trade volumes reached about US$108 billion, making it three...Read More

Jared Diamond’s Upheaval shows how in times of catastrophe nation states—just like individuals—need to rely on their ego-strength to survive. “How nations cope with crisis and change” is rather a big subject, which suggests something on the scale of Arnold Toynbee’s A Study of History. In Upheaval, Jared Diamond, the great analyst of historical ecological collapses, has...Read More

Afghanistan’s jihadi insurgents are ready to give America what it wants: defeat without humiliation. In the peace process now underway with the Afghan Taliban, one-and-a-half significant U.S. interests are at stake. The “half” is the only real hang-up to signing a deal and bringing home American troops right now. READ THE FULL ARTICLE IN FOREIGN...Read More

Trump’s Iran threats pull from the playbook he used for North Korea, but Iran is a different kind of adversary altogether. US President Donald Trump’s tweet in all capitals, warning Iranian President Hassan Rouhani of a catastrophic war and to “BE CAUTIOUS!”, was, some would say, typical Trumpian bluster, and not dissimilar to his first...Read More

China’s massive, continent spanning OBOR project is attracting increasing support from Asian governments, including many that have long had poor relations with China.  This development has to be understood in terms of the regions’ enormous infrastructure deficit, the lack of alternative funding, and the changing reality of Asian geopolitics and economic relations.   China has become the principal...Read More

Cyber attacks have become an integral part of modern warfare and have significantly leveled the playing field, affording even 2nd and 3rd ranked powers the ability to inflict major, if not lethal, damage on any given adversary. In the past few years there have been some very high-profile instances of alleged cyber warfare, which in...Read More

In the wake of the global financial crisis a new international order is coming to the fore, writes Chris Luenen. What we are witnessing today are the birth pangs of a world of three regional monetary and trading blocs. The realisation is slowly setting in that once the global crisis has abated, globalisation, as we...Read More