Eurasia

Four big geopolitical tests the European Union faces this year

At the risk of making too obvious of a point, 2019 is not 2023. In 2019, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen entered office promising a “geopolitical Commission.” Since then, the European Union (EU) has faced one geopolitical crisis after another—a pandemic, a war in Europe, and intensifying energy …

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What Niger’s coup means for West Africa’s geopolitical contest

On Thursday, August 3, a day that marks Niger’s independence from France in 1960, hundreds of Nigeriens gathered in Independence Square in Niamey to voice their support for the ongoing coup. Over the past week, Africans and their Western partners have seemed surprised by the events in Niger. Many in …

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A Cry for Help from Palestinians

The two events — in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon — received little attention from the international community and media, most likely because Israel was not involved. Needless to say, the United Nations Security Council was not asked to hold an emergency session to discuss the crimes committed by Palestinians …

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India’s Potential Sale Of Brahmos Missiles: A New Avenue In Indo-Russian Defense Cooperation – Analysis

The BrahMos missile is one of the most advanced supersonic cruise missiles in the world. It has several advantages over other missiles in terms of speed, range, accuracy, and versatility. With the ongoing geo-political scenario, India is considering the trade of weapons and missiles as an alternative to increase its …

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Iran, Pakistan Foreign Ministers Discuss Expanding Cooperation

Iranian and Pakistani Foreign Ministers Hossein Amirabdollahian and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari emphasized enhancing all-round relations and developing economic cooperation and bilateral trade. Amirabdollahian highlighted the need to finalize agreements on exchanging prisoners and addressing unauthorized border crossings. The Iranian top diplomat emphasized the importance of implementing the positive agreements achieved …

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India’s PM Modi Eyes US-Russia ‘De-Hyphenation’ – Analysis

‘Binary divisions’ are common in international politics, where two opposite sides view the other through a ‘zero-sum game’ mentality. For other countries, it always poses a dilemma—closeness with one country would not be seen positively by its rival. India has witnessed the United States/West–Russia (former Soviet Union) rivalry, which has …

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Suspensions, Detentions, and Mutinies: the Growing Gulf in Russia’s Civil-Military Relations

Suspensions, Detentions, and Mutinies: the Growing Gulf in Russia’s Civil-Military RelationsThe war in Ukraine is challenging the military’s established role in Russian domestic affairs, politicizing the armed forces, and reducing their privileged autonomy in waging war and developing the defense sector.Russian civil-military relations are in crisis. Last month, the Wagner …

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Is North Korea Set to Become Russia’s Ally Following Shoigu’s Visit?

It is in both countries’ interests to cooperate, since each can provide the other with something in short supply: Russia needs artillery shells for its war, while North Korea needs humanitarian aid.The extensive media coverage of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu’s recent visit to Pyongyang contained two main messages: that …

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The Faux Ideologies of Late-Stage Putinism

Imagining history as a civilizational competition is convenient for the current Russian leadership because it means they can perceive themselves as part of a young civilization and, as such, they don’t need to calculate risks, invest in the economy, or conduct a reasonable foreign policy. Youth is forgiven everything, and …

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Democracy Digest: Orban’s Speech Riles the Neighbours

Elsewhere, Poland continues to talk tough over preventing Ukrainian grain from flooding its market; radicalised Czech pensioners rise up, again; Slovak paediatricians to no longer take on shifts in children’s emergency rooms from next week. Hungarian PM Viktor Orban did not make the international headlines with this year’s speech in …

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