The two largest civilisational states and the emerging powers of the global order, New Delhi and Beijing, are often perceived as strategic competitors in an evolving geopolitical landscape. This conventional narrative overlooks a much more complex strategic reality. There exists geopolitical rivalry along with deep economic interdependence and partial cooperation in global governance. Amid an increasingly multipolar international system, shifting supply chains, and intensifyi

In this world where we live today, the primary threat of conflict has shifted from territorial borders to the digital ledgers of central banks and the invisible corridors of global finance. The author, Urjit Patel, who is currently serving as the Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund and a former Reserve Bank of India Governor, provides a clinical autopsy of this transformation. Illustration by The Geostrata While his earlier work, Overdraft, focused on the in

Yet another potential source of disruption to the global energy market, and perhaps one less tied to the Russia–Ukraine war, has arisen in the Middle East. As Iran blocks traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint  through which nearly 20 million barrels per day (mb/d), one-fifth of the world's oil supply, passes, raising the likelihood of yet another global energy crisis. Recent escalations involving Iran, Israel, and U.S. naval deployments in 2025–26 have a

The geopolitics of energy is historically associated with the supply security concerns of oil-importing states. The urgency of climate action, the long-term downward trend of the cost of renewable energy generation technologies, and the rapid technological advancements are all signs that demand a more analytical framework. Illustration by The Geostrata The field of energy geopolitics has grown to include not just the conventional fossil-fuel complexes, but also a wider array

The most recent round of military hostilities in the India-Pakistan conflict indicates a pattern of enduring hostility, suggesting that the focus remains on confrontation rather than attempting to reconcile past disagreements. The Indus Water Treaty (IWT ) remains one of the major flashpoints in their tenuous history.  Illustration by The Geostrata Signed in 1960  to mediate disputes over the use of the Indus River System, the Treaty allocates limited non-consumptive rights

According to the conventional narrative of human history, citizenship was a sacred, unbreakable tie that combined ancestry, birthright, and common cultural heritage. Your country chose you, frequently by pure happenstance of where you were born. The high-altitude lounges of Dubai, Singapore, and Zurich, however, are writing a different story in the twenty-first century. Illustration by The Geostrata Citizenship is now a diverse asset class rather than a fate. Small countries

It was a question of when, not if. After weeks of the United States amassing a vast armada in the region and successive rounds of talks collapsing as a ruse to mask war plans, the axe finally fell on February 28th , when the U.S. and Israel launched coordinated strikes across Iran.  Illustration by The Geostrata Soon after, U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made clear that their objective  went beyond obliterating Iran’s nuclear weapons

The 1979 Islamic Revolution radically transformed the identity of Iran as a modern nation-state, with the monarchy abolished and the Islamic Republic being formed. Several decades later, political life in Iran was characterised by periods of reform demands and state repression. Illustration by The Geostrata Popular upheavals like the Green Movement of 2009   and the Women, Life, Freedom resistance of 2022  have taken form when economic hardships and societal confinement came

The world has entered the second quarter of the 21st century in a very chaotic way. Every other region around the globe is engaged in some form of conflict. In such a global crisis, nations tend to refrain from direct intervention, preferring to express their concerns through statements while sitting on the sidelines. Illustration by The Geostrata With respect to the American intervention in Venezuela, the United Nations  has only condemned the act and urged the parties to “o

In 1979, by the time many democracies were maturing from their infancy stage, Iran  still had one major task unfinished: to overthrow a king and reinvent its identity. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and his followers toppled the Pahlavi monarchy and established the Islamic Republic of Iran, an experiment in theocratic governance that fused religious clerics with absolute political power. Illustration by The Geostrata What began as a wave of “neither East nor West, only Islam” id

The map of the world represents more than the geography of land and water; it is a cartography of power that the historic aggressors hold. For almost two centuries, invisible lines have crisscrossed the globe, not just representing sovereign borders, but also demarcating “backyards” – zones where great powers are asserting the unspoken rule that “might is right”. Illustration by The Geostrata In 1823, a ghost was born in the United States of America that continues to haunt t

The G20 Presidency was handed over to South Africa  on 1 December 2024, a historic day that highlights the growing influence of emerging developing nations on the global stage. For the first time, South Africa is hosting global leaders under the G20 summit, providing an opportunity and platform to shape responses on digital infrastructure, global governance, climate and energy transition, with the Global South being at the core of the discussion. Illustration by The Geostrat

Global shipping, which constitutes the backbone of international trade and carries nearly 90% of world trade, now remains one of the most challenging sectors to decarbonise. As climate change intensifies, the maritime sector faces pressure to reduce its carbon footprint. Illustration by The Geostrata An international framework led by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO)  has laid out pathways towards Global shipping, which constitutes the backbone of international t

In today’s world of rapidly shifting alliances and contested borders, regions that succeed are not the ones that rely only on geography or shared history, but those investing in building meaningful linkages among their people, economies, and institutions. Perhaps, Southeast Asia offers the most compelling examples. Despite its cultural diversity and political differences, ASEAN has managed to turn its neighbourhood into a community bound by trust and interdependence.

South Asia is characterized by a geopolitically volatile environment within contemporary global power dynamics. Once viewed as an arena where India’s influence was unquestionable, it is now marked by political uncertainty, regime shifts, never-ending hostilities, security tensions, and competitiveness, along with external influence, particularly China. Collectively, these developments have changed the landscape of South Asia into a contested domain rather than a collaborative

The India-ASEAN narrative has evolved from a position of optimism in 2017 as the dialogue partnership turned 25, to a narrative of resurgence in 2022, and finally, the narrative of strategic repositioning and imperative reclamation as of today. What started as an executionary mechanism to India’s Look East Policy has now given rise to a regional partnership that has withstood geopolitical tremors and a systemic dismantling of the global order.

NATO-India relations have evolved significantly into a global defence and political importance. In an ever-evolving global trend marked by realignment and cataclysmic effects of globalisation, the participatory framework of partnerships with non-member states from different geographical regions shapes the democratic and security interests of nations beyond the transatlantic community. Cover by The Geostrata The relations between NATO and India go back to the events of ‘9/11’,

Why empathy, identity, and collective behaviour shape the future of diplomacy “Behind every handshake and policy lies something subtler, the sociology of human behaviour.” Every summit hall, joint statement, and diplomatic gesture carries more than strategic intent; it carries emotion, memory, and meaning. While diplomacy is often framed as the language of power and national interest, the forces that sustain trust, legitimacy, and influence are deeply social. Illustration by

The Sahel is a thin stretch of dry land that cuts across Africa. It sits between the Sahara and the savannas. The resources are scarce, and power is in a vacuum; these pressures pit groups against each other,  making the Sahel account for 51 per cent of all terrorism deaths in 2024 . Ethnic tensions run deep. In central Mali and parts of Burkina Faso, the clashes between herders and farmers are now more frequent . These fights didn’t just start recently - instead, they’ve wor

The Blue Shirt Regiment (BSS), also known as the Blue Shirts Society (Lanyishe 蓝衣社), was a nationalist paramilitary organisation in China. It emerged on March 1, 1932, as a faction within the Kuomintang (KMT), the Nationalist Party. The BSS was composed mainly of graduates from the Huangpu (Whampoa) Military Academy, young men aged twenty to thirty, many of whom had overseas education and had pledged unquestioned loyalty to Chiang Kai-shek. Illustration by The Geostrata Accor