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: Gateway House
The ongoing tensions between Kabul and Islamabad regarding the closure of trade routes could significantly alter the trade landscape in South Asia. This strain can benefit India. The export and import of merchandise goods between India and Afghanistan are expected to experience significant growth, provided New Delhi moves swiftly.
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: 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.
Courtesy: Adobe Images
Renewable energy adoption will be much slower than what was being projected earlier, and China’s curbs on rare-earth magnets will slow down the adoption of electric vehicles. Oil will continue to fuel India’s economy in 2026 and beyond.
Courtesy: Reuters
China’s attempt to discipline Japan over Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi’s statement on a Chinese attack on Taiwan threatening Japan’s security, may instead strengthen the very alliances Beijing hoped to fracture. By using symbolic economic instruments, invoking the UNSC, and amplifying nationalist messaging while avoiding mass public mobilisation, China signals displeasure without risking internal instability. Yet these same measures push Japan ever deeper into U.S.-aligned networks.
Courtesy: Kyodo News
The rise of Sanae Takaichi, Japan’s first female prime minister with firm conservative credentials, carries both symbolic weight and political controversy. Her early decisions suggest clarity of intention but also highlight the structural weaknesses and diplomatic sensitivities that will shape her tenure. To keep her ratings high, she has to stabilise her minority government at home, and manage the China, U.S. and ASEAN relationships with tact.
Courtesy: AFP
The arc of revolutions has two acts: rupture - upending the status quo - and the craft of repair. Often, the second is as hard as the first. Today's Pax Fragilis in Gaza is narrow, given the continuing humanitarian crisis, regional reactiveness, limited scope of de-escalation channels, multiple actors' motivations for a permanent ceasefire, and the capabilities of Israel and Palestine to build a pathway with certainty.
Courtesy: PTI
The visit of Taliban foreign minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi to India has resulted in the reopening of the Indian mission in Kabul, and the resumption of stalled projects, mostly in the development sector. India now needs a long-term strategy for Afghanistan – starting with an outreach to the Taliban’s Supreme Leader, the dreaded Haqqani network, even the anti-Taliban groups – to secure its position in that country.