Greetings, everyone, We are happy to launch the 2025 edition of the Geomaga. In a way the year 2025 has been a year of national security. From Operation Sindoor against Pakistan to strikes on Myanmar and from technological advancements in the defence sector to the renewed focus on self-reliance, these are the broad spectrum of issues that have dominated the popular intellectual discourse throughout the year. Cover by The Geostrata In this edition of the Geomaga, we have inclu

India’s next fighter decision is usually described as a contest between two aircraft. On one side is the Rafale F4 pathway: an upgraded French 4.5-generation combat system built around a fighter family the Indian Air Force already operates in earlier Rafale standards, and which India has also selected in naval form for the Indian Navy. On the other hand is Russia’s Su-57E, marketed as a fifth-generation stealth fighter and publicly offered to India with the possibility of dee

The first quarter of 2026 has been marked by a continuum of accelerated geopolitical reset. It has, in various analytical circles, been argued that 2026 may represent a breaking point for the existing order, but this narrative is less about collapse and more about confrontation. While not literally accurate, it fits metaphorically in a world increasingly defined by energy politics, currency leverage, and proxy-driven conflicts. Illustration by The Geostrata However, with two

The Indo-Pacific region has emerged as the world’s new centre of gravity. Hosting nearly half of the world’s population and nearly two-thirds of the world's economy, the region’s stability is now synonymous with global prosperity. For decades, the Pacific region was seen primarily as a zone of economic cooperation, but it has now emerged as a critical theater for great power rivalry. Intensifying competition between the United States and China has transformed the region into

On April 12, 2026, Péter Magyar, the President-elect of Hungary, stood before thousands of hopeful supporters in Budapest and declared that together they had 'liberated Hungary.' The scale of his Tisza party's victory was, undoubtedly, historic. Tisza secured an estimated 138 seats in the 199-seat National Assembly, which means a firm two-thirds constitutional supermajority, ending the sixteen-year tenure of Viktor Orbán's Fidesz party. Illustration by The Geostrata A regime

Operation Sindoor, which India launched last year in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, marked the defining moment in India’s counterterrorism response. In that 88-hour-long conflict, India redrew the lines of deterrence, making the harbours of terrorism know that no sanctuary of terror across the border is safe and India has the capability and resolve to destroy and hit everything. Illustration by The Geostrata Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery famously remarked, “

“The very ‘rules of war’ have changed. The role of nonmilitary means of achieving political and strategic goals has grown, and, in many cases, they have exceeded the power of force of weapons in their effectiveness.” ~ General Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Illustration by The Geostrata The concept of warfare has been evolving, from ancient times to the current state of advanced technology-driven warfare. In the past

Besides relying on force, totalitarian rulers use visuality, symbolism, and tightly supervised public spaces to operate their rule. Building designs operate as one of the enduring means for the functioning of government power. The physicality of buildings and the environment of a community last and endure for more than the period of office of the leaders who built them, and they can implement their rule by controlling what is physically present. Illustration by The Geostrata

In September 2015, Saudi and Emirati forces were coordinating airstrikes together over Yemen. In December 2025, Saudi Arabia was bombing ships sent by the UAE. That reversal, one of the most dramatic shifts in Gulf politics in a generation, did not happen because of a single dispute or a single miscalculation. It happened because two countries that once needed each other have spent years building incompatible visions of what the region should look like, and those visions have

The architecture of global finance has rested on two interconnecting pillars for decades: the US dollar and the SWIFT messaging network. SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) connects over 11,500 institutions in more than 200 countries and handles around 44 million messages a day. It does not move money itself but coordinates the instructions that enable cross-border payments. All while the dollar sits at the centre of this system as the dominant

If nations were not distinct and unique, the world would be a single large family devoid of border disputes, ethnic strife, and prolonged conflicts. The Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Israel, although exhibiting substantial divergence in modern-day approaches and politically contrasting in nature, orientation, and direction, are born of a similar foundation. Illustration by The Geostrata Both Israel and Pakistan were created with the explicit purpose of securing a haven fo

Persistent coverage across oceans, deserts, border regions, transportation corridors, offshore platforms, agricultural zones, and remote industrial locations is something that Space-Based IoT has long promised but terrestrial connections are unable to completely provide. However, there is a structural barrier in the industry. When many low-power devices try to connect to the same network simultaneously, traditional satellite IoT systems have trouble. Illustration by The Geos

On 15th May, 2026, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is set to implement the most significant overhaul of its Drug Regulatory Framework in over two decades. Beijing signals a departure from its generic orientation of chemical drug production. This article analyses the technical mechanisms of the “Regulations for the Implementation of the Drug Administration Law of the People’s Republic of China” (State Council Decree No. 828), the global pharmaceutical and geopolitical dri

“As the global dynamics evolve, the neighbourhood around New Delhi has gained momentum to strengthen and modernise its democratic systems.” After the 2022 regime change in Sri Lanka, two other nation-states, Bangladesh and Nepal, have now undergone the same by establishing new governments. This political shift in India's neighbourhood has brought the opportunity for New Delhi to reset its ties and emerge as a more trusted partner in the subcontinent. Illustration by The Geost

Energy security has become one of the key priorities of states worldwide due to geopolitical tensions, supply chain issues, and ongoing market instability. The consequences of this for a rapidly developing country like India, with over 1.4 billion people, are significant, as the country needs to achieve more than just having access to energy, i.e., to have consistent, dependable, and resilient access to energy to support continued economic growth and meet the demand requireme

India’s journey into the nuclear race is a unique chapter in modern geopolitics. India’s desire for scientifically independent developments caused the country’s “nuclear quest” to grow along two parallel lines: the use of nuclear energy for the economic development and growth of a large population, and creating a strong nuclear deterrent to guarantee the independence of the country. Illustration by The Geostrata As the world addresses the climate change emergency and is deali

On 12 December 2026, thirty years of structured water diplomacy between India and Bangladesh will formally expire as the Ganga Water Treaty, signed in 1996, is set to lapse. It started gaining momentum with the recent political changes in Dhaka, renewing debates over water sharing, taking it to the spotlight with urgency not seen in decades. Illustration by The Geostrata The renewal of this treaty is not merely a hydrological question. It is a barometer of the India-Banglades

For decades, Pakistan maintained its fundamental belief, which held that the Muslim Brotherhood of the Gulf would support Pakistan during any conflict with India over Kashmir. The financial connections to Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, and Doha served as economic lifelines for Islamabad. The Gulf states functioned as moral protectors in Islamabad's strategic vision. The Gulf would support the ummah when the moment arrived. The moment arrived, but the Gulf states did not respond. Illustra

On 12 April 2026, Hungary, for the first time in sixteen long years, welcomed a new government to the seat of power. In a watershed moment in Hungarian politics, around 79.5% of Hungary’s electorate turned out to vote in a monumental exercise of democracy. Viktor Orbán, the man who had dominated the seat of power since 2010, was defeated by Peter Magyar by a landslide margin of 138-55. Illustration by The Geostrata This change in governments is not a mere change in ruling par

Wages are a perennial issue in the Indian market, and this was exemplified during the recent labour unrest in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, during the month of April, which brought attention back to India's changing labour laws and the difficult realities of putting them into effect. What started as a protest over pay problems slowly turned into tense fights in some parts of the industrial area. There were reports of injuries and damage to public property, including cars being set on