In World War II, the cracking of the Enigma code helped defeat divisions of the Nazis without firing a bullet, and reconnaissance intelligence helped prevent a nuclear catastrophe during the Cuban Missile Crisis. History has taught us one important lesson: the strongest in a nation’s arsenal isn’t a missile or a jet; it’s the intelligence that prevents them from ever being used. Illustration by The Geostrata Intelligence is such a tool that shapes the options on the table, fa

In Myanmar, the ruling military authorities, namely, the State Administration Council, projected the 2026 elections as a move toward political normalisation. In reality, the polls occurred during a worsening civil war, forced migration and severe political repression. Massive chunks of the country’s territory remained beyond effective control of the state (the Tatmadaw), major opposition forces had refused to participate, and millions were deprived of their vote by insecurit

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

India loses over 1.7 million lives annually to pollution , accounting for approximately 18 per cent of overall annual deaths in the country . At the recently concluded World Economic Forum in Davos 2026, Ms. Gita Gopinath, the former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, delivered a critical message. Gopinath asserted that the single greatest threat to India’s long-term economic stability and sustainability is the toxic air and water flowing through the countr

Artificial intelligence is not just another technological wave. It is a structural force reshaping labour markets, education systems, political discourse, warfare , creativity, and even the epistemic foundations of truth. Yet the governance of AI today is overwhelmingly concentrated in the hands of political leaders, regulators, and institutional decision-makers who are neither its primary users nor those who will live longest with its consequences. This is a profound misali

The recent strike by delivery partners on New Year's Eve brought the inherent issues of the gig economy to the surface. The strike conducted by thousands of delivery partners working on delivery-based apps put forward their demands for a fair minimum income, compensation including fuel & maintenance, better health and insurance coverage for accident protection, along with formal recognition as “workers” rather than merely “partners.” Illustration by The Geostrata These dem

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

In an era of energy transitions and geopolitical uncertainty, Venezuela presents one of the most striking contradictions in the contemporary world. With the largest proven oil reserves at about 303 billion barrels , more than Saudi Arabia and Iran, in theory, the country should be economically viable and geopolitically relevant. Illustration by The Geostrata But the reality stands in antithesis to the expectations, becoming a textbook example of economic collapse, institutio

The events in early February 2026, specifically the synchronicity between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s irredentist declaration on February 5th and the Lashkar-e-Taiba’s (LeT) operational threat on February 6th, are not coincidental, but they are coordinated. To view Sharif’s claim that “Kashmir will become part of Pakistan” as mere political rhetoric for the Muzaffarabad gallery is a dangerous simplification. Illustration by The Geostrata When viewed through the lens o

The air quality crisis in Northern India has led to a significant shift towards electric vehicles. In Delhi and the surrounding states, EVs are seen as a solution to reduce CO₂, NOx and particulate emissions from vehicles. The city’s draft EV Policy 2.0 has an aggressive target of 95% of new vehicle registrations being electric by 2027 – and even phases out CNG autos and old combustion vehicles to fight smog. Illustration by The Geostrata Delhi has ambitious subsidy plans (e

The Honourable Minister of Home Affairs, in a bold claim, stated the centre would wipe out Naxalism from India by March 2026. While top Naxal leaders like Hidma and Nambala Keshava Rao are already eliminated, there are a few more miles to go before Naxalism is completely wiped out from India. Illustration by The Geostrata NAXALISM: THE BEGINNING A group of political insurgents driven by Maoist ideologies is called Naxals, Naxalwadis, or Naxalites. They advocate armed rebelli

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

Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) , a trade agreement linking ten ASEAN countries with five of their key Free Trade Agreement partners, is one of the largest trade blocs in the world. Illustration by The Geostrata The RCEP treaty is significant due to its representation of nearly a third of the world’s gross domestic product , encompassing a population of over two billion people and an estimated $5.2 trillion in total exports. Despite its scale and s

When the Paris Agreement was adopted in December 2015, it was seen as a rare moment of global alignment, as for the first time, 197 countries accepted a shared framework to respond to climate change while still keeping control over how that response would unfold nationally. It was significant for India because climate change had never been an abstract future risk, as it was already becoming evident in longer summers, erratic monsoons, dried-up farmlands, and increasing pre

India, also known as Bharatvarsh, was the land that once stretched all the way from Kandahar and Ghazni in the northwest (present-day Afghanistan) to present-day Southeast Asia. A land that had flourished as a hub of knowledge, science, and culture turned into a region marred by nearly 800 years of continuous conflict. Illustration by The Geostrata Geography placed India at the crossroads of continents, commerce, faiths, and empires, from the bone-chilling mountain passes of

A diverse country like India is home to states that differ sharply in income levels, population pressures, geography, and administrative capacity, giving rise to vast and uneven fiscal pressures that can't be fulfilled with a one-size-fits-all system. Illustration by The Geostrata Fiscal Federalism is at the heart of the Indian Economy, sustaining strong Centre-State relations and upholding political legitimacy. In this backdrop, the constitution provides a balance between th

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s sweeping electoral victory has inevitably triggered a familiar question in New Delhi’s strategic circles: what does a BNP-led Dhaka mean for India? Illustration by The Geostrata The concern is not hollow , as memories of strained ties during the earlier BNP rule remain fresh in the minds of experts and people alike. But geopolitics rarely allows countries the luxury of nostalgia. Today’s world, where alliances are changing at an unpreceden

The ocean has always represented a kind of duality for India: it has offered far-reaching opportunities while exposing subtle weaknesses. The extent of India’s maritime footprint, with 7,516 kilometres of coastline and more than 2.4 million sq kilometres of Exclusive Economic Zone, dwarfs India’s landmass. While the Indian Ocean Region holds strategic significance for India, it also represents the economic lifeblood of the world. Approximately 40% of the physical oil trade a

India is set to host two key summits in 2026, the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) and the BRICS, assuming crucial geopolitical significance across the Indo-Pacific, Africa, and Latin America. New Delhi’s active role in the BRICS underscores India's outreach to the Global South, working towards a multipolar world order. The QUAD, on the other hand, has a diversified agenda ranging from maritime security to developmental partnerships in the Indo-Pacific. Illustration by