Clear geopolitical analysis
The concept of the “Thucydides Trap” has become a central reference point in contemporary geopolitical analysis, particularly in debates about the trajectory of U.S.–China relations. Popularized by Graham Allison, the term suggests that when a rising power challenges an established one, war is not just possible but likely — perhaps even inevitable. The idea draws … Read more
There is an old rule in politics that has survived the transition from ancient kingdoms to modern democracies: military victory creates political legitimacy. Alexander the Great understood it. Julius Caesar understood it. Napoleon understood it. So did countless kings, emperors and presidents who discovered that a successful war can transform a weak ruler into a … Read more
Why the 1995 Murayama Statement Could Not Solve East Asia’s History Problem Author: Finley Southall In November 2025, after a diplomatic row between Beijing and Tokyo over Taiwan escalated, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning posted a video on social media recalling the 1995 Murayama Statement, Japan’s most comprehensive wartime apology, saying it was “high … Read more
Author: Liza Dzanashvili “I am Georgian, and therefore I am European.” In 1999, speaking at the European Parliament, Georgia’s then Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania offered a sentence that would become on of the most recognizable expressions of Georgia’s European identity. It was more than a diplomatic declaration. For a country emerging from the collapse of … Read more
Author: Robert Saudelli In 2025, the European Commission designated The Rovina Valley Project of Euro Sun Mining as strategically important to Europe’s raw materials supply. It was among the first batch of companies to receive such a designation. However, that assigned designation only means something if Romania actually acts on it. Now, as the Rovina … Read more
Author: Salma El Bantaoui Israel’s August 18 airstrikes on the Abu al-Duhur airbase in northwestern Syria were more than another episode in the long history of Israeli military operations on Syrian territory. Eight strikes reportedly hit the runway and storage facilities, without reported casualties. Israel argued that Damascus was close to allowing Turkish troops to … Read more
The American Empire That Is Not Quite an Empire The United States is rarely described as a colonial power. Unlike Britain, France, Spain or Portugal, modern America does not possess a conventional overseas empire governed through a large network of colonies. Yet the United States does possess territories outside the fifty states, and their political … Read more
Why China May Not Need to Invade Taiwan to Defeat It An island does not have to be conquered to be defeated. That proposition has appeared repeatedly throughout modern history. From the naval blockade of Cuba in 1898 to Germany’s submarine campaign against Britain in the First World War, from the strangulation of Japan in … Read more