Canada is entering a critical phase in the expansion of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capacity. The inauguration of the LNG Canada facility in Kitimat, British Columbia, marks a significant shift for a country whose energy exports have long been defined by near-exclusive reliance on the United States. By opening direct access to overseas markets, this project represents a structural departure from Canada’s traditional dependence on its southern neighbour. The launch

For decades, Turkey has dreamt of becoming a regional gas hub. It has sought to compensate for its lack of domestic hydrocarbon resources by taking advantage of its energy-rich neighbours and position itself as the leading energy partner in the region. To be sure, Turkey is already an important transit country for Russian, Middle Eastern and Central Asian gas. But in order to become a ‘gas marketplace’, several obstacles lay ahead for Ankara: namely the geopolitical tensions

“History is made,” declared Timor-Leste’s Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão in October 2025 during the signing ceremony marking the small country’s entry into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). For Timor-Leste, ASEAN membership celebrates the nation’s resilience and determination, 23 years after gaining independence from Indonesia and 14 years of negotiations with the organization. For ASEAN, it represents the continuing realization of a united regional community

Moldova: a small landlocked state of less of 3 million people, squeezed between Romania and Ukraine, described as Europe’s poorest country. Despite its modest size, Moldova sits at the crossroads of some of the world’s most consequential power struggles. The country’s economy remains heavily burdened by debt, much of it linked to the import of Russian natural gas, while over half of its population experiences energy poverty. According to UNDP data, more than 60% of Moldovans

How can the EU foster long-term strategic autonomy of its food system? Europe often treats food security as a given. The EU discards over 58 million tonnes of food a year - about 130 kg per person - worth an estimated €132 billion. That abundance, however, can be misleading. The war in Ukraine, dependence on external inputs, and climate-driven harvest shocks have shown how quickly availability and prices can be weaponised. We need to rethink food security in terms of resilien

President Donald Trump’s recent executive order on deep-sea mining marks one of the most assertive steps yet toward reshaping America’s control over critical mineral supply chains. Presented as part of a broader effort to reduce dependence on China, the order directs U.S. agencies to accelerate offshore exploration and streamline commercial licensing for seabed mineral extraction. While framed as a move to bolster national resilience against China centric supply lines, the po

In 2025, the United Nations marks its 80th anniversary. Since its founding in 1945, the UN has represented the idea that global order could be based on cooperation, institutions, and law. Today, however, the challenges it faces (geopolitical rivalries, fragmentation of powers, and diverging national interests) raise questions about its effectiveness and centrality. It is therefore useful to examine how this system of governance developed, identify its limits at each stage, an

On October 30th, U.S. President Donald Trump met with Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea. Despite the exaggerated description by the Whitehouse as “massive victory” for American workers, as a result of the “trade and economic deal”. Beyond the hyperbole, the meeting can rather be best described as a one-year trade truce with a non-bonding agreement between both sides, as the talks yielded agreements on a narrow set of issues of concern, but with no major strategic breakthrough.

Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital, is sinking at an alarming rate. Faced with overpopulation and failing infrastructure, it now holds the title of the world’s fastest-sinking city. In response, the Indonesian government announced in 2019 the construction of a new capital, Nusantara, in eastern Borneo. Could relocating its capital transform Indonesia’s role in Southeast Asia and beyond? With over 17,500 islands, Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago and the fourth most popul

For much of the past twenty years, Europe’s commercial ties with China have been straightforward: European machine tools, industrial software and high-end components found ready buyers in China’s vast manufacturing sector, while luxury goods makers enjoyed a fast-growing consumer base. Concerns about labour rights or geopolitics rarely slowed the flow of trade. That picture is now changing. A combination of export controls on “dual-use” technologies, which are products that c

Abstract This article would like to explore the relationship between violence, power, and symbolism in Central America, looking from pre-Columbian rituals of blood and death to the contemporary dynamics of criminality and state politics. Building on the centrality of sacrifice in Mesoamerican traditions, it examines how Gangs & Cartels ritualize violence through history and aesthetics of death. In the last part, particular attention is given to El Salvador under President Nay

Introduction: Why the United States Is Competing with China Recent disruptions to critical undersea communication lines such as the 2025 cable cuts in the Red Sea, damage to Baltic Sea networks, and interference near Taiwan, have highlighted the fragility of the world’s data arteries. These incidents underscore how undersea fiber-optic cables, which transmit over 95 percent of global data traffic, are increasingly contested assets in a broader geopolitical struggle. Once view

In September 2025, Nepal was rocked by a wave of protests sparked by the government’s sudden decision to ban social media platforms across the country. The frustration quickly spilled into the streets, with thousands of young people, many from Generation Z, demanding not only the restoration of online freedoms but also an end to corruption, political stagnation, and unemployment. This attempt to restrict the digital sphere reflected more than just domestic control: it highlig

State sovereignty and the moral need to protect citizens are at odds at a time of growing transnational crises including war, humanitarian catastrophes, state collapse, and mass displacement. Concepts like the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), human security, and human-centric ideas of duty of care are challenging traditional ideas of sovereignty (complete territorial control, non-interference). This essay adopts a comparative normative approach, drawing on UN and NGO case stu

Introduction Power today no longer moves only through armies or alliances. It moves through capital. In a fragmented world where energy, technology, and supply chains have become battlefields, sovereign wealth has turned from a financial instrument into a strategic one. What was once passive accumulation is now deliberate direction. Across the United States, Europe, the Gulf, and Asia, states are rediscovering their role as investors of last resort, and first movers of power.

The American National Style in 2025: How can Europe respond? Tariffs, shattered alliances, and one crisis ‘solved’ each month: Donald Trump’s second term is American foreign policy in its rawest form. To help us understand this moment in history, few can help us as much as Stanley Hoffmann, who theorized that American foreign policy is guided by a clear National Style. President Trump’s second term magnifies enduring features of the National Style but has thus far applied the

Every empire and order has believed that power rests in weapons, wealth, or will.  Yet history's longest and quietest force has invariably been demographic.  The rise and fall of civilizations -- Rome, the Ottoman Empire, or the Soviet Union -- has been determined as much by age structures and fertility rates, as by military or ideological vigor.  Today, as great-power competition intensifies and the liberal international order is increasingly subject to revision, demography

Part 2: A Country-Level Analysis: Impacts and Responses Along the Schengen-Eastern Frontier As outlined in the first part of this...

In December 1971, just before Bangladesh declared independence, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Ural Alexis Johnson...

On Senegal’s northern coast, where the Senegal River meets the Atlantic, the city of Saint-Louis has long charmed visitors with its...