It is no secret that China and Russia have been among the most vocal critics of the U.S.-led international world order, actively working to challenge its acceptance by other states. But how do these revisionist powers fare against the defender of the status quo, the United States, in the court …

Multilateralism is at a dead end, but powerful blocs are getting things done. When was the last time the nations of the world reached a major accord? You’d have to go all the way back to 1994 and the World Trade Organization’s Uruguay Round. Forget the Paris Agreement, which contains …

Revolutionary developments are afoot for strategic control of major trans-Middle East transport routes. Kuwait and Iraq are tussling over control of Gulf waterways, amid plans for a route from Faw port through to Turkiye, and progress on an Iraq-Iran rail link. The G20’s unveiling of plans for a major new …

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili’s recent visit to China and his meeting with President Xi Jinping heralded the establishment of a strategic partnership between China and Georgia. Garibashvili called his visit historic. Moreover, he expressed Tbilisi’s willingness to deepen its relationship with Beijing and support all the global projects—the Belt …

Former Vice-President Mike Pence is very concerned that Republicans are not sufficiently enthusiastic about aggressive, unnecessary wars. In a speech on Monday, Pence claimed “Some Republican candidates …[are] embracing a new and dangerous form of isolationism.” “Isolationism” is just a slur used by hawks to describe any policy that falls …

As Iran’s ultimatum to Baghdad inches closer, the challenge of removing Kurdish separatist groups from their mutual border lies not in Baghdad’s will to cooperate, but in Iraqi Kurds’ secret collaboration with US/Israeli agents to keep them there. On 19 March, Iran signed a border security agreement with Iraq whereby …

Israeli continues striking Syria as part of its ‘war between wars’ with Damascus An Israeli air attack on the Syrian coastal city Tartous killed two Syrian soldiers and injured six more on 14 September, a Syrian military source told state media SANA. “[A]t 17:22 this afternoon, the Israeli enemy carried …

Having viciously smeared the Taliban for over two decades, Britain now faces a challenge in the global race to establish influence in resource-rich and geographically-critical Afghanistan. On July 18th, prominent UK lawmaker Tobias Ellwood posted a surreal video to Twitter. While roaming Helmand province – the site of one of …

The Ukraine conflict and the Black Sea grain deal have highlighted the ‘geopolitics of wheat’ and helped Russia gain leverage over Europe while expanding its influence in Africa and the Global South. In the complex fabric of international relations, the interaction between geopolitics and trade – particularly of vital commodities …

What began as a localized political pact to help fix relations between Baghdad and Erbil has spiraled into renewed ethnic turmoil in Kirkuk and a resurgence of Kurdish independence aspirations. An agreement reached between the governments of Baghdad and Erbil to relocate the Iraqi army from its headquarters in Kirkuk …