Due Diligence

The EU: House of Cards?

The gloss of the EU utopian ideal has well and truly tarnished. The EU-project has now come to mean very different things to different people. The Union now covers 27 countries, a combined population of around 447 million and a hugely diverse mix of cultures, nationalities, and social and economic circumstances. A white-collar worker in [...]

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The need for proactive investment in Cyber Security

In March 2023, Capita, a consulting digital services business, was hit by a cybersecurity breach. Compromised data from the organisation, which works with business and government, reportedly included individuals’ home addresses and passport images. Hackers were able to gain unauthorised access to Capita’s internal systems using a ransomware breach, through which less than 0.1% of

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Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp – businessmen or terrorists?

It appears that Iran is entering into business negotiations in the Near Abroad and is looking to benefit from the new detente with Russia and China. Members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) are already in negotiations in Uzbekistan where a million barrels of oil a day (from a daily production of 1.46 million

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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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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 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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