World Affairs

Multinational naval and air forces from the U.S., France, and Japan operate in formation over the Philippine Sea during Pacific Steller 2025. Visible are an F/A-18F Super Hornet, an F-35C Lightning II, an E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, and two French Navy Rafale Marine (F4) fighter jets, flying above aircraft carriers and warships from the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group, the French Carrier Strike Group, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, and the U.S. Military Sealift Command

Manila weaves a new web—Can the Squad hold together?

21/03/202524/03/2025

The Philippines is eager to expand its Squad alliance with the U.S., Australia, and Japan by courting India and South Korea. But is this a masterstroke or a diplomatic tightrope walk?

Neville Chamberlain, accompanied by officials, walks past a German military honor guard upon his arrival at Munich airfield on September 29, 1938

History doesn’t copy-paste: Why the Munich 1938 analogy fails in 2025

20/03/202521/03/2025

Comparing the 2025 Riyadh meeting between U.S. and Russian officials to the 1938 Munich Agreement distorts history. The world today is vastly different—politically, economically, and socially

Russian President Vladimir Putin shaking hands with Indonesia’s President-elect and Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto at the Kremlin, with Russian and Indonesian flags in the background

Indonesia’s BRICS move: Diplomacy at its finest or a calculated shift?

14/03/202513/06/2025

Indonesia takes a bold step by joining BRICS, strengthening ties with China while keeping its Western partnerships intact. Is this a masterstroke in diplomacy or a strategic realignment?

A group of people participate in a demonstration, waving yellow and green flags featuring the image of Abdullah Öcalan. Some protesters hold up posters with his portrait, while others make the victory sign with their fingers. The scene takes place outdoors, with a backdrop of mountains, trees, and a cloudy sky

The Kurdish question: Erdoğan’s gambit or grand illusion?

08/03/202513/06/2025

Erdoğan’s sudden pivot on the Kurdish issue isn’t about peace—it’s about power. With political stakes high, his latest manoeuvre could either reshape Türkiye’s future or trigger another cycle of conflict

A crowded Oval Office scene with journalists, diplomats, and officials. Oksana Markarova, Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S., sits with her head in her hand, visibly distressed. Cameras and reporters focus on the ongoing meeting, while attendees display mixed emotions

The four-minute illusion: Zelensky, Trump, and the performance of power

02/03/202513/06/2025

The Oval Office meeting between Zelensky and Trump was less diplomacy, more power play. In the end, it wasn’t about war or aid—it was about control, submission, and the optics of gratitude

A Renaissance oil painting depicting two richly dressed men standing beside a table adorned with scientific instruments, a globe, and a lute. The background features a green curtain, and at the bottom of the painting, an anamorphic skull stretches across the floor—visible only from a specific angle. The artwork symbolizes diplomacy, knowledge, and hidden threats, paralleling modern geopolitical tensions

Europe’s Trump dilemma: Smiling through the chaos

02/03/202508/03/2025

Donald Trump’s latest foreign policy moves have left European leaders scrambling to rationalize the irrational. As George Magnus points out, the transatlantic alliance is under stress—but Europe’s reaction is a case study in strategic self-delusion

A close-up of wooden Scrabble tiles spelling “NEWS,” with “CHINA” and “USA” in the background. The scattered tiles on a wooden surface symbolize the complex and shifting dynamics of global geopolitics between the two superpowers

The grand chessboard reloaded: How China maneuvers amidst U.S.-Russia thaw

28/02/202501/03/2025

As Washington and Moscow inch closer to dialogue, Beijing watches with the patience of a seasoned strategist. The shifting alliances present opportunities for China to recalibrate its global positioning—without lifting a diplomatic finger

China trade outsmarts Trump’s tariffs while Europe endures Vance’s blunders

16/02/202522/02/2025

As Trump reignites his tariff war, China trade responds with precision, leveraging economic resilience and diplomatic agility. Meanwhile, Europe faces U.S. pressure, with Vance’s disastrous diplomacy deepening transatlantic tensions

A striking painting by Greek artist Giannēs Gaitēs, titled Display or Onlookers (1974-1975), featuring a crowd of nearly identical, faceless men dressed in red-striped suits, black ties, and red bowler hats. Their monochromatic faces, with simple black slits for eyes, create an eerie sense of conformity and anonymity. The repetition of figures, tightly packed together against a vivid orange background, evokes themes of mass identity, societal uniformity, and depersonalization. The artwork serves as a powerful critique of modern society’s loss of individuality, making it a fitting visual metaphor for bureaucratic Europe’s political and economic stagnation

Munich 2025: Europe’s never-ending identity crisis

13/02/202522/02/2025

The word “Munich” evokes grim European memories: Hitler’s Beer Hall Putsch (1923), the 1938 Agreement that fed Central Europe to the wolves, and the 1972 Olympic massacre. Now, another fateful gathering looms

China’s Middle East strategy_geo-trends.eu_Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Chinese President Xi Jinping shaking hands in front of Syrian and Chinese flags

China’s strategic balancing act in post-Assad Syria

24/01/202510/02/2025

China’s pragmatic ties with Assad’s Syria face new realities after his fall. How will Beijing recalibrate its Middle East strategy?

World Affairs

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