Ukraine is not the only country under Russian occupation. Nearly a fifth of the country of Georgia is under Russian control. But why would Russia care about a small country buried in the Caucasus Mountains?
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 MoreHow do Europe’s nobles still shape countries they no longer rule?
in Europe
Nobles 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 MoreWhy does Wales still speak Welsh when Ireland stopped speaking Irish?
in Europe
About 72k people in Ireland speak the Irish language daily outside a classroom. In Wales, a country with half the population, the number speaking Welsh daily runs into the hundreds of thousands, and in Gwynedd it is still the majority language. Both languages have been shrinking for a century, but only one of them still has places where it is simply what people speak. So why did Welsh hold onto its communities when Irish didn't, and what does that have to do with geopolitics?
Read MoreWhy can’t Ghana afford its own democracy?
in Africa
For 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 MoreWhy is resource-rich Papua New Guinea so poor?
If you were to look at a breakdown of Papua New Guinea's natural resources, you'd see vast reserves of gold, copper, and natural gas at the top of the list. But PNG faces severe poverty, terrible infrastructure, and human development ranked 154th out of 193 countries. So why isn't Papua New Guinea rich?
Read MoreHow does Russia’s Kaliningrad survive surrounded by NATO?
The exclave of Kaliningrad is not only disconnected from the rest of Russia, it’s also wedged between two NATO countries, making it an obvious target during a potential war. So how does Kaliningrad survive without a connection to the rest of Russia, and just how vulnerable is it?
Read MoreWhy is the border between India and Bangladesh such a mess?
in Asia
The border between India and Bangladesh is a mess. At first glance, it looks basically random, but when we dig into the history and geography of the region, we can find some really fascinating answers. So why are India and Bangladesh divided up like this?
Read MoreWhy is diamond-rich Botswana going broke?
in Africa
Botswana’s entire economy rests on a single commodity. Diamonds long provided about a third of the government's revenue, and they're still around 80% of its exports, but the collapse of demand for natural diamonds globally has triggered Botswana's worst financial crisis in decades, and perhaps a geopolitical overhaul. So why is Botswana so reliant on the diamond trade, and how is it trying to move on?
Read MoreWhy can’t Finland defend its most strategic islands?
in Europe
Tucked between Finland and Sweden is an archipelago called Aland. It belongs to Finland and is strategically critical because it commands the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia, but it is autonomous and unexpectedly demilitarized. So why aren’t there military forces in Aland, and will that change amid threats from Russia?
Read MoreWhy do nuclear weapons expire?
in Global
Most people don’t know that nuclear weapons go bad, like bananas getting overripe on your kitchen counter. It’s true: tritium decays by roughly 5.5% every year, and without it a nuclear warhead with a yield of 100 kilotons would yield only 0.3 kilotons. But why is this the case, and what impact does it have on geopolitics?
Read MoreWhy are Iran and Iraq geopolitically entangled?
in Middle East
You might not realize it, but Iraq and Iran share a lot more than just similar names. They are so geopolitically intertwined that it is very difficult to talk about one without eventually needing to talk about the other. But other than being neighbors, why are Iraq and Iran so tethered together?
Read MoreWhy does Russia want Crimea so badly?
Crimea 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 MoreWhy is Macau so different from nearby Hong Kong?
in Asia
Macao is like the Las Vegas of Asia, and China is very happy with it because while it’s a Special Administrative Region just like nearby Hong Kong, Macao has no mass democracy movement. So why is Macao so different from Hong Kong, and how did it become such a hub for gambling?
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 is Guam critical to the US?
You might think that Hawaii is as far west as the US goes, but you'd be wrong. Guam is over 6000km west of Hawaii and nearly 10000km from California, making it the most distant populated US soil. So how did the US gain control of Guam to begin with, and how does it change the US’s geopolitical dynamics?
Read MoreWhy does Tasmania have so much power?
Most 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 MoreWhy isn’t Eswatini part of South Africa?
in Africa
Eswatini, 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 MoreIs Russia weaponizing Russians in the Baltics?
Estonia and Latvia are home to hundreds of thousands of Russian-speaking non-citizens, and since the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has worked hard to turn them into leverage. But why are all of these people in the Baltic States to begin with, and what impact do they actually have on Europe's security?
Read MoreWhy are the United Arab Emirates united?
in Middle East
Dubai 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?
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