DIPLOMACY, ALLIANCES & TREATIES
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HISTORY
Geography: We Are Where We Are
Geography is patently a critical factor in strategic thinking, not just because of the physical limitations and possibilities it unveils, but because of the psychological impact of geography upon its inhabitants.
STRATEGY & INTELLIGENCE
STRATEGIC TRAJECTORIES | Beijing’s Rear-Guard Action to Shore Up Strategic Influence in Eswatini
Beijing, having failed to change the Government of Eswatini, has begun operations to dominate the country’s commercial and political sectors. However, its decline in influence through Africa and the rest of the world is now becoming significant as its signature Belt and Road Initiative falls apart.
PERSONNEL
Key Transitions and Defense and Intelligence Appointments - 04/2026
DIPLOMACY, ALLIANCES & TREATIES
Seizing Certainty: The Growing Japan-Australia Closeness
DIPLOMACY, ALLIANCES & TREATIES
Diplomacy on the Brink in West Africa
Regional cooperation blocs are everywhere becoming less cohesive, but the disintegration of the West African pioneer, ECOWAS, has perhaps been the most significant.
SOVEREIGNTY
Bougainville: Independence at Last?
Birthing a nation-state at a time when the old rules are less secure than they were.
DIPLOMACY, ALLIANCES & TREATIES
A New Axis? Türkiye, Ukraine and Syria
In order to show that it favors the US strategy and to present itself as a factor of stability in the region, Türkiye is bringing Ukraine to Syria; that is, to a geographical area that Russia has traditionally used by maintaining bases in order to serve its interests in the Eastern Mediterranean.
STRATEGIC PHILOSOPHY
Strategic Trends: We, the Imperialists!
We have abused the language and words of power. Our glib misuse of them hurts us and obscures the lessons of history at a time when we desperately need guidelines.
SECURITY, UNREST & WAR
World War III: The Soft Launch
Everything is connected, and it’s starting to become clear with the US strategic operations.
STRATEGY & INTELLIGENCE
CURRENT ESTIMATE | Has Trump Chosen to Fall on the Hills of the Zagros?
Did the US have no concrete follow-on plan to restore Iran as a stable ally of the US in the region, as it had been during the US Nixon Administration (1969-74)?
DIPLOMACY, ALLIANCES & TREATIES
EN CLAIR | The Return of Taiwan: How Beijing’s Collapsing Influence Opens the Door for Taipei
Taiwan could be poised to benefit from the declining fortunes of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to conceivably begin expanding once again the number of nations with which it has diplomatic relations.