Courtesy: Niamul Rifat
In less than a week, on 12 February, Bangladesh will witness one of its most consequential parliamentary elections. The same day, the people of Bangladesh will also vote on a referendum that seeks to overhaul the country’s governance structure. The outcome of both, whichever way they turn out, is likely to pull Bangladesh into a vortex of political turmoil.
Courtesy: DD News
By signing the EU-India Free Trade Agreement on January 27, the ties that bind India and the European collective have been re-energised. They are now set to reach new heights, while overcoming past hesitations and divergences.
Courtesy: Gateway House
Iran has often stood at the crossroads of social and political metamorphosis and regional geopolitical recalibration, from the Islamic Revolution of 1979 to the attrition of the Iran-Iraq War. The current landscape reflects the convergence, once again, of internal pressures and sharper deterrence postures, that the social compact—from a Lockean and Rousseauian perspective—needs a new edition, and that timely diplomacy to prevent escalation is required.
Courtesy: GK newspaper
On 12 February, Bangladesh will go to the polls to choose a new leader. India should work to maintain a robust and cordial working relationship with the new regime as it did during Sheikh Hasina’s tenure. The new government in Bangladesh should prioritise eliminating anti-India sentiments before they become entrenched, to prevent security challenges for itself and the region.
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The U.S. demand for Greenland for security purposes, has alarmed Europe enough for talk of Article 5 of NATO’s collective defence agreement to be put on the discussion table. But can NATO survive without Article 5? And can Article 5 survive without the U.S. defence cover for Europe?
Courtesy: BBC
U.S. action in Venezuela has resurrected the 200-year-old Monroe Doctrine which sought to prevent foreign interference in the Western Hemisphere. Originally intended to keep European colonial powers away, it has been reinterpreted over the years beyond that. Donald Trump has reasserted and updated it to the “Donroe Doctrine,” to revitalise U.S. regional hegemony – and through it, some reduction of Chinese and Russian influence.
Courtesy: Somaliland Presidential Office
Israel’s recognition of Somaliland as an independent state in December 2025 is not merely a diplomatic gesture toward a long-marginalised polity; it is a strategic act with implications for Somalia’s territorial integrity, regional security dynamics, great-power competition, and the evolving politics of recognition in a fractured international order.
Courtesy: News on Air
In the shifting sands of contemporary geopolitics, terms such as ‘fluid multipolarity’, ‘multiplexity’, ‘tripolarity’, and ‘bipolarity with multipolar characteristics’ are replacing the old dogmas and orders. But what is driving the world today? How does India plan to protect its vital interests in the current age of ongoing polycrisis? The road ahead is challenging, marked by risks and uncertainty.
Courtesy: The Muslim News
On December 18, Sharif Osman Hadi, a prominent leader of the 2024 student-led uprising, was assassinated. What began as protests against civil service quotas became a leaderless uprising. As Western powers celebrated a “democratic dawn”, Bangladesh slid into structured anarchy. Dhaka now faces two futures with terrifying clarity: one with elections skewed by military advantage and Islamist mobilisation, and the other by acknowledging that democracy cannot be airlifted.
Courtesy: Gateway House
Bangladesh’s economy, already weak at the time of the August 2024 coup, has been on a downward spiral since. Banks are insolvent and cannot lend, business confidence is low, and investors are staying out. These issues will worsen the ongoing radicalisation, extremism and violence in the country.