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How two distant chokepoints — one between Iran and the Gulf, the other between Yemen and the Horn of Africa — form a single chain that can shake global energy prices, world trade, and the daily life of an ordinary person in the Horn of Africa Every night, hundreds of heavily laden vessels carrying crude […]
From defense spending and industrial policy to energy security and critical minerals, governments are reshaping their national strategies—not because they expect one war, but because they believe instability has become a permanent feature of global politics. For decades after the Cold War, much of the world operated under a powerful assumption: globalization would make conflict […]
For much of the three decades following the Cold War, policymakers often treated international crises as temporary disruptions. A financial shock would eventually stabilize. A regional war would be contained. A diplomatic dispute would be managed before spilling across continents. The assumption was that the international order, despite its imperfections, remained fundamentally stable. From Ukraine […]
As artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, and advanced defense technologies reshape the global economy, nations are discovering that the most valuable strategic assets may no longer be oil fields or military bases, but the minerals buried beneath the earth. For much of the twentieth century, geopolitics revolved around one commodity. Oil determined alliances, fueled wars, shaped […]
The New Scramble for Africa in the Age of Critical Minerals, Great-Power Competition and Strategic Geography For much of the post-Cold War era, Africa occupied a secondary place in global geopolitics. Today, that reality has changed dramatically. From Washington to Beijing, Moscow to Ankara, Abu Dhabi to Riyadh, major powers are investing unprecedented diplomatic, military […]
Ethiopia’s upcoming general election is more than a contest for parliamentary seats. It is a test of whether Africa’s second-most populous country can hold a credible national vote while major regions remain affected by war, armed insurgency, political mistrust and deep ethnic grievances. The election, scheduled for June 1, 2026, is expected to return Prime […]
A war centred on Iran may look distant from African households, but its economic shock travels quickly: through oil tankers, fertilizer markets, shipping routes, exchange rates and food prices. For Africa, the danger is not only missiles in the Gulf or air strikes in the Middle East. It is the price of diesel in Nairobi, […]
