The meeting of Xi Jinping with Putin and Kim Jong Un (sometimes portrayed as an “axis of authoritarian states”) sends strong signals and carries both opportunities and risks. What the meeting likely aims to achieve (Strategic motivations) Before jumping into pros and cons, it helps to see what each side might want: China / Xi: wants to project leadership in a multipolar world, reduce U.S. dominance, secure energy and security ties (especially with Russia), maintain...

To maintain America’s nuclear energy leadership and compete with Russia and China, urgent action, global partnerships, and policy reforms are needed.  Having started my career in the energy field more than 35 years ago, it’s rewarding to see nuclear energy finally being recognized—on both sides of the political aisle—as key to a resilient, reliable, affordable, and increasingly clean energy system. The magnitude of the demand we’re seeing for new nuclear...

Donald Trump is not the first world leader trying to replace a skilled minority group with a politically favored majority. He will not be the first to fail. Shortly after the British Empire’s conquest of Uganda in the 1890s, the territory’s colonial administrators imported roughly 30,000 laborers from India in order to build a railway spanning the region. Though most of these workers returned to their homes once that task was complete, some 7,000 remained in the new colony,...

Better enforcement of the re-imposed snapback sanctions on Iran could have a decisive effect on its oil exports to China. With the UN “snapback” sanctions back in force, the regime in Tehran finds itself more isolated and under pressure. The measures reinstate the zero enrichment standard and reimpose restrictions on arms transfers, financial transactions, and energy investment. On the financial warfare front, the key question is whether the Trump...

For decades, America’s role in the Gulf rested as much on trust as on power—the belief that hosting US forces guaranteed protection of sovereignty. That belief has now been shaken. Israel’s strike on Hamas leaders in Doha came as a strategic shock to Hamas, to the United States, and to the Arab world. For Hamas, it may have eliminated senior figures who had taken refuge outside Gaza. For Qatar—a US Major Non-NATO Ally and the host of...

Most traditional communist systems struggled with economic inefficiency and a lack of innovation because of their centrally planned economies and the absence of market-based incentives. China's path diverged from this historical pattern because it systematically and gradually introduced market reforms while maintaining political control. The general failures of traditional communist economies were rooted in three main systemic issues: 1. The Economic Calculation Problem Lack of...

Democracy can become a façade for elite control, where a small, powerful group holds the real influence even while maintaining the outward appearance of a government "by the people." This subversion of democratic ideals happens when political and economic power are concentrated in the hands of a few, which can then manipulate the democratic process to serve their own interests. The Power of Money and Lobbying  One of the most significant ways democracy is undermined is...

In Serbia, history has come full circle. A Chinese stealth fighter jet, the J-35A, and the non-stealthy J-10C model were displayed at an arms exhibition in Belgrade. Ironically, the site is just a few miles away from the Chinese embassy that was bombed by a US stealth bomber, the B-2, in 1999. Inducted just two years back in 1997, Yugoslavia was the B-2 bomber’s first combat mission, and the bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade marked the most significant attack on a diplomatic...

Donald Trump’s assault on science could threaten the United States’ position as the world’s leading research nation and have knock-on effects worldwide, Nobel Prize officials in Sweden told AFP. Since taking office in January, the US president has cut billions of dollars in funding, attacked universities’ academic freedoms and overseen mass layoffs of scientists across federal agencies. Next week, the Nobel Prizes will be announced in Stockholm and Oslo, and chances...

At a time when Artificial  Intelligence (AI) is being integrated into militaries all over the world at an increased pace for faster and more coordinated decisions across all domains, the United Nations is witnessing debates on how AI  could make wars more unpredictable, dangerous, and unethical, and why it is time to come out with shared military operational guidelines on using the AI.  On September 24, the U.N. Secretary General António Guterres told the Security...

The millions of Indian soldiers who participated in the First World War and fought on the three continents of Asia, Africa, and Europe are finally receiving the long-overdue recognition they deserve. In a fitting tribute to the sacrifices made by these long-forgotten Indian soldiers, the Israeli port city of Haifa has decided to recognize their bravery and contribution ot the Jewish state. The mayor of the city has announced that the city’s history textbooks are being changed to...

Speculation is rife that Pakistan could soon sign the Abraham Accords, finally recognizing the state of Israel, more than 75 years after the Jewish state was created. According to reports, Pakistan will drop its demand for Israel to withdraw to its pre-1967 borders for Islamabad to recognize the Israeli state. Pakistan Army Chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, will then mobilize the Islamic clergy in the country to propagate that Islamabad’s decision will help achieve a two-state solution...