The real power of the Strait of Hormuz lies not in closing it, but in the threat of closure.
The other evening, I was fuelling my car at a petrol station in Kenya’s capital. It was one of those small moments most motorists barely notice. The attendant filled the tank, I glanced at the pump price, paid, and drove off.
In times of geopolitical upheaval, nuance is often the first casualty. Complex realities are reduced to convenient narratives and countries caught in the crosscurrents of regional tensions find themselves portrayed through a single, often misleading lens.
China’s annual “Two Sessions” in Beijing have again drawn global attention, as lawmakers and advisers gather to set the country’s economic and social agenda. Premier Li Qiang presented the Government Work Report on 5 March, outlining recent progress and targets for 2026 and beyond.
The economic consequences of war rarely remain confined to the battlefield. They ripple through markets, supply chains and investor confidence. For Türkiye, at the crossroads of Europe, the Middle East and Eurasia, the economic shockwaves from the latest Middle East crisis are already being felt.
The fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal is again stirring debate in Britain. Could the repercussions of the disgraced U.S. financier and convicted child sex trafficker force greater political accountability in the UK - or will they fade as yet another passing Westminster storm?
Recent operations by the U.S. military have led some to believe that a decapitating strike is a silver bullet capable of fixing any foreign policy problem swiftly. However, this logic is flawed, and the risks of relying on swift, targeted actions are too great to ignore.
In the Middle East, wars rarely remain confined to battlefields. Their most profound and enduring consequences are often measured not in military victories but in human displacement.
Global market valuation of virtual currencies has surged to an unprecedented $2.73 trillion, approaching half the value of the world’s gold reserves. Yet for many investors, the promise of decentralisation is overshadowed by a growing concern: digital assets may be seized without prior warning.
Some changes are immediately visible: new turbines on the steppe, solar panels on rooftops, and figures in reports. Other changes mature in silence - but transform everything. Azerbaijan, for decades associated with black gold, is now writing a new chapter.
As the 2026 Spring Festival draws to a close, fresh data suggests China’s holiday spending boom reflects more than peak consumption. It points to a deeper structural transition, as consumers shift from buying more goods to buying in different ways.
Against a backdrop of mounting environmental pressure across Central Asia, the Kazakh Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources has announced that the Regional Ecological Summit (RES) 2026 will take place from 22–24 April in Astana.
In an era of accelerating geopolitical realignments and shifts in the global economy, Azerbaijan is expanding its foreign policy beyond traditional regional confines. Southeast Asia has emerged as a key frontier in this evolving multi-vector strategy.
Despite its economic might, the European Union is often labelled a “geopolitical dwarf.” The only region where it acts as an indisputable player, able to assert its will with relative ease, is the Western Balkans, along with parts of Eastern Europe.
As the U.S. grows increasingly unpredictable, historical alliances are under immense pressure. Since WWII, Europe and the U.S. have shared a robust, multifaceted relationship. Once driven by Cold War rivalry and the Soviet threat, this alliance now faces serious challenges.
On 11 January, Russia’s war in Ukraine crossed a symbolic threshold. It entered its 1,418th day, matching exactly the duration of the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945. Despite promises of “taking Kyiv in three days” the number has now exposed the limits of Russian power and strategy.
As Europe accelerates its energy transition, Azerbaijan is emerging as a pivotal supplier of renewable electricity. Through a growing network of green energy corridors, Baku could reshape energy security in the Balkans and beyond.
What has unfolded in northern Syria recently is not the dramatic defeat of a community, nor a humanitarian parable of “betrayal”. It reflects a familiar pattern in Middle Eastern geopolitics: the quiet removal of a proxy whose strategic usefulness has expired.
Whoever was responsible for scheduling the sessions at the recently held World Economic Forum in Davos showed a keen sense of geopolitical choreography.
The post-pandemic period marked a turning point in global debates over politics, economics, and governance. In late 2022, the release of ChatGPT accelerated the shift from abstract discussions of artificial intelligence to its everyday relevance.
