GOVERNANCE & ELECTIONS
SECURITY, UNREST & WAR
Is the Iranian Empire Finally Re-Emerging?
A revived Persian Empire is within Iran’s grasp. The mullahs’ Tehran, which had long resisted the call of traditional Persian geopolitical thinking, now seems to be embracing Persian geopolitics...
SOVEREIGNTY
The Kurdish Referendum: Perpetual Victims
Kurdistan’s saga is far from over, but, for now, US influence has diminished significantly.
PERSONNEL
Key Transitions and Defense and Intelligence Appointments - 10/2017
GOVERNANCE & ELECTIONS
EN CALIR | NZ Election Ties into Broader Indo-Pacific Change
CULTURE, PSYCHOLOGY & MEDIA
Strategic Architecture: Power in the Mega-Cities
Advocates of the new “city-states” are emerging to challenge the advocates of revived national sovereignty. But can such polities actually handle the complexities of power without exercising absolute control over vital sources of the materials of survival?
SOVEREIGNTY
Cratometamorphosis: Inclusion, Exclusion, Seclusion?
The mounting hysteria over secessionist and sovereignty movements — whether in Catalonia, Scotland, Kurdistan, Turkey, West Papua, or Oromia — should cause political leaders to reflect on the causes of national schisms rather than merely to attempt to suppress them.
GOVERNANCE & ELECTIONS
Governance Republic Versus Crown: Competition or Convergence?
A debate is emerging, for the first time in more than a century, over forms of governance. Is it a choice between “republic” and “monarchy”? Or something more? Are “crowned republics” an answer?
STRATEGY & INTELLIGENCE
CURRENT ESTIMATE | Turning Point: The New US Afghanistan “Strategy”
PERSONNEL
Key Transitions and Defense and Intelligence Appointments - 08/2017
DIPLOMACY, ALLIANCES & TREATIES
EN CLAIR | Iran, Turkey: Keep Allies Close; Keep Rivals Still Closer
STRATEGY & INTELLIGENCE
Africa’s Significant Rôle in Beijing’s Global Strategy
Africa has assumed a central rôle in the strategy of the PRC, and promises to become — through China’s portion of the Silk Road — integral to Beijing’s future.