STRATEGY & INTELLIGENCE
Taking the Magic out of Strategic Analysis
Why were so few states prepared for the major strategic breakpoints over the past 50 years, when Defense & Foreign Affairs had consistently laid out just why change was occurring?
DIPLOMACY, ALLIANCES & TREATIES
Creating a New Sunni Axis?
The Turkish-inspired Sunni axis against Israel, Greece, and Cyprus is being attempted by Türkiye. But can it succeed?
STRATEGY & INTELLIGENCE
After the Chaos: Will the US Be the “Indispensable Nation”?
The United States may, within a decade, have completed its move from being “the indispensable nation” — whatever that means — to becoming isolated, even as it remains the world’s sole superpower.
GOVERNANCE & ELECTIONS
STRATEGIC TRAJECTORIES | Another British Nationalist Party? But Will it Help the West?
Restore Britain’s leader, Rupert Lowe, has created another nationalist party in the UK. But does it help his own cause since he appears to have done it to avenge his expulsion from the Reform UK party?
2026
EARLY WARNING | Time for Placeholder “Leaders” to Step Aside
Fears flush out the mettle of leaders and societies. Or not. It is important to address this now, because fears are running high around the world.
STRATEGIC PHILOSOPHY
CURRENT ESTIMATE | 2026: The Consequential Years Gather Momentum
It is not as though 2025 was an inconsequential year. Many strategic trends came into focus, particularly around the (finally) visible collapse of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). But 2026 will see the clarification of even more events of global consequence.
PERSONNEL
Key Transitions and Defense and Intelligence Appointments - 01/2026
GOVERNANCE & ELECTIONS
How Will Iran Adapt Now?
Where does Iran go from here? How is the global balance changed — and it is being changed — by the emerging collapse of the Iranian theocratic, revolutionary Government?
HISTORY
ESSENTIAL READING | Revisiting the Fall of the Shah of Iran
Scott Anderson honed his skills as a war correspondent, but his new book, King of Kings, has a cinematic quality as it re-examines how the Shah of Iran, Mohamad Reza Pahlavi, fell from power in 1979.
HISTORY
Walwal to the World: Ethiopia, Empire, Abandoned Principles
How Italy’s strategic ambitions led to an end to the League of Nations and paved the way for World War II, the Cold War, and, indeed, the world of the 2020s.
SECURITY, UNREST & WAR
Guinea-Bissau’s Instability Returns
Guinea-Bissau’s November 2025 coup continues the trend away from Western-influenced practices and toward a resumption of the time when Africa’s future is shaped by Africa.
STRATEGY & INTELLIGENCE
Türkiye's “Neutrality” Soon Ends
Ankara’s strategic balancing act is coming to an end, but can it achieve regional dominance before the cash and support runs out? Will the President risk conflict to forestall collapse?