After two weeks off, it’s time to catch up on the world’s events – perfect timing, considering this week may prove to be such a geopolitically consequential one. Jacob and Cole discuss Putin’s continued tenure in Russia, Israel’s combat readiness, Xi’s Marxist beliefs, the Iran deal and more.
Russia and the United States have been convenient strawmen for each other for some time. It makes sense for two powerful countries to be a little adversarial, but are they in the throes of another Cold War? The answer to that question requires a top-to-bottom understanding of Russia. Jacob Shapiro and Cole Altom explain why.
Domestic politics always play a role in international affairs. But do they do so now more than other times? After previewing the week ahead, Jacob Shapiro and Cole Altom take discuss how Iran’s potential instability shapes its behavior abroad. Sign up here for free updates on topics like these.
GPF Podcast returns after a week off to address what promises to be a busy few days ahead. Plus, Jacob Shapiro and Cole Altom pore over GPF’s new special reports on The Geopolitics of London and The Geopolitics of Dune. Sign up here for free updates on topics like these.
China, Japan and the Korean Peninsula tend to overshadow Southeast Asia, a geographically confounding region that was, until very recently, also home to our very own Phillip Orchard. Now that he’s back, he, Jacob Shapiro and Cole Altom will discuss this oft-overlooked area. But first, they address the elephant in the room: the meeting in May between Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump.
Now that Germany has finally formed a new government, the de facto leader of the EU can get back to being the de facto leader of the EU. But Italy has just elected into power parties that are less-than-friendly to Germany’s agenda. Jacob Shapiro and Cole Altom discuss how this peculiar era of nationalism is just one chapter in a much longer story about Europe. Sign up here for free updates on topics like these.
Syria is a mess. New alliances form as quickly as they fall apart. Cease-fires are agreed to and summarily ignored. Russians, Turks, Americans, Iranians, Kurds, Lebanese, Saudis and, of course, Syrians all have vested interests in outcome of the war. Jacob, Cole and Xander lay out what those interests are and catch up on what proved to be a very eventful week in northern Syria. Sign up for free updates on topics like this!
The accuracy of a media narrative depends on the motives of the agency that spins it. After previewing the week ahead, Jacob L. Shapiro and Cole Altom dissect Chinese media to get a sense of China’s military ambitions – and explain why Beijing has a lot of work to do before it can supplant Washington as the world’s leading power. Sign up here for free updates on topics like this.
Why do we write about Romania but not Rwanda? Why don’t we cover the successes and failures of SpaceX? Director of Analysis Jacob L. Shapiro and Managing Editor Cole Altom return to talk about the things that don’t quite make it into our analytic framework. Sign up here for free updates on topics like these.
Director of Analysis Jacob L. Shapiro and Managing Editor Cole Altom discuss one of the more brutal jihadist groups the Middle East has ever seen. For a deeper look, get the full report: The Rise and Fall of the Islamic State.
