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The Real Threat to the West from Russia and China

If Russia and China successfully expand and develop the North-South trading corridor over the next two years, the impact on the world economy could be huge. It is difficult to estimate accurately how much of the US$94 trillion world economy would be accessible to this newly fortified trading coalition. One thing is certain, however – it [...]

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Far-reaching consequences of the conflict in Sudan

The conflict that has broken out recently between army units loyal to Sudan’s military ruler and Sudan’s paramilitary is potentially a major cause for concern. It is reported that the fighting started in the capital, Khartoum, and in the city of Omdurman. The exact cause of the fighting is – for now – unclear, but

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The North-South corridor: the rise of the East

The International North-South Transport Corridor is a 4,500-mile network of ship, rail, and road routes for moving cargo between India, Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, and Central Asia. However, due to the recent normalisation of relations between regional enemies, Saudi Arabia and Iran (negotiated by China) has altered the North-South Corridor to include those nations. The rapprochement

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Saudi Arabia and Iran – an unholy alliance

Russia and China are using Saudi Arabia and Iran to create a North South trading corridor to dilute the trading power of the West. China, as the Big Brother within the BRICS trading bloc, is seeking to mediate between the two to establish a trading agreement that would benefit all parties involved, excluding the West. This move

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Georgia – the second front of the U.S./Russia economic proxy war?

Revelations of corruption, money laundering and embezzlement from within the banking industry in Georgia does not, in and of itself, cause much surprise: that investigations by the Georgian Prosecutor's Office (coming to a head in 2019 ) resulting in charges of money laundering against several senior directors - Mamuka Khazaradze, the founder, his deputy Badri

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Georgia: The song remains the same

As the fifteen-year anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s first attempt at recreating the Soviet Union approaches, the 2008 invasion of Georgia and the brief conflict that resulted needs to be reassessed: both as a military offensive on its own terms, and as part of a Kremlin grand strategy that has only intensified in the years since.

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Iran: A sorry state

Failed states are those unable to maintain economic or political credibility and in a virtual state of collapse, incapable to fulfil the functions of a national executive. Rogue states are those openly funding and supporting action with extreme prejudice that goes against the social contract of the supposedly peaceful world order and which thus choose

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Russian cold wars: It’s all Greek to me

Timeo danaos et dona ferentes, runs the ancient maxim: Beware of Greeks bearing gifts. Today, we might update this to cavete a Graecis navibus navigantes – beware of Greeks sailing ships. Lloyds List has exposed, over the past six months, a fleet of tankers, registered in/owned by Greece and conducting operations in the waters of

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Divide and conquer: The Kremlin’s gambit

Petrov’s Defence, known popularly as the Russian Game, is a chess opening based around symmetry: the second player matching the moves of the first through pawn, knight and so on, in a game that has a reputation for leading to protracted, difficult draws unless a player can seize upon a momentary advantage that may come

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Erdogan in Turkey: One last earthquake?

Erdogan should be no stranger to seismology. This is, after all, the man who won ‘landslide’ victories in multiple Prime Ministerial and Presidential elections, the man whose Justice & Development party was heralded as shaking the foundations of Turkish civil society, the man who is no stranger to a political earthquake. Yet, last month’s devastating

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