When South Africa held its first democratic elections on the 27 th  April 1994 and Nelson Mandela was voted in as president, it signalled the end of Apartheid. It began in 1948 and involved a system of racial segregation and discrimination which gave all social, political and economic power to the white minority in the country. Post-WW2 the National party promised to ‘protect’ Afrikaner culture, expanding segregation laws which had been in place since European colonisation in

Introduction:   Mobutu Sese Seko’s Congo presents an interesting case of authoritarian control. Lasting over thirty years as an almost unopposed ruler, Mobutu deployed multiple aspects of the authoritarian toolkit, namely divide-and-rule, decentralisation of the military, and extensive patrimonialism. However, there is a disconnect between the failure of Mobutu’s policies and the length of his regime’s survival. How did he manage to maintain control of the state even as all h

China and Russia have deepened their strategic partnership since 2022, driven by a shared opposition to the US-led global order. The partnership has weathered geopolitical headwinds, with trade soaring and joint diplomatic statements emphasising a “no limits” relationship. Despite asymmetries, their coordinated efforts span multilateral platforms, energy, and military affairs. Persistent tensions and divergent regional ambitions remain, but common grievances ensure the partne

On the morning of December 8, 2024, the world woke up in shock and disbelief as the latest news from Damascus arrived. In only eleven days, the rebel jihadist forces of Hayat Tayir al Sham (HTS) successfully concluded their assault on Damascus, forcing Assad to flee towards Moscow. What would become a new international figure, an Islamist under the fighting name of Abu Mohammed al-Joulani, marched on the empty presidential palace as the allied forces were liberating the priso

When Alfred Thayer Mahan wrote Influence of Sea Power Upon History in 1890, he argued for a ‘theory of security’ that provided a grand strategic initiative and ‘greater wealth through global engagement.’ [1] Embraced by the U.S. Navy and the White House, there’s no question that the Influence of Sea Power Upon History shaped US strategic thinking in the 20th century. Yet, as President Eisenhower said, ‘farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil, and you're a thousa

The strategic use of digital platforms has transformed political engagement by enabling candidates to appear relatable and forge emotional connections with voters. Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign marked a turning point, moving digital outreach from the margins to the heart of electoral strategy.

The Sino-Soviet Split was the culmination of ideological tensions between the Soviet Union and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Chairman Mao Zedong, having cut ties with the USSR, embarked on a path towards establishing China as the centre of international communism. This paper assesses the impact of the Sino-Soviet split on China’s strategic thinking and doctrinal development, focusing primarily on the 1960s. The split radically changed ho

Before one can delve into whether or not the Putin’s Regime’s foreign policy decisions are more informed by ideology or informed by pragmatism, one must first define what “ideological” and what “pragmatism” mean. In this context, one can define ideological actions as actions based around “a set of closely related beliefs or ideas, or even attitudes, characteristic of a group or community.”

The trajectory of the liberal order from its theoretical inception in Adam Smith to its triumphant universalised realisation in the post Cold War order has been paralleled by a developing discourse concerning the inherent capability of economic coercion embedded in foreign trade relations.

Listen to the audio on Spotify *The transcript has been edited for readability and clarity by Declan Browne & Augustine Acuna III....

1914 witnessed the outbreak of the seminal catastrophe of the twentieth century, a global conflict resulting in seismic international consequences that remain felt to the present....

I'm Judit Pach. I'm the Hungarian ambassador to Singapore and also to Brunei Darussalam and Hungary’s governor to the Asia-Europe Foundation

When the Soviet Union’s hammer and sickle flag was lowered for the last time off the Kremlin and was superseded by the Russian white,...

An interview with Mr. Oktavianto Pasaribu, Deputy Director of the International Labour Organization in Southeast Asia.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 sent shockwaves through Europe...

Decades after German reunification, significant political, cultural, and economic divides between the East and West persist.

“The idea that BRICS countries are trying to move away from the Dollar while we stand by and watch is OVER,” Trump stated, addressing a...

Possessing the world’s most populated countries and some of the oldest civilizations, Eastern Asia, Northeast, and Southeast Asia have...

When you focus on Trump’s foreign policy you will notice that it has protectionism and hawkish views on China as its main tenets.  As...

The case of North Korea raises critical questions about the effectiveness of sanctions, and how a contextual sanctions approach can lead...