This month, we examine EU engagement with the Taliban, where Chris Fitzgerald argues that efforts to curb irregular migration risk undermining the bloc's longstanding commitment to human rights and international law. As Europe weighs strategic pragmatism against its normative identity, Fitzgerald asks what is sacrificed when geopolitical priorities take precedence over democratic values.
Join our briefing today and stay ahead of the curve.
Read MoreThis month’s brief examines Taiwan–Lithuania relations, where shared experiences of external pressure have driven closer political and tech cooperation. Five years on from Vilnius hosting Taiwan’s Representative Office, the relationship remains strongest politically, while delivering more limited economic outcomes — highlighting the challenge of turning strategic alignment into tangible shared success. Alongside this, our regional review explores an Indo-Pacific defined by fragmentation and adaptation.
Join our briefing today and stay ahead of the curve.
Read MoreIn this episode, Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy and Richard Heydarian are joined by Dr. Huong Le Thu of the International Crisis Group for a timely discussion on how Southeast Asia is responding to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Together, they explore how the crisis is being interpreted across the region, from differing diplomatic positions and domestic political pressures to the growing impact of energy shocks and disruptions to global shipping routes.
Subscribe now and never miss an episode.
Read MoreMay highlights a defining trend across the Indo-Pacific: economic pressure and strategic competition are increasingly intertwined, as heatwaves, energy shocks, and supply-chain strain drive states to hedge more actively in a fragmented global order. This month’s feature examines Europe’s growing “strategic self-containment” in its China policy, reflecting a wider pattern of anticipatory restraint as states recalibrate under geopolitical pressure.
Join our briefing today and stay ahead of the curve.
Read MoreWritten by Apipol Sae-Tung
The regime’s institutional architecture is designed for continuity, but the energy crisis has introduced a level of volatility that requires a more agile and transparent response than the regime’s patronage-driven conservative roots traditionally allow.
Read MoreThis month’s brief examines a system under increased strain: as conflict in the Middle East drives energy shocks and exposes fragile supply chains, Indo-Pacific states are navigating growing constraints — hedging across partners, absorbing economic pressure, and exploring alternative routes such as the Arctic’s emerging “Polar Silk Road” to preserve access, resilience, and strategic flexibility.
Join our briefing today and stay ahead of the curve.
Read MoreWritten by Chiara Boldrini
At the international level, India’s carefully cultivated claim to speak on behalf of the Global South is being progressively undermined by its repeated failure to engage substantively with crises that bear directly on the normative principles it has historically espoused.
Read MoreThis month we examine a world under pressure: as conflict in the Middle East disrupts energy flows, Indo-Pacific states confront constrained choices, balancing neutrality, domestic stability, and external dependencies. From political resets in Nepal and Bangladesh to energy rationing in Sri Lanka and heightened strategic signalling across East and Southeast Asia, March highlights how governments are adapting in real time to a more interconnected and volatile global order.
Join our briefing today and stay ahead of the curve.
Read MoreWritten by Gunnar Wiegand
While major breakthroughs are unlikely, progress on economic issues is possible and could help restore a measure of stability and predictability for companies and citizens on both sides.
Read MoreWritten by Dominique Fraser and Dr Premesha Saha
Indonesia will need to ensure that it carefully balances its commitments to BRICS alongside its responsibilities and obligations within ASEAN and its existing relationships with Western nations like the US and the EU.
Read MoreWritten by Sarah Godek
By increasing relations at a slower pace, China’s government makes a safer long-term bet on Afghanistan that forgoes short-run gains to ensure greater security that could protect longer-term benefits in the future.
Read MoreWritten by Sajid Aziz
The twin threats of separatist movement and militancy by religious-ethnic groups in Pakistan and Iran, respectively, have been perennial sources of mistrust, mutual accusations, frequent border skirmishes, and the recent military strikes and counter-strikes between the two states.
Read MoreWritten by Dr Filippo Boni
Pakistan is scheduled to hold its twelfth general election on 8 February, amid a deteriorating security situation in parts of the country, allegations of an uneven playing field against the former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his party, and with China and the United States waiting to find out who will lead the next Pakistani government.
Read MoreWritten by Rishma Banerjee
Given the broader context of India’s rivalry with China, and its tightrope act of balancing ties between Russia and the West, New Delhi’s support for the six new BRICS members reflects its broader strategic and geopolitical interests.
Read MoreWritten by Dr Reuben Steff
While China’s activities are concerning, it should be made clear to Beijing that NZ’s and others’ responses in the security sphere are dependent on China’s approach to the region.
Read MoreWritten by Lukas Fiala
The key question is whether Xi’s growing assertiveness and inadequacy of existing means to ensure the security of Chinese entities abroad will lead to a more pronounced security footprint over the coming decade, featuring new military base arrangements and, potentially, institutionalised security guarantees.
Read MoreWritten by Wendy Chang and Antonia Hmaidi
By expanding the definition of national security to address the newly antagonistic world that China and the US perceive themselves in, both countries seem ready to accept the fragmentation of their ever-more digital economies and societies as inevitable.
Read MoreWritten by Syed Ali Zia Jaffery
The crisis can only end if the government realises that preventing people from exercising their right to vote will be counterproductive going forward.
Read More
