When the Soviet Union collapsed, Ukraine inherited custody of roughly 1900 strategic nuclear warheads. But they gave these up in exchange for security assurances from Russia, the US, and the UK, including a pledge to respect Ukraine’s borders and never use force against it. So would Ukraine have been invaded if they hadn’t given up those nuclear weapons?
Read MoreDiplomacy & Alliances
Why is Iceland a NATO member if it lacks a military?
in Europe
Iceland has no army, navy, or air force. But at the same time it’s a founding member of NATO. So why is a country without a proper military such a key part of a military alliance?
Read MoreWhy is New Zealand evolving geopolitically?
Many people only know New Zealand from Lord of the Rings. But geopolitically, it’s a fascinating case, because after decades of hedging between China and the West, it’s moving firmly to one side while tightening its hold on the islands tied to it, behaving less like a neutral small state and more like a regional power. So why are New Zealand’s geopolitical dynamics changing?
Read MoreWhy does Estonia run a “data embassy” in Luxembourg?
in Europe
You probably don't know that Estonia keeps a copy of its government data in Luxembourg. In fact, it's one of only two countries known to run a data embassy abroad. But why would Estonia want to back up its most sensitive government information in a foreign country, and what can this tell us about Estonia's geopolitical dynamics?
Read MoreWhy is New York City the unofficial capital of the world?
There is no capital of the planet Earth. But if there were, it would be New York City, the very city the diplomats who founded the United Nations originally tried to avoid. So how did New York become the world’s de facto capital, and what does this mean for geopolitics?
Read MoreWhy does the Pope have one of the best intelligence networks on Earth?
in Europe
The Catholic Church wields one of the oldest and widest intelligence networks in the world. But it’s not like the Pope is ordering assassinations or operating a network of spies. So if Vatican City doesn’t even have an intelligence agency, why is it so good at collecting intelligence?
Read MoreWhy is Denmark so powerful when it’s so small?
in Europe
The average person’s only real connection with Denmark is a LEGO set, a medication they take, or a fish they bought from the supermarket. But while Denmark is small, it wields outsized geopolitical influence. So why is Denmark disproportionately important?
Read MoreWhy does the EU exist?
in Europe
The European Union is something we kind of take for granted today, but it hasn’t always existed. Before 1993, there was no EU. European countries had spent decades stitching together trade deals and shared institutions, but every country still had its own currency, and a giant tangle of geopolitical dynamics made European affairs incredibly complicated. So why did the EU actually come into being, and how do those reasons still affect geopolitics today?
Read MoreWhy did Armenia rapidly turn away from Russia and ally with the West?
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Armenia became an independent state. But a year later, Russia led the signing of an intergovernmental military treaty called the Collective Security Treaty, whose signatories today comprise Russia, Armenia, and four other post-Soviet states, with Russia as the primary guarantor of security. For almost thirty years, Russia and Armenia were incredibly close, but since 2020 things have shifted dramatically, with its own prime minister calling the Collective Security Treaty Organization, or CSTO, a threat to the country’s national security. So what happened to change Armenia’s relationship with Russia?
Read MoreIs Pakistan now Saudi Arabia’s nuclear shield?
in Middle East, Asia
For almost as long as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has existed, Pakistan has been one of its closest allies. In fact, many consider this relationship to be one of the closest friendships between any two countries in the world. But in 2025, the two countries signed a Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement to codify this relationship for the first time. This is an important geopolitical shift. Let’s talk about why.
Read MoreHow has Russia’s relationship with Cuba changed since the Cold War?
In June 2024, a Russian nuclear-powered attack submarine called the Kazan pulled into harbor at Havana, Cuba. It was joined by a guided missile frigate, a fuel tanker, and a rescue tug. US destroyers and unmanned surface vessels shadowed them the entire way in, and though the Pentagon publicly waved it off, that single port call was the loudest signal in a very quiet relationship between Russia and Cuba that has been rebuilding since the Cold War ended. We all know the stories about the Cuban Missile Crisis and Soviet patronage, but how and why are the two countries collaborating today?
Read MoreHow did Vietnam become friends with everyone?
in Asia
Vietnam is the only country on Earth that has top-tier strategic partnerships with China, Russia, the United States, Britain, and France. That’s all five permanent members of the UN Security Council, plus many more like India, Japan, South Korea, and Australia. All of these countries view Vietnam as a strategic partner, even if they don’t get along very well with Vietnam’s other allies. So how did Vietnam become so universally attractive to other countries?
Read MoreWhy is Belarus dominated by Russia?
Belarus is more than just a Russian ally. As of 2026, it is effectively a Russian satellite state. In fact, Russia controls or routes roughly 90% of Belarusian exports, leverages Belarusian airspace and territory for military operations, dominates the Belarusian economy via fused regulatory and financial environments, and hosts tactical nuclear weapons on Belarusian soil. If Vladimir Putin hadn’t intervened during Belarus’s mass protests in 2020, Aleksandr Lukashenko’s regime likely would have collapsed. So how exactly did Belarus become subjugated by Russia?
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