In the 19th century, the “Great Game” was the strategic competition between the British Empire and Tsarist Russia over the domination of Central Asia. This historic competition is resurfacing in a modern form, with new players, new tools, and billions of dollars at stake. Central Asia, which had long been viewed as a geopolitical backwater, has emerged as a critical front line in the contest for supremacy among great powers. Illustration by The Geostrata Today, China, Russia,

Rivers have always been the backbone of human settlements, nurturing communities and fostering trade. They provide water for drinking, agriculture, and industry, making them indispensable to the national economies. For example, the Mekong River is vital to Southeast Asian countries , while the  Nile River supports millions of people in Egypt and Sudan . Illustration by The Geostrata These rivers not only sustain life but also fuel economic growth, creating interdependencies t

The H-1B visa program started with the Immigration Act of 1990. This law created a type of visa that lets U.S. companies hire foreign workers in jobs that need at least a college degree or something similar in areas like science, technology, engineering, and math. At first, there was a limit of 65,000 visas each year. The goal was to fill gaps in skilled workers needed in the American job market. Illustration by The Geostrata Over time, most of the H-1B visas went to people f

The Indian growth story has long been an attractive prospect for foreign capital. However, in recent years, the high value exits of global investors have raised pressing concerns about the sustainability of India’s investment climate. Illustration by The Geostrata A mix of internal and external factors has negatively affected investor confidence, despite the country’s solid macroeconomic fundamentals. Chief among the concerns of the investment community are valuation pressure

The clouds of tension are looming large, and we see a storm stirring up. Now, before scratching your head, wondering what storm we are talking about and who is stirring what, let us make things clear. Illustration by The Geostrata A new chapter in US-China ties has begun, defined by increasingly hostile discourse, reciprocal sanctions, and limited people-to-people interaction. Additionally, if the current string of tensions continue, the prospect of a long-term strategic riva

“ Space is the ultimate high-ground. We must secure it now or risk being left blind.” This statement was made by Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit , Chief of Integrated Defence Staff, at the Surveillance and Electro Optics India seminar in June 2025 at New Delhi. Illustration by The Geostrata His words are reflective of a growing trend in the world–space as no longer a combat supporting domain but a warfighting one. Space has always been viewed as the final frontier in warfare. The

In February 2022, Russia began an invasion of Ukraine. And as a response, the West implemented extensive aviation sanctions through the governments and aircraft OEMs ( Original Equipment Manufacturers ) Boeing, Airbus, etc, by shutting down leases. Illustration by The Geostrata Russia responded by re-registering foreign aircraft in Russia. The re-registration effectively nationalised the aircraft, and termination and immediate cessation of support from maintenance to spare pa

As the world anticipates a Trump-led ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war, Europe is caught within its strategic reckoning . Following a heated Oval Office exchange between President Trump and Ukraine’s Zelenskyy, along with the NSA chat leak, Trump has made it clear that Washington’s strategic calculus may no longer align with that of Europe, thereby awakening European leaders. Illustration by The Geostrata This diplomatic strain was further intensified with the imposition of

In international relations, a "sphere of influence" (SOI) refers to a spatial region or concept division where a state or organisation has a level of cultural, economic, military, or political exclusivity or predominant control. It remains one of the most pervasive phenomena in the practice and history of international relations, yet only rarely have they been taken up analytically. This concept had gained its base mostly in the post-World War II era, which is also known as t

In the last twenty years, China has managed to turn a formerly scattered group of amateurs into a government-sponsored cyber army operating at the international level. A carefully constructed network of competitions, academic programs, military units, and private contractors, combined with judicial statism, has enabled Beijing to exploit hacking skills as an effective tool of state influence and leverage just as authorities and agencies remain outwardly silent and resistant t

An epochal building block of a nation’s foundation is its sovereignty. Free from external influence, countries have the authority to...

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was promised as a “game changer” upon its initial arrival in 2015. Modern infrastructure,...

China’s progressive usage of the Active Defence Doctrine and its strategic reinterpretation  under the leadership of Xi Jinping in 2015...

In the 21st Century, the global power structures have dramatically changed, with geopolitics now being decoupled from geoeconomics,...

India has a unique neighbourhood, with terrorism spilling over borders, political unrest shaking its periphery, and instability brewing...

The Kurdish search for independence has been a complex and multifaceted issue that has stretched over a long period of time. The issue is...

In a kite fight, regardless of asymmetrical build, if the stronger kite gets bruised with multiple tears or if the spool runs out, it has...

China’s assertion on Arunachal Pradesh, which it calls “Zangnan” (South Tibet), is based on historical ties to Tibet and a rejection of...

Alongside the ongoing proliferation of drones, drones have moved from exclusively military use towards essential technologies in a wide...

The bilateral relationship between India and Bangladesh goes back to the geographical and historical roots. Such relations are supposed...