Leaders from the European Union’s 27 member states will meet in Brussels on Thursday to find ways to succour Ukraine and to rethink some of its own security arrangements. Europe is hastily adjusting its thinking on defence as American policy under President Donald Trump looks ever-less predictable. A plan will be presented for the EU to help member states borrow from a fund of €150 billion ($161 billion) to spend on defence, some of which would be used to boost Ukraine’s war effort. EU fiscal rules that constrain spending also look likely to be relaxed so that national governments can splurge up to 1.5% of GDP more on defence.
Tag: China
Is Russia’s Economy Slowing or Stalling?
Data released on Wednesday will help answer an important question: is Russia’s economy slowing or stalling? In the three years since the country invaded Ukraine, its economy has held up better than most observers had expected. Unemployment fell to just 2%. GDP growth has been decent due to oil exports, which were strong despite Western sanctions. Russian consumers benefited from the knock-on effects of an enormous boost to spending on defence, welfare and infrastructure. But that could now be changing. In late 2024 the West tightened its financial infrastructure and oil trade.
China’s Energy Ambitions and the Nine-Dash Line in the South China Sea
The geopolitical conflict in the South China Sea (SCS) crops up around China’s territorial claims delineated by the nine-dash line. This contested region, rich in natural resources and critical to global trade, is a focal point of international tension. The SCS discord and the Chinese ambitions are not recent; they stem from historical precedents and contemporary strategic objectives. The origins of the nine-dash line trace back to the Kuomintang government of pre-independent China, which issued an eleven-dash map in 1947, claiming nearly 2 million square kilometres of maritime territories in the SCS.
A Snapshot of China’s Economy in 2024
On January 17, 2025, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) of China released the GDP figures for the year 2024. The statistics show that China achieved its 2024 GDP target of 5 per cent in December 2023 at the CEWC meeting. The economy peaked in 2007 with a 14.2 per cent growth rate but stagnated after President Xi Jinping implemented the ‘Three Red Lines’ policy to improve the real estate sector. Stimulus measures and impressive Q4 growth from exports and manufacturing ended the year positively. The GDP totalled RMB 134.91 trillion (US$18.80 trillion) with a 5% year-on-year growth rate in constant prices, meeting the government’s objective.
Constitutional Crisis in Georgia
On New Year’s Eve demonstrators in Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital, held a supra (a traditional feast) outside the parliament. They were not only welcoming in 2025 but expressing, yet again, their outrage at the ruling Georgian Dream party. In November, after winning a dodgy election, it halted EU-accession talks. The protestors, who will probably assemble for a 36th consecutive day on Thursday despite attempts to dissuade them with beatings, water cannon and tear gas, want a fresh vote to get Georgia back on a pro-Western track.
BRICS: India’s Position in the Emerging Global South Alliances
The BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) grouping has been the forerunner of global economic and political developments for over a decade. The BRICS countries account for over 40% of the world’s population and over 25% of global GDP. They are also among the fastest-growing economies in the world. India is an important player in the BRICS grouping. It is the second most populous country in the world and the sixth largest economy. India has also been growing swiftly in recent years, with GDP growth comprising over 7% per year over the past decade.
Indo-China Border: A Perspective on Six-Point Consensus
The 23rd round of discussions between India and China’s special representatives on the boundary issue marks an important milestone in their bilateral relationship, particularly after a prolonged gap of five years. The agreement reached in Beijing, comprising six key points, reflects both progress and the complexities that existed in the India-China border dispute. While this consensus signals both parties desire for stabilising relations, it also highlights the deep seated security challenges that continue to shape the interactions.
The World’s Economic Titans this Year
By the start of 2024 high inflation had forced the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates to 5.5% – their highest level for more than two decades. Many expected America to have a recession. Instead, its economy has boomed. In the third quarter it grew by 2.8% year on year – a full percentage point more than forecast in July. America’s unemployment rate is around 4%, well below the average of the past 30 years. And inflation is finally coming down. Output per person is 40% higher in America than in Western Europe and Canada and 60% higher than in Japan.
Why Nuclear Weapons Remain the Privilege of the Few?
While a lot of countries associate the possession of nuclear weapons as a huge plus to their geopolitical power, there are still some that fear the consequences and stay within the protected boundaries of conservatism while going international. No matter how awed we can be when seeing nuclear missile tests or new launches happen, we still have a long way to go to see what constitutes hegemony very easily here and how only 9 countries in the world have gone nuclear so far. The problem with this distinction is, it is no longer dependent on resources or military strength, but rather a very calculative set of steps that go beyond what a simple human can imagine.
2024 in Review: A Roundup of all Ongoing Conflicts
In April 2023 civil war broke out between Sudan’s national army and the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group. The conflict has caused a catastrophic humanitarian crisis: so far almost 30% of the country’s pre-war population of 50 million has been displaced. As 2024 began the RSF appeared to have upper hand. It had taken over much of Khartoum, the capital. Meanwhile almost all of Darfur, in the west, was under its control, though the army clung on to el-Fasher, the regional capital. The RSF’s leader, Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo even embarked on a triumphant tour of African capitals.