Examining the historical background and geopolitics of the Panama Canal – a vital trade link that has recently made headlines with President Trump’s vow to not let the canal fall into the ‘wrong hands.’

Brokered by Turkey, the recent Ethiopia-Somalia agreement is a cornerstone in de-escalating a nearly decade-long rivalry.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) defies any easy comparison to moderate or radical examples of Islamist groups, further complicating the highly consequential matter of future sanction relief.

There is now a clear recognition that Trump is not an aberration and cannot be treated as such. Where European leaders go from here will define the next historical phase of transatlantic relations.

The geopolitical context of 2011 is starkly different from that of today, perhaps leading to a desire on the part of some players to revisit the outcome of the Syrian civil war.

Elon Musk’s expanding public role is paving the way toward a new technology- and innovation-based US foreign policy. Yet a risk remains of complex geopolitical relationships being reduced to a matter of technical problem-solving.

Egypt, Somalia, and Eritrea are banding together to contain Ethiopia’s expansion in Eastern Africa, producing far-reaching consequences for the geopolitics of the continent.

The US military may still be the preeminent military power in Asia, but its competitors are catching up.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine echoes the theories of Sir Halford J. Mackinder, who noted the critical importance of the Eurasian Heartland in global peace and conflict.

Long delayed and ever controversial, the INSTC is a ‘sanctions free’ trade corridor that aims to recalibrate Eurasian trade flows. This backgrounder examines the interests and geopolitics surrounding the project.