North India and South India share a country, but they speak unrelated languages and grew up on very different land. Today the south holds a disproportionate share of India’s wealth while the north holds a growing share of its people, and India’s first census in sixteen years could shift the balance of power between them. So how did these two Indias form, and what does the tension between them mean for India’s place in the world?
Read MoreFrance protests more often, and more disruptively, than almost any other wealthy democracy, with strike days per worker in its private sector alone running about five times Germany’s rate. But while French cabinets come and go, all those riots and fires have never brought down the Fifth Republic itself. So why does France have so many protests, and why are they seemingly not a threat to the country’s overall stability?
Read MoreNo Ugandan leader has ever lost power in an election since Uganda gained independence in 1962, and the military that decides who’s in charge has become so useful to Western partners that they rarely challenge what it does at home. So how did Uganda become so volatile and militarized, and what impact does it have on geopolitics?
Read MoreAndorra is one of the smallest countries in the world, and it has some very strange geopolitical dynamics. While it is sovereign, its two co-princes are always the French president and a bishop selected by the Pope, meaning that Andorrans elect their own government but have no say over who their heads of state are. But why is Andorra set up like this, and what impact is this having on European affairs?
Read MoreThe Italian peninsula has some of the oldest geopolitical history on the planet. You might think that modern Italy should have grown powerful as a result, but though Italy is in the G7 and is Europe’s second-largest manufacturer, the country is more defined by its burdens than its abilities. So what’s keeping Italy from being geopolitically powerful?
Read MoreNobles once ruled most of Europe, and though most of those countries are now democratic states, the nobility is still around. They've passed down their titles all the way to the present day, even in places where those titles have no formal or legal standing. But in what ways do nobles still affect the affairs of those countries?
Read MoreFor decades, Ghana faced serious political instability. But it has run an unbroken multiparty democracy since 1992, and since 2000 power has changed hands between its two main parties three times, even as many of its neighbors in West Africa face coups and domestic volatility, and despite major economic problems. So how has Ghana managed to stabilize politically, and what impact does this have on its geopolitical dynamics?
Read MoreMost people are only aware Tasmania even exists because of the Tasmanian Devil, either the real animal or the cartoon character. But Tasmania, like so many islands, is both fascinating and vulnerable, with incredible wildlife and a fragile connection with mainland Australia. So how does Tasmania survive, and how does it influence Australia’s geopolitical dynamics?
Read MoreEswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, is a small absolute monarchy that has looked stable for decades, but it's also one of the most externally dependent countries in all of Africa. It's landlocked, surrounded on three sides by South Africa, and without South Africa it would struggle to exist at all. So why has Eswatini managed to stay independent when it needs so much external support?
Read MoreDubai is just one of seven emirates in the United Arab Emirates. But why are the emirates united into a single country to begin with, and are they really united?
Read MoreMongolia is a genuine multiparty democracy wedged between two enormous authoritarian powers in the form of Russia and China. So how has Mongolia managed to stay free and independent?
Read MoreHow did Javier Milei go from a TV news pundit to the president of Argentina? And what impact has he had on his country’s geopolitical dynamics?
Read MoreColombia may be a single country on paper, but in reality its geography makes it extremely difficult to govern as one. Notoriously, the country is full of militant groups, gangs, drugs, and a polarized political environment, and geography can explain why this is the case more than almost anything else. So how exactly does Colombia’s geography dictate its fate?
Read MoreMadagascar is not a place people know much about. I’d bet money that most people’s only exposure to it is those animated movies from the 2000s, its diverse wildlife, and the vanilla the country produces. But Madagascar faces severe political unrest and natural disasters that increasingly threaten its stability and are arguably far more interesting. So why should we be paying attention to Madagascar?
Read MoreThe US contains 575 federally recognized Native American tribes, and every one of them is a sovereign nation in a limited but very real sense. Federal law calls them domestic dependent nations. They govern themselves, they control natural resources and water on their lands, and they hold treaty rights that are still binding federal law today, which gives them a disproportionate impact on the US's geopolitical dynamics. So how do Native American tribes influence how the US navigates the world?
Read MoreAfghanistan has changed a lot in the five years since the US pulled out and the Taliban returned to power, but there’s a good chance you’ve barely heard anything about it. In many ways, Afghanistan has actually stabilized, but it faces some serious humanitarian issues that should be on everyone’s radar. So how is Afghanistan different than it was under US control?
Read MoreThis Southeast Asian country has two names, and using either of them means that you are taking a side. Myanmar is the name most people use for it, but most maps also call it Burma in parentheses. This country is the site of one of the longest and most fragmented civil wars on the planet, and the fight over what to call it is really a part of that war itself. So why does Myanmar, or Burma, have two names, and what can this dynamic tell us about the country’s role in geopolitics?
Read MoreSince 2015, Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, or MBS for short, has consolidated power almost completely in the country. He’s launched an overhaul of the country’s economy, initiated unprecedented and controversial megaprojects, and dramatically liberalized Saudi society in general, while also intensifying authoritarian repression. But all of that is domestic. So how has MBS changed Saudi Arabia’s geopolitical dynamics?
Read MoreFor about 60 years, Tanzania was one of the most stable and peaceful African countries. But since late 2025, a wave of state violence against protesters has upended the established order. Meanwhile, Tanzania occupies a unique geopolitical position as the ocean gateway for six landlocked states, the terminus of a 1.4b dollar Chinese railway, and the export point for massive oil and gas projects. So why is Tanzania experiencing such dangerous upheaval, and how might this affect its role in geopolitics?
Read MoreIn the pre-dawn hours of 3 January 2026, the US launched a military strike on Venezuela, bombing the country’s air defenses and ultimately capturing President Nicolas Maduro and his wife on narco-terrorism and drug charges. Shortly after, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez was publicly sworn in as acting president, and US oil companies began moving in. But what exactly is going on in Venezuela today, and how has the country changed since Maduro was removed from office?
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