Articles

Russia has a dirty little secret. It faces a dire – perhaps even a fatal – population problem.

“We need an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and massive humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza,” French leader Emmanuel Macron declared in announcing that France will recognize a Palestinian state next month—an announcement that British prime minister Keir Starmer and Canadian prime minister Mark Carney quickly echoed.

In over six months after disputed parliamentary elections, Georgia’s democracy is on life support. The ruling Georgian Dream party is moving towards full authoritarianism at breakneck speed, passing a battery of laws that threaten the very existence of independent civil society. Party leaders regularly threaten to go even further and institute an outright ban on much of the opposition.

With the return of the Trump administration, the concept of great power competition has seen something of a renaissance.

“We need an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and massive humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza,” French leader Emmanuel Macron declared in announcing that France will recognize a Palestinian state next month—an announcement that British prime minister Keir Starmer and Canadian prime minister Mark Carney quickly echoed.

In an era of shifting global power dynamics, Central Asia is becoming a more unified region through emerging diplomatic, economic, and cultural ties. Uzbekistan is prioritizing these efforts within its foreign policy, believing cooperation will be Central Asia’s opportunity to accelerate regional development. Central Asia must also take advantage of its integration efforts to form cultural ties among its regional peoples. While Uzbekistan hopes to emulate international multilateral economic and diplomatic organizations, such as the early European Coal and Steel Community, within Central Asian frameworks, Uzbekistan also supports a policy of engagement towards Afghanistan. Instead of sanctioning and excluding Afghanistan, Uzbekistan hopes to integrate it into the Central Asian community and leverage economic interconnectivity for stability.

The inconsistency of US foreign policy in the Wider Middle East and Greater Central Asia is stark. Over the last three decades, American priorities have cycled erratically between supporting state sovereignty, promoting democracy and state-building, and disengagement, before reverting to re-engagement. Such unpredictable shifts only confuse allies and embolden adversaries.

With Iran facing the threat of global “snapback sanctions” this Fall over its nuclear program, the United States and its European allies have a golden opportunity to coordinate a campaign of military and economic pressure against a regime that seems increasingly concerned about its grip on power at home.

The creator economy has moved beyond niche marketing – it’s now central to how brands build trust and grow. It’s a $250 billion global force reshaping how brands build loyalty, drive engagement and grow their businesses.

Since the summer of 2019, Georgia has cycled through periods of crisis and partial recovery, with the increasingly kleptocratic and authoritarian Georgian Dream (GD) government developing sophisticated methods to control public discourse and opinion. The fundamental question that Western policymakers can no longer avoid is: What is more important—a democratic Georgia or a cooperative, friendly Georgia? For years, these aspirations were aligned, but today they have diverged into mutually exclusive policy pathways, each carrying profound implications for regional stability and the credibility of Western engagement. 

Any pivot to Asia must prioritize a comprehensive strategy for Greater Central Asia, yet the U.S. has offered no coherent regional strategy to date. Greater Central Asia is the connective tissue bridging Europe to Asia through energy, trade, transport, and resources, a cornucopia of commercial opportunities. The region figures prominently in the strategies of U.S. adversaries for securing competitive advantage against American interests. Ignoring Greater Central Asia thus exposes the U.S. to lost opportunities and unwanted strategic surprises.

The events of the past week in Suweyda, southern Syria, have shed new light on Israel’s emerging strategy toward its northern neighbor.

With the shutdown of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Russia is preparing to copy the agency’s model, positioning the Kremlin to reap gratitude from nations now getting less aid from the United States.

The campaign carried out by Israel last month against Iran’s nuclear program was, by all indications, a spectacular feat of military prowess and strategic planning. But the role played by the United States cannot be overstated. America’s involvement dramatically augmented the damage done to key Iranian facilities, like Fordow—damage that it would have been difficult and potentially costly for Israel to inflict on its own.

Russia is not all that concerned about the humiliation of Iran despite its strategic partnership.

Although overshadowed by the war in Iran, the ongoing conflict in Gaza, and a seemingly perpetual struggle between Russia and Ukraine, last month saw an end to at least one global hotspot. On June 27th, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) signed a peace deal designed and brokered by Washington. The objective? Ending the violence that has surged in Central Africa since Rwandan-backed rebels took two major cities in the DRC earlier this year.

What a difference a year can make.

Last summer, Iran appeared to be well and truly on the march. Its chief Palestinian proxy, Hamas, had succeeded in bogging Israel down in a costly ground war in Gaza – and turning global public opinion against the Jewish state in the process. The United States, under the Biden administration, didn't appear to have much of an answer to Iran's persistent pursuit of nuclear status, or to the growing regional threat posed by its other proxies, like Yemen's Houthi rebels. And vulnerable Gulf states, acutely aware of this dynamic, were increasingly seeking some sort of accommodation with Tehran. As a result, the Iranian leadership's strategic ambitions had begun to expand dramatically.

When President Trump returned to the Oval Office earlier this year, he confidently proclaimed that he could broker an immediate end to the Russia-Ukraine war. But the White House has gotten a better sense of the potential for meaningful compromise in the months since, and revised its expectations down — way down.

Last month's conflict between Israel and Iran has only just concluded, but its results are already being felt throughout the Middle East—and beyond.

Israel has begun a little-noticed foreign policy transformation. Against the backdrop of its ongoing war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Jerusalem has launched a new initiative in strategic communications.