In the age of great power competition, wars are increasingly waged by proxy. Instead of meeting on the battlefield, major powers are armed, financed, informed, and militarily assisted partners fighting each other in other regions. From Europe to the Middle East, today’s wars more and more look like external powers are fighting on different sides, supporting, but not formally joining, the fight. This growing dependence on proxy warfare marks a transformation of international conflict at its core.
Tag: Europe
How Britain became a Belligerent without Declaring it
On the evening of 1 March 2026, Sir Keir Starmer addressed the House of Commons and set out a seemingly firm boundary. Britain, he stated, would permit American forces to use selected UK bases for narrowly defined defensive operations against Iranian missile sites nothing beyond that. There would be no British aircraft conducting strikes and no deployment of troops into active combat. His language was deliberate and restrained. Yet within an hour, a drone struck the runway at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. The aircraft involved had taken off before Starmer had even finished speaking.
DAVOS 2026: Promises, Power, and the Politics Beneath
The World Economic Forum held its 2026 Annual Meeting with the theme “A Spirit of Dialogue,” once again transforming the alpine silence of Davos into motorcades, guarded passageways, and rushed diplomacy. This year, however, the atmosphere was everything from formal. Davos 2026 took place in a world that is becoming more and more defined by technological advancements, geopolitical division, and concerns about climate change.
Strategic Arctic Competition: When National Security Trumps Sovereignty
On Wednesday, January 14, 2026, high-level talks between the Trump administration and Danish-Greenlandic officials ended precisely where they began: in deadlock. Following a White House meeting with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen emerged to confirm a “fundamental disagreement” remained over Greenland, despite establishing a working group to explore compromise. Hours earlier, President Trump had doubled down from the Oval Office, declaring “we need Greenland for national security” while questioning whether “Denmark can do about it if Russia or China wants to occupy Greenland.”
The Israel-Greece-Cyprus Military Pact and Regional Power Shifts
The Eastern Mediterranean has become the centre of a significant geopolitical shift. This change is marked by the recent formalisation of a military cooperation plan between Israel, Greece, and Cyprus. Signed on December 28, 2025, this agreement for 2026 establishes a framework for joint exercises, training, strategic discussions, and crisis response among the three countries, which share strategic interests and regional goals. This pact comes amid ongoing conflict in Gaza and rising tensions with Iran. It signals a clear effort to strengthen a strategic partnership that could affect security and energy dynamics in a volatile region.
France’s Leadership Crisis: What Comes Next?
France’s political elite were shaken this week when Prime Minister François Bayrou was removed after losing a no-confidence motion in the National Assembly. The failure comes in a series of government collapses during the Macron era, reinforcing how precarious executive power has become in a parliament divided along ideological fault lines. Acting quickly, President Emmanuel Macron appointed Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu as the new prime minister today — a gesture aimed at conveying competence and continuity at a time when the presidency is in danger of looking stuck.
The New Face of Africa’s Decolonisation
Empires don’t abdicate softly. Armies withdraw, banners come down, but lips remain. For more than a half-century since formal independence, Burkina Faso—as was a large swath of francophone Africa—maintained French as an official language. It was the language of court, school and the state. Now, with President Ibrahim Traoré (the second youngest head of state in the world), this colonial baggage has been intentionally scrubbed off. French has been reduced to a “working language” while Mooré, Dioula, Fulfulde, Bissa and other native languages achieve official status.
The Hinge in American Transatlantic Defence
Over the past three years, the transatlantic alliance has demonstrated considerable cohesion in evolving geopolitical dynamics and shifting domestic priorities. The alliance has demonstrated considerable cohesion by delivering substantial military aid, enforcing strict economic sanctions, and contributing over €185 billion in support of Ukraine. Yet, as Russian aggression persists and public support in parts of Europe diminishes, the strategic landscape has changed with a potential return of a Trump. Under this emerging paradigm, the U.S. strategy has anticipated a pivot away from military engagement and extensive financial assistance to Ukraine and press European partners to assume a larger share of the defence burden.
The Price of Europe’s Support for Ukraine
The war’s origins trace back to 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea following pro-EU protests in Kyiv, which led to conflict between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces in Donetsk and Luhansk. Tensions escalated in late 2021 as Russia massed troops near Ukraine’s borders, demanding security guarantees from NATO. When diplomatic efforts failed, Russia launched a full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, citing security concerns and alleged persecution of Russian speakers. Initial assaults targeted Kyiv, but after failing to seize the capital, Russian forces withdrew in April, refocusing their offensive on eastern and southern Ukraine, where as of 2024, they occupy around 20% of Ukraine, having gained over 4,000 square kilometres.
African Economies will Flourish in 2025
In October the IMF described a “two-track growth pattern” in sub-Saharan Africa. On one track are most of the 23 countries with sizeable exports of non-renewable commodities such as oil, gold or diamonds. These include Angola, Nigeria and South Africa. As prices for their exports sagged, their GDPs per person have dropped in the past decade. Most resource-rich countries have also been focused more on dividing the spoils of the boom years than on using the proceeds to build resilient economies.