Defense & Security
Asia & Pacific
Australia, India, Japan, and U.S. tackle Indo-Pacific challenges
In the midst of conflicts, geopolitical tensions, and increased pressure on global supply chains, the Foreign Minister of Australia, the External Affairs Minister of...
Iran
Iran framework deal emerging but more time required
In the middle of America's long Memorial Day weekend, U.S. President Donald Trump himself announced on May 23 that a peace deal is "largely...
China
China hosts Trump: High scores on ceremony but modest deliverables
No one should be surprised that U.S. President Donald Trump’s China visit on May 13-15 had a heavy focus on ceremony and symbolic messaging,...
Europe & Eurasia
European Political Community summit advances connectivity, energy security
At a time of profound geopolitical transformation, the eighth summit of the European Political Community (EPC) on May 4 brought together leaders from across...
The Middle East
Another Gaza flotilla intercepted amid controversy
Nearly 200 pro-Palestinian activists aboard boats allegedly carrying aid bound for Gaza were taken to the Greek island of Crete on May 1 after...
Freedom of Navigation
Intensive diplomacy focused on reopening Strait of Hormuz
Over the past week (March 30 - April 6) intensive diplomacy centered on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran closed in retaliation for...
Global Energy Supplies
IEA issues global energy shock warning
The war in the Middle East, the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz and attacks on energy facilities is creating an oil shock...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
How should Europe weather a perfect storm?
The world is in chaos, with the situation changing by the minute. As I write, President Trump has announced a deal with the Ayatollah,...
Oil & Gas
IEA to carry out stock release as Middle East war disrupts markets
As the war in the Middle East disrupts global oil and gas supplies leading to skyrocketing prices, the 32 Member countries of the International...
Transport
U.S. launches maritime reinsurance plan to reopen Persian Gulf shipping
The Trump administration’s March 6 plan to reopen shipping through the Strait of Hormuz will require some time before it can be activated and...
The Middle East
Economic shockwaves multiply as Iran war spreads
The United States' and Israel's ongoing major combat operations against Iran/Lebanon and the Islamic Republic’s indiscriminate strikes across the Middle East are escalating tensions...
The Middle East
Powerful opening salvo marks determined U.S. and Israeli strike on Iran
On February 28, a carefully coordinated American and Israeli attack on Iran -- which has for decades been calling for the destruction of both...
Defense & Security
Transatlantic security relationship evolving after Munich conference
This year’s Munich Security Conference (MSC 2026) ran from February 13-15, traditionally held over the weekend. Running for three intense days, it was significantly...
Defense & Security
Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS Meeting on Syria and Iraq
On February 9, 2026, senior diplomatic and defense officials from the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS/Daesh convened in Riyadh at a meeting of the...
Sanctions and related policies
New U.S. Iran sanctions for recent violent repression and corruption
After the reimposition of United Nations “snapback” sanctions on Iran on September 27, 2025, in connection with unfulfilled Iranian nuclear program control and inspection...
Global Economy
Davos 2026 — threats, climbdowns and false constructs
The 56th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (#WEF26) convened nearly 3,000 leaders from government, business, civil society and academia under the theme...
Sanctions and related policies
Venezuela: Seizures, sanctions and now a U.S. oil blockade
Amid increasing tension between the U.S. and Venezuela with new U.S. economic sanctions announced on December 11 and the U.S. military’s seizure of the...
Environment
Stronger EU Arctic strategy needed to counter Russia and China
As the Arctic region is becoming a key geopolitical hotspot, the European Union needs to strengthen cooperation with its NATO allies to contain Russian...
Libya
Ten country statement on Libya stresses potential for unification
A strong, unified Libya is in everyone’s interest. A significant number of major powers have come together to emphasize an important new opportunity for...
The Negroni Diaries
Another Russia-tilting Trump peace proposal emerges
President Donald Trump apparently has no more refined strategy than to disrupt the flow of world business/diplomacy with an outrageous opening salvo to make...
Terrorism
New U.S. Terrorist Designations in Europe and Latin America
As the U.S. Government shutdown has ended, a number of temporarily closed foreign affairs offices/functions have just re-opened, and we should expect to see...
Sanctions and related policies
DPRK cybercrime and illicit IT workers targeted by new U.S. sanctions
North Korean (DPRK) state-linked cyber actors have stolen and laundered billions of dollars (primarily cryptocurrency) using a global ecosystem of hackers, shell companies, front...
Russia Sanctions
As Trump’s Ukraine peace initiative fades, new U.S. sanctions unleashed
The war in Ukraine is again front and center in the White House. While U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace drive had started to...
Environment
Strategic competition increases in the Arctic fueled by climate change
Finnish President Alexander Stubb broke the ice with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump quite literally, sealing an agreement on October 9 for the U.S....
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
When Will Ukraine Become the Outpost of European Defense?
The security landscape of the European continent hinges on the European Union’s determination to halt Russia’s unprovoked aggression against Ukraine and to prevent the...
Sanctions and related policies
UN sanctions reimposed on Iran after commitments breached
Back on August 28, France, Germany, and the UK (the so-called “E3”) formally initiated the process to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran aka "snapback."...
United Nations
The UN at 80 — Little to celebrate with multilateralism under stress
Like clockwork, at the end of September, many of the world’s leaders converge on New York for the annual UN General Assembly (UNGA) session...
Espionage
MI6 launches new dark web portal as UK targets agents in Russia, Iran, China
The Secret Intelligence Service of the United Kingdom, commonly known as MI6, launched on September 19 a new dark web portal to recruit operatives...
Sudan
Washington sanctions Sudanese Islamist actors
On September 12, the U.S. Department of the Treasury through the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on two Sudanese Islamist actors...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
When Drones Cross the Line
In the early hours of 10 September, a wave of Russian drones launched against targets in Ukraine crossed a dangerous threshold both literally and...
Transnational Criminal Organizations
U.S. and Mexico focus on expanded security cooperation as fight against drug cartels intensifies
On September 3, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum in Mexico City where he declared that security cooperation...
China
Symbolic optics from China or movement toward a new global order?
With the UN General Assembly in New York less than a month away, China’s leadership was able to grab global attention for many days...
Invasion of Ukraine
Trump’s Ukraine peace initiative stalls out
U.S. President Donald Trump’s summer of disrupting almost everything is now winding down with major peace agreements still eluding him, along with a potential...
Invasion of Ukraine
Alaska summit hands Putin formal recognition but yields few results
U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin met for the first time in six years to discuss peace for Ukraine in...
Counternarcotics
WANTED Nicolas Maduro: U.S. increases bounty for Venezuelan President as narcotics trafficker
The United States announced on August 7 it had doubled its reward offer for the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to $50 million...
United Nations
At Hiroshima bombing anniversary, UN head says the risk of nuclear conflict is growing
As the risk of nuclear conflict grows and geopolitical divisions widen, the world has a shared duty to protect future generations from the horrors...
Sanctions and related policies
U.S. sanctions malicious North Korean and Russian cyber actors
The U.S. has been working to crack down on what it warns is a wide-scale, concerted effort by North Korea to dupe American firms...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
Moldova: Engaging neighbors, not just Global powers
In this era of Great Power competition, or Cold War 2.0, there are a plethora of analyses and commentaries about evolving geopolitical affairs, including...
Defense & Security
NATO shifts into high gear at 2025 Hague Summit
Many are calling the June 24-25 NATO Summit in the Hague “the Trump Summit,” noting it was “historic” and “transformational.” But most of the...
Defense & Security
United Kingdom and the Republic of Mauritius resolve the Chagos Islands issue
The United Kingdom agreed on May 22 to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, after a last-minute legal challenge was thrown out...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
What chance for peace in Sudan?
The conflict in Sudan has raged for two years, causing immense human suffering, regional instability, arms proliferation and massive displacement of the population. South...
The Negroni Diaries
False economy: Washington will regret closing important diplomatic posts
At this point many readers will have seen press reports indicating that a large number of American embassies and consulates are being studied for...
Defense & Security
G7 condemns China’s large-scale military drills around Taiwan
In a statement issued on April 6, 2025, the foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States...
Germany
Germany removes key debt brake budget limits in historic move
Rushing to arrive at a workable arrangement before the new post-election German parliament convened on March 25, Friedrich Merz’s victorious CDU/CSU bloc and the...
Sanctions and related policies
Swedish Foxtrot criminal network in Washington’s sanctions crosshairs
The U.S. Treasury is targeting the “Foxtrot Network,” which is one of the most notorious criminal gangs based in Sweden and has conducted shootings,...
Yemen
Washington targets Houthi leaders for terrorism, Russia ties and weapons procurement
Under U.S. President Donald Trump, there is no ambivalence in Washington regarding the Houthis. Handling all of the statutory requirements required to press the...
Germany
Despite slippage, Germany’s political center appears to hold
Germany’s February 23 parliamentary elections played out largely along predicted lines, with the main question on election day being how many parties would reach...
Invasion of Ukraine
EU leaders in Kyiv back Ukraine, but Trump won’t blame Russia
On the three-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, European leaders travelled to Kyiv to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky and to declare their...
Invasion of Ukraine
The dance begins: Rubio and Lavrov engage (alone) on Ukraine
Clearly working overtime to move the U.S.-Russia peace effort for Ukraine forward, both countries’ foreign ministers met on February 18 in Riyadh for the...
Sanctions and related policies
Trump administration unleashes first sanctions on Iranian shadow fleet
On February 6, the Department of the Treasury unleashed the first wave of the new Trump administration’s economic sanctions using the tried-and-true U.S. Government/Treasury...
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