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.
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Read MoreWritten by Leonardo Morreale
In a first clash, both China and Japan would be learning the most expensive lessons in real time, and the side that adapts faster, not the side with more hulls, would likely prevail.
Read MoreWritten by Edwin Akpotu
While diplomacy can reduce immediate risks, longer-term change depends on progress on Kashmir, reductions in cross-border violence, and stronger political support for engagement in both countries. This helps explain why periods of calm have repeatedly proven fragile despite considerable diplomatic effort.
Read MoreWritten by Hunter Marston
The recent Russia-ASEAN Summit is only the latest example of a more diffuse and loosely organised world order, in which Washington plays a less central role, and its rivals are calling the shots. While this emerging multipolar order is currently fuelling regional anxieties of instability and conflict in Southeast Asia, it is likely to be the new normal.
Read MoreWritten by Dr Paco Milhiet
Left unresolved, this deadlock carries its own strategic cost: renewed instability would further strain an already fragile economy, deter the investment needed to revive the nickel sector, and cast doubt on France’s capacity to manage its own territory.
Read MoreAs the US marks its 250th anniversary, we invite several key experts to analyse how a changing US foreign policy and regional minilateralism are reshaping Indo-Pacific geopolitics.
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.
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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.
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Read MoreWritten by Kushang Mishra
Instead of using this platform to champion a fairer system as an emerging leader of the Global South, the Indian government appeared content to secure a seat at the global power table and seek investments from the very Big Tech companies it has itself criticised in the past.
Read MoreWritten by Anuttama Banerji and Dr. Sahar Khan
A central weakness in the partnership is the absence of shared operational experience. Unlike US treaty allies, India has not participated in high-intensity contingencies alongside US forces. This limits trust, slows decision-making, and increases the risk of misalignment.
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.
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Read MoreWritten by Hans Horan
While such dialogue should not be entered into naively, persistent and earnest engagement would allow Washington to proceed cautiously and slowly transform its relationship with the regime in a sustainable fashion that benefits both parties.
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.
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Read MoreWritten by Paulo Afonso B. Duarte and Anabela Rodrigues Santiago
Through participation, financing, and programme implementation, the HSR enables China to translate practical health engagement into institutional influence within the WHO, shaping priorities and norms within the multilateral system.
Read MoreWritten by Viktor Buzna
Just as steel, petrochemicals, and semiconductors once underpinned national resilience, computing power and AI ecosystems define economic and strategic autonomy today.
Read MoreWritten by Jeremy Youde
If the existing liberal international order is indeed undergoing a profound and transformative shift, and not just a reaction to Trump’s foreign policy, then there is an opportunity for change that will better serve people all over the world — or a chance for humanity to fall further from its collective aspirations.
Read MoreThis month’s brief examines a hardening strategic landscape: as grey-zone drone incursions test Europe’s resolve, Indo-Pacific states grapple with contested political transitions and mounting internal pressures that complicate deterrence, resilience, and regional stability.
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