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International Relations

September 9, 2025

Lost in translation: why the West keeps misreading China

Stefan Messingschlager Western governments have armies of Mandarin speakers and AI translators, yet they keep misreading Beijing. What’s missing, as Stefan Messingschlager argues, is independent, context-rich expertise – people able to decode China’s history-laden signals and puncture bureaucratic groupthink. This kind of knowledge is strategic insurance every democracy needs before the next crisis hits Read more
September 5, 2025

☢️ UK Strategic Defence Review: nuclear posturing does not deliver peace

Zeenat Sabur Keir Starmer’s speeches before and after the release of the UK's Strategic Defence Review contain narratives that make nuclear strengthening seem prudent and logical. But Zeenat Sabur argues that these narratives are fallacies, that if poked at, alert us to the insecurity to which nuclear posturing leads us Read more
August 28, 2025

Middle East escalation reveals Israel’s shifting strategy 

Nadeem Ahmed Moonakal The security situation in the Middle East reflects the hard realities of power struggle and the implications of the quest for regional hegemony. Nadeem Ahmed Moonakal shows how Israel is exploiting instability to entrench dominance, while Iran’s projected restraint masks deep vulnerabilities. With the US’ ambiguous approach adding to tensions, the space for long-term stability is shrinking Read more
August 27, 2025

Toward a 'not-so-grand' security strategy for European defence policy 

Amélie Jaques-Apke Are we nearing a new incarnation of the French vision of a Gaullist Europe? Focusing on strategic autonomy, nuclear deterrence, coalitions of the willing, threat perception, and defence capability, Amélie Jaques-Apke examines the strategic dilemmas, and conceptual and operational deficiencies, in European defence policy  Read more
August 21, 2025

Milei’s Argentina and the unmaking of diplomacy 

Consuelo Thiers Consuelo Thiers argues that Javier Milei is not merely shifting Argentina's foreign policy but dismantling its diplomatic institutions. As ideology replaces expertise, and institutional norms collapse, Argentina has become a stark example of how personalist leadership can upend international relations  Read more
August 20, 2025

Trump’s foreign policy playbook returns: what Europe must learn

Shamsoddin Shariati From escalating trade wars with the EU to snap ultimatums on Iran, Donald Trump's international playbook is startlingly predictable. Trump seeks not agreement, but surrender. Shamsoddin Shariati explains how Europe must now learn from this pattern, and respond with firmness, not concession Read more
August 19, 2025

☢️ The ultimate deterrent: modern strategic conventional weapons

Tom Sauer Nuclear weapons may no longer be credible deterrents in an era of hypersonic missiles and AI-driven warfare. Tom Sauer suggests that modern conventional weapons could ultimately replace nuclear arsenals, reshaping global security without risking nuclear annihilation Read more
August 18, 2025

NotPetya, Ukraine, and the limits of economic impact from cyber attacks

Tom Johansmeyer Tom Johansmeyer contends that the damage NotPetya caused in Ukraine is much smaller than many believe. A closer look at the $560 million in harm caused by that infamous cyber attack suggests that cyber attacks may only be of limited effectiveness. This, he argues, changes how cyber sits in the security environment Read more

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Advancing Political Science
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