Diplomacy & Politics (Page 5)

Civil Society's Frontline: How Aid Flotillas Are Reshaping Conflict Diplomacy

Aid flotillas are not humanitarian operations — they are political acts. They challenge blockades, generate confrontations and force governments to respond. Civil society has learned to use the tools of conflict to expose it. The flotilla model is not going away. It is spreading.

By Sunny Peter

/ 9 Oct 2025

Civil Society's Frontline: How Aid Flotillas Are Reshaping Conflict Diplomacy

Between Technocracy and Sovereignty: Can International Administration Work in Gaza?

Some have proposed internationally administered governance for Gaza as an alternative to Hamas or Israeli occupation. The idea is serious — and seriously complicated. International administration has a poor track record. But the alternatives being proposed are no more promising.

By Sunny Peter

/ 7 Oct 2025

Between Technocracy and Sovereignty: Can International Administration Work in Gaza?

Russia's Shrinking Sphere: Moldova's Pro-Western Victory Signals Shift

Moldova's pro-European presidential result is significant. Russia spent years cultivating influence in Chisinau through energy dependency, propaganda and political financing. The vote suggests that model has limits. The post-Soviet sphere is not as durable as Moscow assumed.

By Sunny Peter

/ 2 Oct 2025

Russia's Shrinking Sphere: Moldova's Pro-Western Victory Signals Shift

Afghanistan's Digital Darkness: How the World Learned to Stop Worrying and Forget the Taliban

The Taliban have governed Afghanistan for years now. The international community's attention has moved on. What remains is a population — particularly women and girls — living under one of the most restrictive governments on earth, mostly out of sight of those who promised to care.

By Sunny Peter

/ 1 Oct 2025

Afghanistan's Digital Darkness: How the World Learned to Stop Worrying and Forget the Taliban

Can Iran and Israel Really Become Friends? Trump Thinks They Can

The Trump administration floated Israeli-Iranian normalisation as part of a regional realignment. The proposal misreads both states. Iran and Israel are not estranged partners — they are ideological adversaries whose hostility is structural, not diplomatic.

By Sunny Peter

/ 1 Oct 2025

Can Iran and Israel Really Become Friends? Trump Thinks They Can

Everyone’s Celebrating Trump’s Gaza Plan—Except the People Who’ve Heard These Promises Before

Every administration produces a Gaza plan. Every plan arrives with optimism and departs without implementation. The people who know this best are Palestinians — who have watched the same cycle repeat for thirty years. Celebrations are premature. They always are.

By Sunny Peter

/ 30 Sep 2025

Everyone’s Celebrating Trump’s Gaza Plan—Except the People Who’ve Heard These Promises Before

New Cold War in the Arctic: Military Buildup, Territorial Claims, and the Fight for the North

Russia has been militarising the Arctic for a decade. China has declared itself a near-Arctic state. NATO is scrambling to respond. The far north — once a strategic afterthought — is the next contested frontier of great power competition. The ice is melting. The tensions are not.

By Sunny Peter

/ 30 Sep 2025

New Cold War in the Arctic: Military Buildup, Territorial Claims, and the Fight for the North

AI and Diplomacy: 3 Must Read Books for Understanding Artificial Intelligence's Impact on International Relations

Artificial intelligence is reshaping statecraft faster than most diplomatic institutions can track. These three books offer the clearest frameworks for understanding what AI means for war, governance and the balance of power — written for the analyst who cannot afford to waste time.

By Sunny Peter

/ 26 Sep 2025

AI and Diplomacy: 3 Must Read Books for Understanding Artificial Intelligence's Impact on International Relations

A Beginner's Guide to Political Realism for the 21st Century Reader

Political realism is the most influential tradition in international relations — and the most misunderstood. It is not cynicism. It is not the belief that might makes right. It is the attempt to understand state behaviour as it is, rather than as we might wish it to be.

By Sunny Peter

/ 26 Sep 2025

A Beginner's Guide to Political Realism for the 21st Century Reader

The Moldova Playbook: How Russia's "Occupation" Accusations Mirror Its Prewar Strategy

Before Ukraine, Russia called it peacekeeping. Before Georgia, it cited minority protection. Now the same language is being applied to Moldova. The playbook is not new — the occupation accusation precedes the intervention. Moldova is being prepared, not merely threatened.

By Sunny Peter

/ 23 Sep 2025

The Moldova Playbook: How Russia's "Occupation" Accusations Mirror Its Prewar Strategy

Myth of Perpetual Dominance: What 500 Years Teaches About Multipolarity

No power has held global dominance forever. The Spanish empire, the British empire, the American unipolar moment — each peaked, overreached and declined. Five hundred years of history teach one consistent lesson: dominance is always temporary. The question is what comes after.

By Sunny Peter

/ 23 Sep 2025

Myth of Perpetual Dominance: What 500 Years Teaches About Multipolarity

15 Timeless Books That Define International Relations and Geopolitics

Some books define a field. Others define how practitioners think about power long after they were written. This list identifies 15 works — from Thucydides to Mearsheimer — that remain essential for anyone seeking to understand why states behave as they do.

By Sunny Peter

/ 18 Sep 2025

15 Timeless Books That Define International Relations and Geopolitics