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 framers of the Constitution of India were wise enough to understand the vast, dynamic and expansive nature of the country. Therefore, by placing the sovereignty of India in its Constitution, it allowed for a quasi-federal relationship between the centre and the state. The administration of the evolving urban areas comes under the domain of each state, respectively. Illustration by The Geostrata Thus, one can say it's an individual performance-based public management of re

India has one of the world’s largest foreign exchange reserve stockpiles as of January 2026, with an average of around $723.8 billion . This level of adequacy placed India in a relatively secure position compared to other emerging markets. Despite such large reserves, due to their utilisation, reserve levels were still relatively robust in mid-March 2026, about $709.76 billion , despite the extent of intervention by the RBI itself. Illustration by The Geostrata Here, the RB

There is an idea so deeply woven into how we build and govern software that most people in the industry have stopped noticing it is even an idea, and the idea is that software is a tool. The human thinks, the software executes. Every SaaS contract ever signed, every product liability ruling ever handed down, every regulatory text written about information technology in the last four decades takes this separation as a given, the way a fish takes water as a given. We talk about

India’s battle against climate change is at a critical point. With 18% of the global population and only 2.4% of global land , India shows a higher dependency on its natural resources. On one hand, India ranked seventh among the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries, constantly at the risk of climate-related disasters such as episodes of heatwaves, frequent forest fires, and sea-level rise, while on the other hand, India also has exceptional natural resources that can be

When people think about the Strait of Hormuz, they usually think about oil. They picture giant tankers slowly moving through a narrow strip of water between Iran and Oman, carrying fuel to power cars, factories, and cities around the world. But for India, this thin stretch of water that is only 33 kilometres wide at its narrowest point is far more than an oil route. It is a critical lifeline that touches almost every part of the Indian economy. Illustration by The Geostrata

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

Held from the 4th of March, 2026 to the 12th, the “Two Sessions” , the annual meeting of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC) — the People's Republic of China’s national legislative body — and the 4th session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China’s paramount political institution, marked a critical event in shaping Beijing’s agendas for the year 2026. Illustration by The Geostrata An estimated 5,000

The combined US-Israel operations - Operation Epic Fury and Operation Roaring Lion, followed by Iran's retaliatory attacks under Operation Truthful Promise 4, once again plunged West Asia into crisis. The ongoing war is projected to last for 4-5 weeks or longer, potentially exerting a significant impact on the global economy and supply chain resilience. The key motive behind the sudden escalation amid mediation talks under Oman remains unclear. Illustration by The Geostrata

INTRODUCTION TO THE ADOPTION OF AI: AFRICA Of the countless innovations made in the 20th and 21st centuries, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as one of the most transformative technologies of our era. What began as a mere computational tool has now evolved into a powerful driver of economic growth. The scope of AI has expanded immensely, with its applications now extending to automation, decision making, resource allocation, data organisation and analytics. Illustr

Almost every day, mainstream media reports a tragic incident: ‘a young man died after his car plunged into a water-filled construction pit’, ‘a car disappeared into a flooded underpass, students died in an unsafe basement’, ‘a bridge collapsed days after repair, a construction site caved in, burying many workers alive’, which captures the attention of the nation. The next few days are followed by mourning, outrage, promises of inquiry, and accountability of the responsible au

INTRODUCTION: WHY THE SEA MATTERS In nuclear warfare, power hinges not only on the number of weapons that a state possesses, but also their ability to survive enemy attacks and remain effective for counterstrikes. This is where the ocean assumes a decisive role; unlike land-based missile-silos, which can be mapped and targeted, or aircraft’s dependence on vulnerable, visible bases, a nuclear-armed submarine — almost indefinitely concealed and mobile beneath thousands of metre

India's Maoist insurgency once controlled 200 districts across ten states, with varying degrees of fear or allegiance. It now has control of only seven. Over 12,000 people died in Naxal-related violence between 2000 and 2019. In 2024, that number was 290, which is still significant, but a fraction of what it was before. Reports indicate that no new cadres have been recruited since 2019. Illustration by The Geostrata To truly grasp the reality of a Naxal cleanup, one must g

At the World Economic Forum(WEF) in Davos, Harvard economist and former IMF Chief, Gita Gopinath, reinforced the unpopular opinion that Pollution poses a greater threat than tariffs to the Indian Economy. It is because while trade barriers can be reversed through policy decisions, chronic environmental degradation embeds itself into the production structure of the economy. Illustration by The Geostrata While the world speaks at length about trade wars and external factors inf

To understand feminist discourses as they emerge in Chinese cinema, we must begin with an examination of gender discourse in China. Traditionally, Chinese culture was dominated by Confucianism (an ancient Chinese philosophy and ethical system which emphasises social harmony, hierarchy, and duties within relationships), with its codification of social order according to age, gender, and family position. Illustration by The Geostrata A woman was expected to abide by the "Three

Once upon a time, the sounds of our everyday lives included the hum of the espresso machine, the soft rustle of pages being turned, and the far-off cries from a playground. They were the gentle invitations to step out of our private worlds and into a shared one, a space where fleeting smiles with strangers or impromptu conversations with familiar faces fostered a sense of belonging. Illustration by The Geostrata However, a sea of glowing screens and noise-cancelling headphone

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) operates a highly calibrated strategic signalling apparatus. Recent showcases of solid fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and tactical delivery systems are not propaganda; they are calculated manoeuvres to fracture the US-South Korea security architecture. Despite comprehensive Western sanctions, Pyongyang bypasses isolation through a robust strategic axis with Moscow and Beijing to accelerate the transfer of dual

India stands at a structural inflexion point in global history. The international system is no longer defined by the rigid binaries of the Cold War nor by the temporary unipolar moment that followed. Power today is fragmented, fluid, and multidimensional. In this evolving order, India is no longer a peripheral balancer. Illustration by The Geostrata It is one of the defining poles shaping the architecture of the twenty-first century. Yet there remains a strategic paradox. Whi