Category: GeoPolitics
The analysis published under this category are as follows.
Tuesday, July 07, 2015
Is Saudi Arabia Leaving The U.S. Behind For Russia? / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: OilPrice_Com
The news from the recent St. Petersburg Economic Forum, which took place from June 18 to 20, inspired a torrent of speculation on the future direction of energy prices.
But the real buzz at the conference was the unexpected but much publicized visit of the Saudi Deputy Crown Prince, as an emissary of the King. The Prince, who is also his country's Defense Minister, carried the royal message of a direct invitation to President Putin to visit the King, which was immediately accepted and reciprocated, with the Prince accepting on behalf of his father.
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
A Net Assessment of East Asia / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: STRATFOR
George Friedman writes: When I began this series a month ago, I pointed out that the most significant feature of the global system currently is the ongoing destabilization of the Eurasian land mass, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from the Arctic to the Arabian Sea. One important aspect of this is that the destabilization isn't, at this point, a single systemic crisis, but a series of relatively self-contained disorders. Thus the European, Russian and Middle Eastern systems have different dynamics, and while they touch on each other, they have not yet reached the point of having merged into a single crisis.
Friday, June 12, 2015
Spratly Islands - China Beating Uncle Sam at His Own Game / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Mike_Whitney
The vast build up of military assets in the Asia-Pacific signals a fundamental change in U.S. policy towards China. Washington no longer believes that China can be integrated into the existing US-led system. Recent actions taken by China– particularly the announcement that it planned to launch an Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) that would compete head-to-head with the World Bank and IMF— have set off alarms in the Capital where behind-the-scenes powerbrokers and think tank pundits agree that a more “robust” policy is needed to slow China’s ascendency. The current confrontation in the South China Sea–where the US has demanded that China immediately cease all land reclamation activities–indicates that the new policy has already been activated increasing the prospects of a conflagration between the two nuclear-armed adversaries.
Saturday, May 30, 2015
Pivot Insanity Risking Nuclear War - Why is Obama Goading China? / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Mike_Whitney
US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter is willing to risk a war with China in order to defend “freedom of navigation” in the South China Sea. Speaking in Honolulu, Hawaii on Wednesday, Carter issued his “most forceful” warning yet, demanding “an immediate and lasting halt to land reclamation” by China in the disputed Spratly Islands.
Carter said: “There should be no mistake: The United States will fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows, as we do all around the world.” He also added that the United States intended to remain “the principal security power in the Asia-Pacific for decades to come.”
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Thursday, May 28, 2015
George Soros Warns of “Third World War” / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: GoldCore
- War “inevitable” if U.S. meddles in South China Sea – Global Times
- Senior NATO official warns that “we’ll probably be at war this summer”
- Soros warns of ‘New World Order’ and war with China
- Soros warns could be “on the threshold of a Third World War”
- Many countries in Pacific lay claim to strategically important and mineral rich islands
- Tensions between U.S. and China and Russia escalating
- War would have many facets including cyber-warfare and currency wars
Thursday, May 21, 2015
The Russia-West Rivalry in the Balkans / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: STRATFOR
Russia, Turkey and the West all share one rival in the Balkans: political instability. Located at the confluence of three historic empires, the strip of land between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea has long been the focus of competition among global powers. Now it is just one arena in the standoff between Russia and the West. Yet, with both sides attempting to buy influence with investments and energy projects, and with Turkey struggling to keep pace, internal political challenges threaten to undermine outside efforts to develop and shape the region. As major powers use their financial and political clout to gain influence in the Balkans, weak local governments will continue to balance among competing nations.
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
World War II and the Origins of American Unease / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: STRATFOR
We are at the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. That victory did not usher in an era of universal peace. Rather, it introduced a new constellation of powers and a complex balance among them. Europe's great powers and empires declined, and the United States and the Soviet Union replaced them, performing an old dance to new musical instruments. Technology, geopolitics' companion, evolved dramatically as nuclear weapons, satellites and the microchip — among myriad wonders and horrors — changed not only the rules of war but also the circumstances under which war was possible. But one thing remained constant: Geopolitics, technology and war remained inseparable comrades.
Thursday, May 07, 2015
European War Games: Responses to Russian Military Drills / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: STRATFOR
Several events have coincided to demonstrate the dynamic, if not guarded, relationship between Russia and the Nordic and Baltic states. Ten NATO countries and Sweden launched a two-week planned exercise in the North Sea on May 4 to improve their anti-submarine warfare capabilities. On the same day, Finland — not a NATO member — began mailing letters to about 900,000 reservists informing them of their roles in a potential crisis situation. Meanwhile, Sweden's Foreign Ministry formally complained to Russian authorities that Russian navy ships were disrupting cable-laying work in waters between Sweden and Lithuania, the latest in a series of formal complaints over Russia's activity in the area. Concurrently, the Swedish and Lithuanian foreign ministers met with Moldova's pro-West leaders in Chisinau.
Thursday, April 30, 2015
The Real Reason Why Obama Wants to Lift Sanctions on Iran / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Mike_Whitney
“It is essential to recognize that Iran does not currently have a nuclear weapons program, nor does it possess a nuclear weapon. On February 26, James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that Ayatollah Khomenei, the supreme leader of Iran, ended his country’s nuclear weapons program in 2003 and “as far as we know, he’s not made the decision to go for a nuclear weapon.” This repeats the “high-confidence” judgement of the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) that was first made in November 2007.”
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Coming to Terms With the American Empire / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: STRATFOR
George Friedman writes: "Empire" is a dirty word. Considering the behavior of many empires, that is not unreasonable. But empire is also simply a description of a condition, many times unplanned and rarely intended. It is a condition that arises from a massive imbalance of power. Indeed, the empires created on purpose, such as Napoleonic France and Nazi Germany, have rarely lasted. Most empires do not plan to become one. They become one and then realize what they are. Sometimes they do not realize what they are for a long time, and that failure to see reality can have massive consequences.
Thursday, April 09, 2015
Who Owns the North Pole? / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: MISES
Benjamin M. Wiegold writes: The battle for the North Pole is snowballing between national governments along the Arctic Circle, as they all have their eyes set on the vast natural resources residing in the Arctic region. Indeed, it’s estimated the Arctic Ocean floor contains 22 percent of all unused oil and natural gas in the world — the largest remaining untapped concentration.
From this year until 2017, the US will hold the chair of the Arctic Council (AC) — an international forum founded in 1996, comprised of member states Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the US.The purpose of the AC is to
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Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Middle East Balance of Power Matures / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: STRATFOR
George Friedman writes: Last week, a coalition of predominantly Sunni Arab countries, primarily from the Arabian Peninsula and organized by Saudi Arabia, launched airstrikes in Yemen that have continued into this week. The airstrikes target Yemeni al-Houthis, a Shiite sect supported by Iran, and their Sunni partners, which include the majority of military forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh. What made the strikes particularly interesting was what was lacking: U.S. aircraft. Although the United States provided intelligence and other support, it was a coalition of Arab states that launched the extended air campaign against the al-Houthis.
Sunday, March 08, 2015
How Putin Blocked the U.S. Pivot to Asia - Get Vlad! / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Mike_Whitney
Read full article... Read full article...“The collapse of the Soviet Union removed the only constraint on Washington’s power to act unilaterally abroad…. Suddenly the United States found itself to be the Uni-power, the ‘world’s only superpower.’ Neoconservatives proclaimed ‘the end of history.'”— Paul Craig Roberts, former Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury
“Don’t blame the mirror if your face is crooked.” — Russian proverb
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Europe - The Intersection of Three Crises / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: STRATFOR
Reva Bhalla writes: Within the past two weeks, a temporary deal to keep Greece in the eurozone was reached in Brussels, a cease-fire roadmap was agreed to in Minsk and Iranian negotiators advanced a potential nuclear deal in Geneva. Squadrons of diplomats have forestalled one geopolitical crisis after another. Yet it would be premature, even reckless, to assume that the fault lines defining these issues are effectively stable. Understanding how these crises are inextricably linked is the first step toward assessing when and where the next flare-up is likely to occur.
Sunday, February 22, 2015
Is Putin's Russia Ready For Total Economic War With the West? / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Ron_Holland
On February 18, 1943, German Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels delivered a rousing speech at the Berlin Sportpalast, asking the German people, "Sind Sie bereit für totalen Krieg?" or "Are you ready for total War?" Germany had planned for Blitzkrieg and a short war and was unprepared for a world war as the combined military forces of the United States, England and the Soviet Union crushed the Reich relentlessly and systematically. Although the people and economy rallied in defense of Germany, total war only prolonged the horrors of war and delayed their inevitable defeat.
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Minsk Summit Highlights A Shaky NATO Union – Russia Is Far From Isolated / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: GoldCore
- Merkel and Hollande to attend peace talks in Belarus to resolve Ukraine’s civil war today
- US and UK not invited
- Germany and US present united front but tensions ripple under the surface
- Foreign Minister of Greece, Nikolaos Kotzias, to meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov today as the crucial Eurogroup of finance ministers meet to determine the fate of Greece and the Euro
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Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Washington's War on Russia / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Paul_Craig_Roberts
Washington’s attack on Russia has moved beyond the boundary of the absurd into the realm of insanity.
The New Chief of the US Broadcasting Board of Governors, Andrew Lack, has declared the Russian news service, RT, which broadcasts in multiple languages, to be a terrorist organization equivalent to Boko Haram and the Islamic State, and Standard and Poor’s just downgraded Russia’s credit rating to junk status.
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Sunday, January 04, 2015
Oil, Power and Psychopaths / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Raul_I_Meijer
Iran has a – very – long running dispute with the US about its nuclear technology. The US wants Assad (Bashar Al-Assad) out of Syria, while Iran and Russia support Assad (Russia’s sole proper base in the Middle East), who’s an Alawite (a Shi-ite branch), a people historically persecuted by Sunni’s. ISIS (or Daesh in the region) is Sunni. So are the Saudi’s. Iran is Shi’ite. Bahrain is ruled by Sunni but has a majority Shi’ite population. And I could go on for a while. A long while.
All this plays into the oil game, the falling oil prices. Blaming OPEC for the recent price fall is seeing the world from a child’s perspective. OPEC and its major voteholder, Saudi Arabia, are no more to blame for the plunge than the US, Russia or other non-OPEC producers. Everybody produces as if there’s no tomorrow, and the Saudi’s have merely concluded that their only choice is to do the same. It’s a race to the bottom.
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Friday, January 02, 2015
Where Have All the Statesmen Gone? / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Marin_Katusa
One of the most striking things about the Colder War—as I explore in my new book of the same name—has been the contrast between the peevish tone of the West’s leaders compared to the more grown-up and statesmanlike approach that Putin is taking in international affairs.
Western leaders and their unquestioning media propagandists appear to believe that diplomatic relations are some kind of reward for good behavior. But it’s actually more important to establish a constructive dialogue with your enemies or rivals than your friends, because that’s where you need to find common ground. Indeed, it’s been the basis for diplomacy since time immemorial.
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Thursday, January 01, 2015
2014 in 5 Narratives - 2014 in 5 Narratives - Ukraine, EU, Oil, North Korea and U.S Dollar / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Raul_I_Meijer
Let’s see, how do we close this year in a proper manner? I already wrote that 2014 for me has been The Year Propaganda Came Of Age. Likewise, looking forward, I said that The Biggest Economic Story Going Into 2015 Is Not Oil. Moreover, I talked about things that need to be done next year in Things To Do In 2015 When You’re Not Yet Dead.
So what else is left? I thought I’d make a list of narratives that painted the past year, and look at what’s real about them versus what we’re being told they are about. Nothing comprehensive about them, mind you, just train of thought.
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