Ukraine: the war that shook the world

The conflict has forced Russia to scale back its global footprint and NATO to boost its defence spending. Meanwhile, China and Middle powers have emerged as key beneficiaries.

Christopher Phillips

Gulf Reconciliation Strengthens Arab Alliance Against Iran

In a diplomatic breakthrough, Saudi Arabia and its three Arab allies agreed to restore full ties with Doha at a summit in the kingdom on Tuesday. Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani was met…

Al Majalla - London

Indonesia’s Nonalignment Problem

Indonesiais the world’s fourth most populous country and its seventh-largest economy. Yet the Southeast Asian country has historically played an undersized role in global affairs. Its traditional…

Nithin Coca

Abiy Ahmed’s Crisis of Legitimacy

In early November, Ethiopian Prime MinisterAbiy Ahmedbegan a military offensive against the Tigrayan People’sLiberation Front, an estranged regional government that once dominated Ethiopia’s ruling…

Nic Cheeseman

The Foreign Policy Challenges Awaiting President-Elect Biden

President-elect Joe Biden’s foreign policy “to do” list only looking more difficult as he approaches inauguration day – even as the US faces new, substantive challenges, including COVID-19. After…

Al Majalla - London

Drones Are Destabilizing Global Politics

The world has entered an era of drone wars. In four major interstate wars in the last five years—those inLibya, Nagorno-Karabakh,Syria, and Ukraine—armed drones played a dominant, perhaps decisive,…

Jason Lyall

The U.S. Can’t Check China Alone

In mid-November, the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff released a 74-page report arguing that China aims to fundamentally revise the world order in the service of its authoritarian goals and…

Odd Arne Westad