"NATO doctrine defines counterinsurgency as comprehensive civilian and military efforts made to defeat an insurgency and to address any core grievances. Insurgents seek to compel or coerce political change on those in power, often through the use or threat of force by irregular forces, groups, or individuals. Counterinsurgents must not only develop short-term solutions to provide security for the targeted population and change disruptive behaviours, they must also determine t

Senegal’s maritime frontier stands as a pivotal site for reimagining fisheries governance, especially as globalization, market integration, and ecological pressures converge within the nation’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). This essay explores the evolution of Senegal’s approach to fisheries sovereignty, shifting from a strictly legal framework to a nuanced model of geo-economic statecraft. Drawing on key developments from 2024, including the release of vessel lists, Europea

"In the original sense of the term, Dutch disease refers to a situation in which an extra wealth from an export boom - such as a discovery of major resource deposits—leads to a contraction of other tradable activities by giving rise to a real appreciation of the home currency. Although Dutch disease is generally associated with mineral resources, the analytical framework of Dutch disease is equally applicable to a wealth increase that results from large inflows of foreign cur

A system of "alliances [in which] in one policy domain will not axiomatically carry over into others, as bipolarity presumes. The borders between domains are now porous rather than largely closed as they were during the Cold War. Fuzzy bifurcation, not bipolarity, presages a messy world in which the notion of a liberal order is but a distant memory. (...) State and major nonstate actors will not always bandwagon in their relationships with the two great powers. They will also

N.B. This article was written on 16 January, before the conclusion of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the EU and India on 27 January. The current global landscape is characterised by unprecedented fragmentation, a transactional approach to international politics and rising geopolitical uncertainty. Yet, in this moment of fracture, India and Europe have found a generational opportunity to forge a strategic partnership. The EU’s increased focus on India stems not only fr

Shortly before Christmas last year, the Trump administration announced US$11.1 billion arms sales to Taiwan—the largest-ever deal between Washington and the self-ruled island, which includes eight separate purchases, ranging from HIMARS rocket systems and anti-tank missiles to loitering suicide drones. Mandated by the Taiwan Relations Act, the sales aim to bolster Taiwan’s self-defence capabilities and build a credible deterrent against a potential invasion by China, which cl

"A reserve currency is a globally recognized currency held in large quantities by a central bank as part of its foreign exchange reserves. It is widely used to conduct international trade and financial transactions, including investments and debt obligations, eliminating the costs of settling transactions involving different currencies. The U.S. dollar has been the world’s dominant reserve currency since World War II, often functioning as a safe-haven currency during times of

Recent declarations by President Trump regarding the possibility of Greenland joining the United States have renewed interest in the strategic importance of this semi-autonomous territory. The combination of Greenland’s complex legal framework, comprising autonomous legislation, the Danish Constitution, and additional legal layers, together with its strategic geographic location, renders it particularly vulnerable. These factors make Greenland a focal point for competing inte

"The term “bond vigilantes” refers to investors who discipline excessive government spending by demanding higher sovereign debt yields. Since the 1980s, when strategist Ed Yardeni coined the term, episodes of fiscal excess regularly give rise to questions about when these vigilantes might turn up." Source: https://www.pimco.com/eu/en/insights/thoughts-from-the-bond-vigilantes

The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, or the Middle Corridor (MC), connects China to the European Union through Central Asia, the Caspian Sea, and the South Caucasus. Although not the sole option to for moving goods between Asia and Europe, this multimodal transport route received growing attention following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. As international sanctions reshaped trade alignments and disrupted global supply chains, countries began seeki

Introduction Hezbollah occupies a unique position in contemporary Lebanon. It is simultaneously a political party, an armed movement, a welfare provider, and a regional actor embedded within the strategic architecture of the Middle East. Much commentary reduces Lebanon to a collapsed state and Hezbollah to a destabilising militia. Such narratives obscure the structural dynamics that have shaped the organisation’s evolution and the social relations that sustain its legitimacy.

"[Soft balancing] occurs when states generally develop ententes or limited security understandings with one another to balance a potentially threatening state or a rising power. Soft balancing is often based on a limited arms build-up, ad hoc cooperative exercises, or collaboration in regional or international institutions; these policies may be converted to open, hard-balancing strategies if and when security competition becomes intense and the powerful state becomes threate

As rivalry between the United States and China increasingly shapes the international system, much of the analytical focus has centered on military capabilities, alliance structures, and ideological competition. Yet one of the most consequential actors in this evolving landscape is neither Washington nor Beijing, but Brussels. The European Union is not a traditional great power, nor does it seek to become one. Instead, it is emerging as a global swing state which will be refer

"Essentially friendshoring refers to the rerouting of supply chains to countries perceived as politically and economically safe or low-risk, to avoid disruption to the flow of business. The practice has stoked concern within the international community about the possibility of further geo-political fragmentation and deglobalization of the world’s economy – the decline of interdependence between nations, global institutions and enterprises. The US government, for example, has

Europe faces geopolitical fragility when it comes to the semiconductor industry. Europe’s heavy reliance on Taiwan for front-end semiconductor manufacturing and wafer supply is a strategic vulnerability, one that pandemic-era disruptions made impossible to ignore. As a result, Europe’s semiconductor policy has been primarily focused on fabs by prioritising new investment and expanding domestic wafer supply. However, it still lacks the essential advanced packaging that binds c

"Pan-Africanism can be broadly defined as the intellectual foundation of a desire for unity of Africans in the diaspora, a regional push for African unity, a global movement intended to unite Africa and its people against European hegemony, and the general liberation of the people of Africa and those of African descent. Pan-Africanism aims to achieve four primary objectives. The first is the political unity of Africa that aims to bring the states of Africa under a unified pol

Following military coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger between 2020 and 2023, most analysts agreed that a new era had begun for the Sahel, one in which cooperation with Russia would be a fundamental pillar. Russia offered the newly installed juntas’ military support through the Wagner Group, a formally independent mercenary group, while positioning itself as an economic and diplomatic partner for the region, drawing on its claimed “historical aversion to Western colonialis

" (...) Is a process in which the political regime, that previously was democratic but went through a change to an authoritarian or semi-authoritarian one, returns to democracy." Source: https://www.igi-global.com/dictionary/chile-under-the-government-of-sebastin-piera/41258