Courtesy: The Wall Street Journal
The 29th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum highlighted Russia’s push for technological sovereignty. President Vladimir Putin argued that Russia and the Global South must avoid being held hostage to the West. Since the Russia-Ukraine war began in 2022, sweeping sanctions have accelerated Russia’s efforts to build domestic digital infrastructure, strengthen AI capabilities, and deepen technological cooperation with partners such as India.
Courtesy: Körber-Stiftung
The third Emerging Middle Powers Report reveals interesting trends. In every recent year, the five countries surveyed – India, Germany, South Africa, Brazil, and Indonesia – have been tested by events to prove they can prevail over the contested terrain of global politics. A pattern has emerged linking them together: non-alignment is their preferred response to a fragmenting order.
Courtesy: @DrJaishankar/X
South Korea and India have much in common – both are Indo-Pacific players, oil importers and business-oriented economies. Yet, despite the ubiquitious and successful presence of Korean companies in India’s markets, the political relationship has been weak, and underperformed. The recent state visit by South Korean President Lee Jae-myung to India along with a slew of economic and strategic agreements signed, is an effort to recalibrate the relationship.
Courtesy: Presidential Communications Office
The West Asia conflict has disrupted global stability, impacting ASEAN economies and diplomacy. As chair, the Philippines balances its alliance with the U.S. and regional neutrality, while Indonesia and Malaysia reflect domestic support for Arab states. With energy shocks, remittance risks, and inflation rising, ASEAN’s limited influence is evident. Has ASEAN once again been drawn into a vortex of crises beyond its control?
Courtesy: Gateway House
India’s proposal to link the digital currencies of the BRICS nations could alter how emerging economies settle trade deals. It is necessary to examine the reasoning behind such a move, its effort to reducing dollar dependence, and the benefits that accrue to India.
Courtesy: Andreea Campeanu/Getty Images
The war in West Asia is crowded with armaments and players, but there is one presence that is LOB, or Left Out of the Battle: that of Europe. The Continent is peripheral in the current crisis. Structural constraints, strategic dependence on the U.S., internal political divisions, and a shift in Europe’s geopolitical priorities since the war in Ukraine, has reduced its strategic weight.
Courtesy: Reuters
A new troika is on the rise: India, France and Brazil, led by Modi, Macron and Lula. They were present at the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi on February 20, representing the three largest democracies in Latin America, Asia, and Europe. Can their mutual understanding and global influence bring prosperity and resilience to their economies and strengthen their cooperation in addressing global challenges?
Courtesy: Getty Images
Germany’s prospects in 2026 are defined by tension rather than momentum. The country is neither in crisis nor comfortably on a path to renewal. Instead, it is engaged in a difficult process of adjustment, seeking to reconcile fiscal restraint with strategic ambition, social protection with demographic reality, and climate leadership with industrial competitiveness.
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: 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.