For a long time, Southeast Asia’s approach to regionalism and great-power competition between the United States and China could be summed up by a simple phrase – “We do not want to choose sides”. Through this posture, Southeast Asian states carved out autonomy and agency for themselves by not aligning with either Washington or Beijing in the context of their intensifying rivalry. One key premise…

Deepening divides and state complicity are undermining the SCO’s counterterrorism agenda, exposing the limits of its ‘Shanghai Spirit’.
On 26 June 2025, the 22nd Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers meeting took place in Qingdao, China, involving nine member states, three observer states, and 14 dialogue partners. India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh declined to sign the joint…

The expansion of BRICS in 2023 has infused a new energy into the grouping. Despite certain rivalries, BRICS members still largely tend towards cooperation on issues of development and economic growth. The grouping now accounts for 40 percent of global trade. This report explores areas of cooperation for BRICS members in the domains of trade and investment. It identifies vulnerabilities…

If any country in Latin America has perfected the art of balancing its economic interests between the West and the East, it is Brazil. Brazil is best placed to benefit from the United States (US)-China trade war. As an agricultural giant and one of the world’s largest food producers, Brazil competes head-on with the US on products such as soybeans, corn, beef, pork, poultry, and sugar…

As global geopolitics shift towards more flexible, interest-based partnerships, India and Armenia present a compelling partnership model for such engagements. Initially spurred by defence cooperation, the India-Armenia bilateral relationship holds promise for further development in deep technology…

In the 34 years since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the global geoeconomic order has seen considerable shifts. The post-1990 economic order came with significant promise. Increasing economic convergence and global integration were observed during the period of rapid globalization in the 1990s to the end of the global financial crisis in 2008. However, the second decade of the 21st century was but a trailer to the times of economic upheaval ahead…

India’s engagement with Southeast Asia entered a new phase following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third consecutive electoral victory in June 2024. With the ‘Act East’ policy too, marking its 10th anniversary in 2024, New Delhi has intensified its regional outreach through an unprecedented series of high-level diplomatic exchanges, security partnerships…

In the post-Cold War era, Europe enjoyed a privileged trade status. However, under United States (US) President Donald Trump, America seeks to change this, arguing that it harms US economic interests. Under Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ (MAGA) campaign, he has imposed reciprocal tariffs on European states to offset their favourable trade balance with the US.
Another point of contention is the strategic…

In the post-Cold War era, Europe enjoyed a privileged trade status. However, under United States (US) President Donald Trump, America seeks to change this, arguing that it harms US economic interests. Under Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ (MAGA) campaign, he has imposed reciprocal tariffs on European states to offset their favourable trade balance with the US.
Another point of contention is the strategic…

China’s interests[a] in the Arctic are diverse. Apart from the ‘Arctic eight’,[b] China stands to gain the most by enhancing its engagement with the region. These interests in the Arctic may broadly be listed as follows:
Accessing resources, particularly hydrocarbons
Using a shorter and consequently cheaper shipping route to Northern Europe, coupled with the evacuation of resources from Siberia…

According to Anton Chekov, each element introduced within a literary narrative must serve a purpose. “If in the first act, you have hung a pistol on the wall,” he wrote, “then in the following one, it should be fired. Otherwise, don’t put it there.” The ‘Reform Gun’ has long been poised for action in global governance but remains unused. It has been a fixture in the theatre…

The Russia-China partnership has grown steadily in the past decade, driven by Moscow’s widening rift with the European Union. As Western markets closed to Russia in 2014, Beijing emerged as an economic partner, importing Russian energy, defence goods, metals and minerals, timber, and other natural resources and exporting manufactured goods, technology, and dual-use…

The Quad foreign ministers met shortly after Donald Trump took office at the White House. This ministerial meeting was also the first engagement of the United States (US)’ new secretary of State, Marco Rubio. While speculations were rife about the future of Quad after Trump won the polls earlier last year, the prompt meeting of Quad foreign ministers…

n the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine war, this paper explores the changing dynamics of the European Union (EU)-Central Asia relationship. It emphasises the growing significance of the Middle Corridor—also known as Trans-Caspian International Transport Route connecting …

The Red Sea supply chain crisis, which began at the beginning of this year and continued into the mid-year, is expected to turn into a long-term crisis as the Israel-Hamas conflict rages on. The Iran-backed Houthis continue to terrorise the Red Sea, causing the Egyptian government to halt shipping through the Suez Canal, a critical maritime node in the global web of …

Given the dearth of natural resources, all major powers are intensifying their collaboration with African countries and investing in infrastructure and connectivity projects.
Of late, Africa has increasingly emerged as a theatre of growing geopolitical contestation, even as various external shocks—the war in Ukraine, global inflation, and the Israel-Hamas …

The Digital Silk Road (DSR), part of the Belt and Road Initiative, symbolises China’s approach to expanding information exchanges and digital cooperation with emerging markets and developing economies. Under the DSR, several private corporations and state-owned enterprises supported by Chinese state banks are offering inexpensive technological contracts …

The course of the global energy transition may be determined by the effectiveness of Africa’s lithium exploration negotiations with China.
Dubbed ‘white gold’, Lithium holds high significance in modern technology and industry. Rechargeable Lithium-based batteries are essential to power electric cars and store solar and wind energy. Known for its high energy density and long lifespan, Lithium-ion …

One achievement reached on the sidelines of India’s G-20 Summit was the new initiative to develop a rail and shipping corridor connecting India to Europe via the Middle East. According to a White House fact sheet, leaders from the United States, India, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, France, Germany, Italy, and the European Union signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreeing to establish …

The changing world order and the growing Chinese aggression in the SCS have compelled the ASEAN countries to increase their military expenditures.
With global dynamics changing due to big power rivalry, the Indo-Pacific region is challenging the traditional concept of the Asia-Pacific with ASEAN at its core. Several ASEAN-centric bodies provided the regional security architecture …

As an emerging power in the current multipolar global order, India can use the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to protect, promote, and project its geostrategic and geoeconomic interests. The SCO is also a platform for India to reaffirm its commitment to revive and deepen its centuries-old civilisational, spiritual, and cultural ties with other member …

India’s robust economy has tremendous potential. But for sustained economic growth, it needs direct access to the Eurasian markets, backed by reliable, resilient, and diversified supply chains. Indeed, enhanced connectivity with Central Asia and the wider Eurasia is essential to promote regional stability and unlock economic opportunities for all countries in the region. This paper analyses the status …

The G20 brings the world’s major economies accounting for more than 80 percent of world GDP and 75 percent of global trade to an international forum. While the world is still dealing with the nightmares of the pandemic, it is confronted with geopolitical havoc. And it is at this juncture that India has assumed the G20 presidency. For the first time in the history of G20, the troika is with the developing world—Indonesia, India, and Brazil …

India’s oil imports from Russia have gone up from 0.2 percent of total crude imports to 10 percent since April 2022, with imports rising from 25,000 barrels a day at the beginning of 2022 to 600,000 barrels a day in May–June. The imports rose as Moscow offered crude at discounted rates, seeking to shift its customer base after European companies shunned Russian crude in opposition to its invasion of Ukraine …

In the Russian President’s first visit outside the Central Asian Region since Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin met Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on 19 July. During this trip, the Russian President also met President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Türkiye in Tehran, making it his first in-person meeting with a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) leader since the war began in Ukraine.
Although Russia and Iran have …

In the face of sanctions imposed by the West, Russia and Belarus look towards developing and maintaining economic and geopolitical partnerships with countries in Asia.
The West’s collective reflection of the events in Ukraine draws a conditional line under the 30-year era of Russia and Belarus’ search for their place in the western-centric world.
History teaches us that “all things must pass”, therefore, it is only a matter of time before …

The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, recently said that the Indo-Pacific region will “shape this century”. It is no secret that the Indo-Pacific, in the last five years, has become the fastest-growing region, accounting for two-thirds of global economic growth, and is also an arena of security competition due to China’s growing belligerence. This new opportunity and threat are sounding alarm bells in ASEAN, a cord that connects the Pacific coastline to the …

There is little debate about Asia’s increasing economic and political significance. The COVID-19 pandemic that originated in the Asian land mass has retarded, but not reversed, the progress made in taking millions out of poverty and in moving the centre of gravity of the world economy back to Asia, where it was until the 16th century.
Because of the increase in the purchasing …

The Indo-Pacific region is an important one for three reasons. First, three of the world’s largest economies, i.e., the US, China, and Japan are present, and the region accounts for 60 percent of global GDP. Second, 60 percent of global maritime trade occurs through the waters in the region. Finally, the fastest growing emerging economies—Cambodia, India, and Philippines—are also from the region. Economic growth …

Southeast Asia’s importance internationally and to the United States (US) is under-appreciated. With 650 million people, a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of almost US $3 trillion, high economic growth rates, a middle class expected to double in the next decade, almost 400 million people under the age of 35, and navigating contested and uncertain …