The United States leverages its “centrality” within global financial networks, particularly through the dominance of the US dollar and its influence over institutions such as SWIFT, to exert coercive economic pressure on other states. US sanctions policy has increasingly shifted from traditional trade embargoes toward targeted and secondary sanctions, extending pressure to non-sanctioned states and entities maintaining commercial or financial relations with sanctioned countri

The Geopolitical architecture of the Persian Gulf is undergoing a profound realignment. For over half a century, the security doctrine of the Arab states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) rested on a foundational, military-centric arrangement: the host states provided territorial basing access and recycled petrodollars into Western financial markets and weapons systems, while the USA provided the deterrent shield against external threats. Illustration by The Geostrata Thi

From Cold War espionage satellites to tools of geopolitical dominance, Earth observation satellites have undergone radical changes. Information obtained through satellites today becomes crucial for shaping national security, economic, and military strategies. The war between Russia and Ukraine is one example where classified state information acquired via satellites can now be seen by everyone around the world. With the increasing tension between the USA and China, countries

It is a challenging time to be a US ally. America is withdrawing from its role as system administrator in favour of becoming just another self-interested great power. To make matters worse, an informal alliance of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, called the “Axis of Evil” by Western officials, is emerging. Illustration by The Geostrata The region most anxious about these developments is the Indo-Pacific, the new theatre of great power competition. For Asia, Donald Tru