On President Donald Trump’s first day in office, the administration launched a concerted attack on the U.S. foreign aid framework,[1] sending shockwaves through the global humanitarian landscape. Under a cloud…

History knows only very few examples of attempts to rebuild once collapsed empires, but it looks as if Vladimir Putin’s Russia is exhibiting such an attempt. More than a decade…

Despite stark contrasts—if not outright opposition—between modern China and the United States, subtle yet undeniable parallels have emerged across society, economy, and politics. These similarities are shaped by mutual influences…

Statecraft, long considered an art requiring years of study and profound human behavioral insight, is now entering an era defined by Artificial Intelligence (AI). Traditionally guided by complex emotions and…

Having lived through an era of carrier-enabled US naval domination of the high seas for decades, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has been relentlessly bolstering its naval capability in…

El Salvador’s ‘maverick’[1] president, Nayib Bukele, has proposed a unique agreement with the United States, offering to house American criminals and deportees[2] in its notorious mega-prison, Centro de Confinamiento del…

Social media and technological advances have drastically changed international communication, which has an impact on how countries exercise influence. The phrase “soft power,” which was coined by Joseph Nye[1], describes…

On January 15, 2024, after months of a tumultuous post-election political and democratic crisis that placed Guatemala at the top of the political agenda in the Americas, Bernardo Arévalo was…

Political campaigns have been repurposed to accommodate the importance of social media platforms as powerful tools for communication, outreach, and influence. The 2024 U.S. presidential election highlighted the key role…