Maritime
Japan controls a 1200km chain of islands that sits across the Chinese navy’s main routes to the Pacific. In peacetime, Chinese warships sail through the gaps legally, but in a war, the Ryukyu Islands could become a giant wall. With China historically sensitive to being hemmed in by foreign powers, how has Japan managed to control the Ryukyus, and what impact does this have on geopolitical strategy?
Read MoreWe all know that wars cost money and damage economies. But you probably don’t know that insurance has a shocking amount of influence on conflicts. Imagine if your car insurance charged you extra every time you drove through a dangerous neighborhood, and could raise that charge overnight or refuse to cover you there at all. That’s roughly how ships are insured in war zones, and it can decide whether a shipping company sails through a conflict or goes around it. But how exactly does this influence geopolitics?
Read MoreCrimea has been a focal point of the Ukraine war since Russia seized and annexed it in 2014. But why does Russia care so much about Crimea to begin with?
Read MoreSri Lanka is one of those places that most people have heard of but know next to nothing about. But the country is a fascinating place with a bloody history, and it’s disproportionately important to geopolitics. So what makes Sri Lanka more important than you might expect?
Read MoreThe Yellow Sea is one of the most strategically sensitive bodies of water in the world. It's bordered by China, North Korea, and South Korea, and the United States gets pulled in by treaty. The Yellow Sea’s inner gulf, the Bohai, reaches to within about 150 kilometers of Beijing. So how exactly does the Yellow Sea shape geopolitics?
Read MoreMore shipping tonnage sails under Liberia's flag than any other country's, but only a third of Liberians even have electricity. And when USAID was dismantled in 2025, no country on earth lost more as a share of its national income. For two centuries Liberia has rented itself out: its land, its labor, and even its flag. So why hasn’t this led to long-term prosperity?
Read More