Backgrounders
Strategic Commodities 2.0: Global Tantalum Supply & Demand
Next in our series on strategic commodities we examine tantalum, a conflict mineral with complex geopolitical ramifications for East Africa and beyond.
Backgrounder: China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)
Assessing the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) after six years: Has the project's original ambition been realized?
The EU’s New ‘Eastern Question’: Refugees, Gas, and Neo-Ottoman Imperialism
The ‘Eastern Question’ has re-emerged to haunt EU policymakers, and a proper answer requires a true understanding of region’s historical specificities.
The Wagner Group: Origins and Early Deployments
First in a two-part series, this backgrounder traces the origins and earliest deployments of Russia’s infamous mercenary outfit: the Wagner Group.
Biden’s Day One Executive Actions Take Aim at Key Planks of Trump Era
In what seems to be an emerging norm for the executive branch, US President Joe Biden has wasted no time in dismantling key planks of his predecessor’s agenda.
Warfare Evolved: Drone Swarms
The advent of drones may have revolutionized modern warfare, but the disruptions are only getting started.
Backgrounder: Geopolitics of the Eastern Mediterranean Conflict
Who is backing who in simmering geopolitical tensions over energy deposits in the Eastern Mediterranean?
Warfare Evolved: Quantum Radar
The next great leap in radar technology threatens to render strategic standards like stealth technology and signal jamming irrelevant.
Strategic Commodities 2.0: US Lithium Production
US battery giants have long been reliant on foreign lithium supply for their production. But this is now changing.
Why Protectionism Could Not Solve Trump’s Trade Deficit
President Trump came to power on a platform of reducing the trade deficit, yet in 2020 the gap remains wide as ever. What went wrong?