The Struggle for Global Leadership

On Eurasia Review, James M. Dorsey analyses a recent Lebanese public opinion poll that suggests that there may be limits to Iran-backed Shiite militia Hezbollah’s restraint in confronting Israel

The treatment of Native Americans more than 100 years ago cannot provide an exact comparison to the situation of Palestinians today – but there are striking similarities, writes Alexandra Hall Hall in Byline Times

As President Joseph Biden enters a key election year in which many national polls show him trailing former President Donald Trump – his administration struggles with a complicated ‘multipolar’ world. Kenneth Dekleva discusses the challenges faced by the US in the Cipher Brief.

Former British diplomat Alexandra Hall Hall reflects on the complexities involved in the conflict and why there are no easy answers – if any

In this KEEN ON show, Andrew Keen talks to Jason Pack about Qatar, Iran, Biden, Hamas, Israel and the road to order in the disordered Middle East.

Bringing together Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates to administer postwar Gaza could weaken Iranian and Russian regional influence. Jason Pack discusses the matter in Foreign Policy

In an exclusive interview, Brasidas Group (BG) spoke with psychiatrist and former U.S. Department of State officer and medical expert Dr Kenneth Dekleva about the changing geopolitical landscape, expectations from leading world powers, as well as psychological profiling of world leaders.

We are living in Robert Kaplan's world – not Tony Blair's. Find out why with David Patrikarakos in Unherd, as he expands on the wisdom of Robert Kaplan’s latest magisterial book, ‘The Loom of Time.’

The US wants Israel and Saudi Arabia to establish formal diplomatic relations. All three nations are wary of Iran, which has a nuclear program and threatens traffic in the Persian Gulf. Both Israel and Saudi Arabia want security concessions out of the United States in exchange for the deal. It remains to be seen how much they can ask. James M. Dorsey explains.

How should the UK deal with the IRGC as the future seems set for a nuclear-armed Iran? David Patrikarakos explains.

The most exciting explanations for Niger’s upheaval are globe-sweeping and probably wrong. Brian Klaas deduces the likeliest explanation, in the Atlantic.

The new normal outside of established, rich democracies is counterfeit democracy—authoritarian rule that pretends to be democratic. And the playbook is being co-opted by wannabe despots everywhere. Brian Klaas explains

Will Bin Salman reform religion in Saudi Arabia? And who would support it? James M. Dorsey investigates.

The Ukrainian war is breaking new ground in many ways, but it is likely to be remembered as the first great drone war. From the frontline, David Patrikarakos explains the death games of Ukraine.

Might China win the peace once the dust has settled from Ukraine’s war? Dr Helena Ivanov and Bob Seely explore, in The Telegraph.

What does Saudi Arabia’s decision on the new Spider-Man movie reveal about US-Saudi relations? James M. Dorsey explains, in Modern Diplomacy.

More than three years after burying the war hatchet, erstwhile Gulf rivals are moving in separate ways as they maneuver big power competition… but are they still dependant on an external security guarantor? James M. Dorsey explores, in The Turbulent World.

With Saudi-hosted talks to end Sudan fighting producing minimal results and Arab states supporting rival forces, de-escalation in the Middle East faces a major test. James M. Dorsey writes in The Turbulent World.

If the president condemns a manipulated election in Thailand, the U.S. could lose its oldest Asian ally. Ahead of the Thai elections, Brian Klaas reviews the stakes, in The Atlantic.

Are Turkish soaps helping Erdogan to stay in power? David Patrikarakos investigates the soft power potential of Turkish ‘dizis’, for Unherd.

US President Joe Biden positions the Ukraine war as a battle between autocracy and democracy, but that reduces what is at stake in the war: the nature of the state. And Putin isn’t the only civilizational leader out there… James M. Dorsey explores.

As geopolitical tensions continue to increase, so does research collaboration with international actors such as China. What risks should the UK Government, universities, and UK-based research programmes be aware of? And what do the British public think? Helena Ivanov writes for the Henry Jackson Society.

Arthur Snell reflects on the extensive shifts in the international order that have taken place over the last two years, suggesting that the UK should recognise its own contribution to the current state of disorder and that the recent Integrated Review Refresh represents a good starting point.

It’s a new world, but in many ways 2023 is like 1793 all over again… Kenneth Dekleva explores how Xi Jin Ping is playing GO while Russia blunders its chess-moves and the West struggles with tic-tac-toe. In the Cipher Brief.

Longtime rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia announced a deal to restore relations under the auspices of Beijing… what does this warming of relations mean for the major players in the region? Umberto Profazio investigates.

Amid recent Chinese diplomatic developments, Washington’s role as the most powerful external military actor remains unchanged. James M. Dorsey unravels the contemporary state of play in The Turbulent World.

After turbulent years of aligning along sectarian divisions, the Middle East is getting back to its comfort zone: authoritarian nationalism. But this time, the US isn't in the centre picture. Arthur Snell explores in Not all Doom.

As Saudi Arabia-Iran relations thaw, what are the economic implications? If an Iranian rise and the end of US sanctions is inevitable, what role will Riadh play? James M. Dorsey explains for the South Asia Post.

As the locus of Islamist militancy shifts to the African Sahel and Afghanistan in Central Asia, Russia and China find themselves in the crosshairs… James M. Dorsey explores in the Times of Israel.