The debate in international relations and defense strategy between soft power and hard power has almost never faded away from the center. Joseph Nye, the author of the term soft power in the late 20th century, defined soft power as the ability of a nation to influence the preferences of others by … [Read more...]
U.S. retail gasoline prices lower than last year heading into Labor Day
We forecast gasoline prices will decline 11%, or about 35 cents/gallon, from August to December. The forecast decline is driven by our expectation that crude oil prices will fall, caused by continued oil supply growth. In addition, the annual transition to winter-grade gasoline allows refiners to … [Read more...]
Taiwan Gets Serious About Deterrence
As the world waits to see if President Trump can deliver abiding peace in Ukraine, a core lesson of that conflict is the importance of deterring another awful war a continent away. So note that Taiwan is now planning to spend more on its defense and reach 5% of GDP by 2030. read more... … [Read more...]
Pezeshkian’s Visit to Armenia Confirms Iran’s Interests in the South Caucasus
This report analyses the official visit of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to Armenia, which resulted in the signing of ten memorandums covering political, economic, cultural, and scientific cooperation. read more... … [Read more...]
Forecasting the Next World War—Between Theory and Practice
Winston Churchill famously said, “Those who do not learn history are condemned to repeat it.” The truth is, even when we do learn history, we often remain trapped in its repetition. Worse still, attempts to act on historical lessons—such as after World War I—often end up creating new conditions for … [Read more...]
Soft Power, Diaspora and Para-diplomacy: Important Dimensions of India’s Foreign Policy
In the past 25 years, there have been several changes in India’s foreign policy. Some of these changes are a strong reiteration of the fact that foreign policy has several layers and multiple stakeholders. These changes include: the growing importance of state governments in India’s ties with the … [Read more...]
Re-Decoupling: Russia’s Next Aggression Strategy
Back in the 1970s and early 1980s there was one word that haunted Western European chancelleries - decoupling. Decoupling was a gambit by the Soviet Union to separate the US nuclear arsenal from NATO and the defence of Europe. They did this by presenting the Americans with a dilemma. In 1977, Moscow … [Read more...]
China Ukraine War
Oleksandr Levchenko The reason for Russia’s war against Ukraine is not only Kremlin imperialism, but also the fact that it is fueled by extraordinary Chinese ambitions. Moscow’s material and technical support has become a de facto proxy war between Beijing and Washington, the main goal of which … [Read more...]
Forumul Securitatii Maritime – MS DAILY BRIEF 23 August 2025
Unele informatii sunt prezentate atunci cand avem posibilitatea din mai multe surse Cuprins Noutăți din Ucraina | Sancțiuni Kaboom împotriva conductei de petrol ruși | Orban și Fico sunt în stare de șoc. 1 Noutăți din Ucraina | Minunat! Ucraina extinde contraofensiva și îi alungă pe ruși … [Read more...]
Defense Intelligence Agency chief Kruse removed from post
We can confirm that Lt. Gen. Kruse is no longer the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. Deputy Director Christine Bordine assumes the role of Acting Director of DIA effective immediately,” a DIA spokesperson told Breaking Defense today, referring further questions to the Pentagon. A DoD … [Read more...]