Regions
GIS reports provide insight into the geopolitical trends that are critical for decision-makers to understand. Typically, these are written by experts based in the region concerned who are able to provide the latest on the ground intelligence. Focusing on politics, defense, energy and economics, they are published daily in English.
Europe
Geographically, Europe is not a continent. However, the area is bonded by common historical and religious heritage. Through a combination of its Roman-law legacy and Christianity, Europe developed a culture of individualism and self-responsibility that allowed the area’s staggering economic and scientific development over the last 300 years. As a result, the European system spread across the globe.
Squaring the circle of the EU’s fiscal rules
The evolution of Giorgia Meloni, from opposition to government
Russia’s strategy in sending tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus
In Central Europe, time may not be on Ukraine’s side
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Russia/Central Asia
This area covers most of the north Eurasian landmass, excluding territories commonly regarded as belonging to Europe. The core of this region is Russia, which has exerted a strong influence for centuries. The Soviet Union’s collapse allowed several new states to emerge. Other parts of this region are the Caspian basin, Central Asia and Mongolia.
Russian arms exports in a tailspin
Could Russia disintegrate?
The problem-ridden development of a Russia-Iran axis
Kazakhstan helps Russia evade Western sanctions
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North America
The three countries that cover almost 90 percent of North America – the United States, Canada and Mexico – are economically very closely intertwined. The U.S. has the dominant position. It is the world’s largest economy and strongest military power. Shielded by oceans to the east and west, it projects influence globally. The continent is so rich in natural resources that it is practically self-sufficient.
Tensions rise in U.S. civil-military relations
U.S.-Africa policy adrift
National conservatism in the U.S. and the GOP’s future
Greenland moves slowly toward independence
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South/Central America
Like North America and Africa, the region is blessed with ample natural resources, water and farmland. It features climatic variety and easy access to the oceans. Its countries have avoided participation in major wars. The region is plagued, however, by inefficient governance and a lack of fiscal discipline, which has led to political instability, corruption and abrupt regime changes.
Central America’s dysfunction grinds on
President Lasso’s fight for survival
Peru’s cycle of instability continues
Postelection Brazil: The house is still divided
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Middle East/North Africa
The contrast between richly endowed oil-and-gas economies and resource-poor countries is an important marker in the region. Its strategic location between the East and West, along with its energy wealth, make it vulnerable to the clashing policies and interests of local and global powers, including the United States, Europe and Russia. Foreign interventions tend to exacerbate local conflicts.
Egypt’s gas exports under threat
Middle East groups learn lessons from the Ukraine War
The Wagner Group’s future in Africa
Lebanon’s presidential standstill
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Sub-Saharan Africa
This area stretches from the Cape Verde islands on the Atlantic to the Horn of Africa on the Indian Ocean, and north to south from the Upper Nile and the Sahara Desert to the Cape of Good Hope, where the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet. The continent’s main assets are abundant natural resources and a young population.
Niger at the heart of the Sahel crisis
Clientelism makes a mockery of nonaligned policy claims
U.S.-Africa policy adrift
Southern Africa’s energy crisis
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East Asia
The leading power here is China, with the world’s biggest population and second-largest economy, which is now striving to establish its hegemony throughout the Pacific Rim. Taiwan, South and North Korea, and Japan are all groping for ways to resist Chinese expansion while maintaining strong economic ties with the region’s colossus.
What a foreign minister’s disappearance tells us about Xi’s China
Prospects for the yuan unseating the dollar
Japan’s valuable footprint in Africa
Rising tensions along the Indian-Chinese border
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South Asia
South Asia refers to the Indian subcontinent, which stretches from the Himalayas to the Indian Ocean. India, the second-largest country in the world by population, is the dominant state here, with Pakistan in the west, Bangladesh in the east, Nepal and Bhutan in the Himalaya mountains and Sri Lanka to the south. Due to higher fertility rates, India’s population will soon surpass China’s.
Pakistan’s economy shudders as army confronts its own mess
India tilts West as Russian ties cool
India basks in prominence on the global stage
China tries to charm Southeast Asia
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Southeast Asia/Australia
The region stretches from the Indochinese Peninsula through the Indonesian archipelago all the way to Australia, forming the dividing line between the Pacific and the Indian Oceans. This area is very diverse – geographically, culturally and historically. What the region’s countries have in common is their largest trading partner: China. Beijing’s assertive policymaking is the most important strategic issue in the region.
Australia’s LNG success may be at risk
Australia’s foreign policy pivot
Fear of China brings Japan and South Korea closer together
Geopolitical upheavals divide Southeast Asia
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Global Matters
The 20th century’s international order, which installed the United States, Europe and Japan in dominant positions, is ending. New powers are emerging to challenge a system arranged within the framework of U.S. and European multilateralism. Transitional processes necessarily breed chaos and uncertainty. This is the global situation to which our economies and political systems must adapt.
Tectonic shifts in AI-powered banking
Water as a weapon
The New Washington Consensus: What does it entail?
The future of global hydrogen
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