The New Age of Power and Peril By Ramesh Jaura This article first appeared on https://rjaura.substack.com BERLIN | 21 May 2026 (IDN) — The world’s geopolitical centre of gravity is shifting once again, and the personal diplomacy of US President Donald Trump is increasingly part of the equation. His complex and often controversial relationships with […]
After Venezuela and Iran, Next Cuba?
By Jan Servaes BANGKOK | 16 May 2026 (IDN) — Following the arrest of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in a military attack, US President Donald Trump has hinted that Cuba could be his next target. In a presidential decree dated 26 January, 2026, he declared that […]
A World of Surging Military Spending and Concentrated Starvation
Choosing Bullets or Bread? This article was first published on https://rjaura.substack.com/ BERLIN | 16 May 2026 (IDN) — In 2025, the global order revealed a sharp paradox. Armed conflicts, geopolitical rivalry, and military preparedness drove world military spending to an unprecedented $2.887 trillion. Meanwhile, hunger tightened its grip on the most at-risk populations. Two-thirds of all […]
India’s Tamil Nadu: ‘Colour Revolution’ Without Violence
By Kalinga Seneviratne COLOMBO, Sri Lanka | 15 May 2026 (IDN) — A remarkable political transformation took place in the Southern Indian State of Tamil Nadu, which resembles a youth-driven ‘colour revolution’. But this time, there were no foreign-funded “dollar-chasing democracy vendors” led by youth rioting in the streets and confronting the police and armed […]
Preparing for War, Lacking Consensus: Tigray’s Divided Political and Social Landscape
By Daniel Tesfa, Shim Masha, Joëlle Stocker and Mirjam van Reisen MEKELLE, Ethiopia | 28 April 2026 (IDN) — Four years after the war in Tigray (Ethiopia) ended with the cessation of hostilities by the Pretoria Agreement, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), who represented the Tigray regional state in the agreement, has moved to […]
Conflict-ridden Sahel at the Crossroads
The Impact of the Iran War on West African Power and Conflict By Ramesh Jaura This article was first published on rjaura.substack.com BERLIN | 25 April 2026 (IDN) — The war involving Iran, Israel, and the United States is centred in the Middle East, but its effects are quickly changing geopolitical boundaries far beyond that […]
Rethinking Conservation as a Climate Solution
Connecting the futures of jaguars, whales, and humans into one vibrant ecosystem. By Ramesh Jaura This article was first published on rjaura.substack.com BERLIN | 22 April 2026 (IDN) — Marking a watershed moment for global conservation, countries at the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of […]
A Lament for the Rules-Based International Order
By Reihshan Deen* COLOMBO, Sri Lanka | 4 April 2026 (IDN) — In 1648, the Thirty Years’ War came to an end. Beginning as a religious and political conflict between Catholics and Protestants regarding freedom of worship and the power of secular authorities to impose their beliefs on their subjects, the war fed upon itself, […]
Life in a Lawless Nuclear World
Radiological Consequences of Military Attacks on Bushehr and Barakah Atomic Power Plants By Tariq Rauf The writer is a former Head of Verification and Security Policy at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). VIENNA | 30 March 2026 (IDN) — In 1975, the US-based RAND Corporation published a seminal report entitled “Moving Toward Life in […]
The War on Iran—and Washington’s Missing Exit Strategy
By Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies* NEW YORK | 9 March 2026 (IDN) — The United States has once again launched a war in the Middle East based on false claims about weapons of mass destruction. Like the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the U.S. assault on Iran rests on allegations that international inspectors […]