The method in Iran’s madness? Closure of Strait of Hormuz echoes a centuries-old Danish play − and is a tragedy for the world orderVivek Krishnamurthy, University of Colorado Boulder
Gulf state cooperation has long been shaped by the threat of Iran − but shows of unity belie divisionFirmesk Rahim, UMass Boston
Strait of Hormuz: Why the US and Iran are sailing in very different legal watersElizabeth Mendenhall, University of Rhode Island
Donkeys are a symbol of endurance for Palestinians – they are also a target of settler violence and careIrus Braverman, University at Buffalo
UAE’s OPEC exit has been long in the works – and may mark the beginning of a Gulf realignmentKristian Coates Ulrichsen, Rice University
Cheers! Welcome to the Nepalese village where everybody knows how to distillGeoff Childs, Washington University in St. Louis
The US has long used economic coercion to achieve foreign policy goals — the war in Iran shows how that power has declinedCharmaine N. Willis, Old Dominion University and Keith A. Preble, East Carolina University
The race to mine critical minerals for AI and clean energy is creating ‘sacrifice zones’ that harm water and health of world’s poorAbraham Nunbogu, United Nations University and Kaveh Madani, United Nations University
Meloni and Trump’s cooling relationship marks the failure of an EU-MAGA middle groundJulia Khrebtan-Hörhager, Colorado State University
Lebanon’s political elites are using displacement and humanitarian crisis to delay elections againJasmin Lilian Diab, Lebanese American University
US ceasefire with Iran: What’s next? A former diplomat explains 3 possible scenariosDonald Heflin, Tufts University
Chernobyl at 40: Secret Stasi files reveal extent of Soviet misinformation campaign over nuclear disasterLauren Cassidy, Binghamton University, State University of New York
How debate about gender identity could undermine global efforts to protect victims of violenceJenna Norosky, Binghamton University, State University of New York
Seeing women govern encourages support for women in politics – with no apparent backlash among menVladimir Chlouba, University of Richmond
What a Chinese crackdown on corruption meant for Beijing’s high-end restaurant marketRui Du, Oklahoma State University
Far from random, China’s global port network is clustering near the world’s riskiest trade routesDylan Spencer, Georgia Southern University; Gohar Petrossian, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and Stephen Pires, Florida International University
From youth bulges to graying societies: The demographic dynamics that are upending the worldJohn Rennie Short, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
How a diplomatic snub evokes the complicated US-Brazil relationship in the second Trump eraAnthony W. Pereira, Tulane University; King's College London
As war in Ukraine enters a 5th year, will the ‘Putin consensus’ among Russians hold?Peter Rutland, Wesleyan University and Elizaveta Gaufman, University of Groningen
Pakistan-Afghanistan conflict is rooted in local border dispute – but the risks extend across the regionRabia Akhtar, Harvard Kennedy School; University of Lahore
Russia’s drone pipeline: How Iran helps Moscow produce an ever-evolving unmanned fleetAmy McAuliffe, University of Notre Dame
Trump’s framing of Nigeria insurgency as a war on Christians risks undermining interfaith peacebuildingAili Mari Tripp, University of Wisconsin-Madison
What a bear attack in a remote valley in Nepal tells us about the problem of aging rural communitiesGeoff Childs, Washington University in St. Louis
How tourism, a booming wellness culture and social media are transforming the age-old Japanese tea ceremonyMałgorzata (Gosia) K. Citko-DuPlantis, University of Tennessee
Will a ‘Trump slump’ continue to hit US tourism in 2026 − and even keep World Cup fans away?Frédéric Dimanche, Toronto Metropolitan University and Kelley A. McClinchey, Wilfrid Laurier University
Rebirth of the madman theory? Unpredictability isn’t what it was when it comes to foreign policyAndrew Latham, Macalester College
Welcome to the ‘gray zone’ − home to nefarious international acts that fall short of outright conflictAndrew Latham, Macalester College
Regime change means different things to different people. Either way, it hasn’t happened in Venezuela … yetAndrew Latham, Macalester College
From evil to upheaval and beyond: How the ‘axis’ metaphor shaped modern geopoliticsAndrew Latham, Macalester College
Hope and hardship have driven Syrian refugee returns – but many head back to destroyed homes, land disputesSandra Joireman, University of Richmond
Cuba’s leaders just lost an ally in Maduro − if starved of Venezuelan oil, they may also lose what remains of their public supportJoseph J. Gonzalez, Appalachian State University
What triumphalist narratives about Brazil’s high court and Bolsonaro imprisonment leave outTassiana Moura de Oliveira, University at Albany, State University of New York
America is falling behind in the global EV race – that’s going to cost the US auto industryHengrui Liu, Tufts University and Kelly Sims Gallagher, Tufts University
China’s new condom tax will prove no effective barrier to country’s declining fertility rateDudley L. Poston Jr., Texas A&M University
The UN is reinventing peacekeeping – Haiti is the testing groundBulbul Ahmed, University of Iowa; Bangladesh University of Professionals
Why can’t every country get along with each other? It comes down to resources, inequality and perceptionKaleb Demerew, West Texas A&M University; Institute for Humane Studies
Sudan’s civil war: A visual guide to the brutal conflictChristopher Tounsel, University of Washington
Global power struggles over the ocean’s finite resources call for creative diplomacyJonas Gamso, Arizona State University and Hossain Ahmed Taufiq, Arizona State University
Can a pro-federation win in Northern Cyprus revive the island’s stalled reunification?Spyros A. Sofos, Simon Fraser University
Guinea-Bissau’s military takeover highlights the nation’s sorry history of coups and a deepening crisis across the regionJohn Joseph Chin, Carnegie Mellon University
A new world order isn’t coming, it’s already here − and this is what it looks likeJohn Rennie Short, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
A billion-dollar drug was found in Easter Island soil – what scientists and companies owe the Indigenous people they studiedTed Powers, University of California, Davis
The rise and fall of globalisation: the battle to be top dogSteve Schifferes, City St George's, University of London
Lebanon’s orchards have been burnt, wildlife habitat destroyed by Israeli strikes – raising troubling international law questionsMireille Rebeiz, Dickinson College and Josiane Yazbeck, Université La Sagesse
Gaza’s once-growing economy is nearing total collapseDalia Alazzeh, University of the West of Scotland and Shahzad Uddin, University of Essex
What charges does Benjamin Netanyahu face, and what’s at stake if he is granted a pardon?Michelle Burgis-Kasthala, La Trobe University
Why are the ICJ and ICC cases on Israel and Gaza taking so long?Melanie O'Brien, The University of Western Australia
Ukraine is under pressure to trade land for peace − if it does, history shows it might not ever get it backPeter Harris, Colorado State University
Lasting peace in Ukraine may hinge on independent monitors – yet Trump’s 28-point plan barely mentions themPeter J. Quaranto, University of Notre Dame; Josefina Echavarria Alvarez, University of Notre Dame; Pavlo Smytsnyuk, New York University, and Tyler Jess Thompson, University of California, Berkeley
Trump’s framing of Nigeria insurgency as a war on Christians risks undermining interfaith peacebuildingAili Mari Tripp, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Trump’s insistence on personal loyalty from ambassadors could crimp US foreign policyDavid Lindsey, Baruch College, CUNY
US force has been used against drug traffickers before – but Trump’s plan is a dangerous escalationLuca Trenta, Swansea University
US presidents have always used transactional foreign policy – but Trump does it differentlyPatrick E. Shea, University of Glasgow
Trump’s Middle East pivot aims to counter China’s rising influenceMaria Papageorgiou, Newcastle University
China’s new 5-year plan: A high-stakes bet on self-reliance that won’t fix an unbalanced economyShaoyu Yuan, New York University; Rutgers University
The Dayton Peace Accords at 30: An ugly peace that has prevented a return to war over BosniaGerard Toal, Virginia Tech and Adis Maksić, International Burch University
Ethiopia’s 2026 elections: without reforms, the vote may not be free or fairBizuneh Yimenu, Queen's University Belfast
‘I have to talk about it so that the world can know what happened to women and girls in Sudan’ – rape and terror sparks mass migrationSabine Lee, University of Birmingham; Heather Tasker, Dalhousie University, and Susan Bartels, Queen's University, Ontario
China’s dwindling marriage rate is fuelling demand for brides trafficked from abroadMing Gao, Lund University
Chinese barges and Taiwan Strait drills are about global power projection − not just a potential invasionColin Flint, Utah State University
Digital imperialism: How US social media firms are using American law to challenge global tech regulationYasmin Curzi de Mendonça, University of Virginia and Camille Grenier, Sciences Po
China’s new underwater tool cuts deep, exposing vulnerability of vital network of subsea cablesJohn Calabrese, American University
DeepSeek is now a global force. But it’s just one player in China’s booming AI industryMimi Zou, UNSW Sydney
