Regions - International Studies of Strategic and Geopolitics

The Swedish Air Force prepares for the next 20 years

29Dec

By ISSGNo Comments

Europe, Defense Strategy and Capabilities

The Swedish Air Force prepares for the next 20 years

As part of a military strategic analysis study up to 2045, the Swedish Air Force (Flygvapnet) designed its roadmap for the next two decades, which will guide its expansion and modernization. The study, conducted for the entire Swedish Armed Forces, seeks to guide decisions on defense policy towards 2045. It echoes the war in Ukraine and Sweden’s future membership in the NATO structure, which marks a turning point for the country after decades of strategic neutrality. As a NATO ally, the study presupposes an increase in the threshold for armed Russian attacks against Sweden, while changing the threat landscape and increasing the risk of military activities on the country’s borders. The outcome of the war in Ukraine is unknown and the regional and global consequences are difficult to pred...

Processes and Trends of Global Jihad on the African Continent

29Dec

By ISSGNo Comments

Africa, Counterterrorism and Homeland Security

Processes and Trends of Global Jihad on the African Continent

On May 11th, 2022, the anti-IS international coalition addressed the jihadi organizations’ expanding footprint in Africa as a growing threat to world security. As a rule, the presence of jihad on the African continent has been on the rise since the early 2000s. It grew thanks to basic African characteristics such as lack of governability, problematic political culture, corruption, and weak socio-economic position. The strategy employed by global jihadi organizations in Africa includes Dawah activity alongside enforcement of Sharia law on the local population in regions that lack state security forces presence and therefore are at the mercy of the terrorist organizations. With this state of affairs, the territorial and ideologic spread of the terrorist organizations without a massive counte...

Pakistan and East Africa’s emerging giant

29Dec

By ISSGNo Comments

Africa, Asia

Pakistan and East Africa’s emerging giant

ETHIOPIA, Africa’s second most populous country, situated at a strategic location in the “Horn of Africa” near the Gulf of Aden-Red Sea, has now become the region’s fastest-growing economy. Since the early 2000s, Ethiopia’s annual GDP growth has averaged above 10%, making it one of the world’s highest rates. The government’s strong and ambitious economic development strategy proved to be the primary driver of this unprecedented rate of growth. In recent years, owing to its rapid economic expansion and rising strategic importance in the region, Ethiopia has become East Africa’s emerging giant. With the newly initiated “10-Year Development Plan 2021-2030”, based on the 2019 “Home-Grown Economic Reform Agenda”, the Ethiopian Government has set its goals to maintain tremendous economic gro...

The Ukraine war will shape global politics for years to come

28Dec

By ISSGNo Comments

Long-Term Futures, Europe

The Ukraine war will shape global politics for years to come

BY HARSH V. PANT * The Ukraine war will shape global politics for years to come When the year began, the debate on Ukraine had already started. Vladimir Putin was amassing his troops around Ukraine. It was widely believed that this was part of a diplomatic manoeuvre to push for a renegotiated settlement with Europe. The West was trying to ensure that war doesn’t return to Europe. The world was nervous but few believed that a full-fledged war was in the offing. And, yet, it happened, forever changing the geopolitics of Europe and the world. Since that fateful day on February 24, when the Russian invasion began, it has been estimated that more than 100,000 Russian and 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or injured, along with some 40,000 civilian deaths. Over 7.8 million U...

Geopolitics of Subsea Cables in the Arctic

28Dec

By ISSGNo Comments

Arctic

Geopolitics of Subsea Cables in the Arctic

Infrastructure is a critical way for humans to engage with the natural environment in the Arctic region, as it facilitates access, connection, inhabitation, and productivity. The Arctic Institute’s 2022 series on Infrastructure in the Arctic investigates infrastructure as a critical point of analysis for considering human impacts and needs in the Arctic, especially in its role as a mediator, or as an interface, between politics, government, people and the natural environment. Subsea cables are essential parts of infrastructure, in that they serve to transmit all Internet data. For something so critical to our modern life they are well hidden in the depths of oceans and seas. Subsea cables have recently made headlines. The volcanic eruption in Tonga cut the fiber optic cable connecting th...

Why are relations between Azerbaijan and Israel developing now?

27Dec

By ISSGNo Comments

Russia and Eurasia

Why are relations between Azerbaijan and Israel developing now?

Azerbaijan's announcement that it's going to open an embassy in Israel came as no surprise. It reflects the strong ties between the two countries for nearly three decades in the political, security and military fields. While there is an Israeli Embassy in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, the latter only had commercial and tourist offices in Tel Aviv. This in part reveals the nature of the diplomatic strategy Azerbaijan has begun to follow in recent years, which has reached the point of normalisation agreements. For a number of reasons, Azerbaijan topped the list of countries that Israel set its sights on, including its extremely important geopolitical location which extends beyond the Caucasus. This places it in Russia's backyard and has helped it to cover 48 per cent of Israel's oil and ga...

Netanyahu has his sights set on peace with Saudi Arabia – but is it feasible?

27Dec

By ISSGNo Comments

Middle East

Netanyahu has his sights set on peace with Saudi Arabia – but is it feasible?

While peace with Riyadh is a top priority for the incoming government, there are many significant barriers in the way, despite the common interests the two nations share with regard to Iran, experts say. Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu said last week that he hopes to bring about "a full, formal peace" with Saudi Arabia, as Israel has done with other Gulf states. However, analysts say there are several significant obstacles to achieving full normalization with the Saudis. According to Eytan Gilboa, professor of political science at Bar-Ilan University and senior fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS), the chances of peace between Jerusalem and Riyadh are "low." For starters, noted Gilboa, the Saudis have been consistent in their call for Palestinia...

A New Strategic Landscape in the Middle East

27Dec

By ISSGNo Comments

Middle East

A New Strategic Landscape in the Middle East

By Dan Schueftan * Despite what most Western readers have long been conditioned to assume, the Middle East and Arab-Israeli relations are a source of good news these days. The region is still violent and unstable; the conflict between the Jewish state and its radical enemies, Palestinians and others, is far from over; the threat of the Iranian revolutionary regime may be greater than ever. However, a new strategic alignment that has lately been emerging promises a better chance than ever before in modern history for regional states to isolate and stand up to the radicals who continue to threaten the existing order. The old structure of the Arab-Israel conflict that defined the Middle East for generations—during and shortly after the Cold War—is now being replaced by a strengthen...

Germany planning new strategy in Africa to compete with China

26Dec

By ISSGNo Comments

Africa, Europe

Germany planning new strategy in Africa to compete with China

Germany intends to replace 'Marshall Plan with Africa' with new strategy to keep Germany in race for Africa against China. BERLIN With a new strategy for the African continent, Germany is preparing to compete against China in search of energy, raw materials, and new markets. In the "Dark Continent," which is remembered for its poverty, the capital problem, drought, and never-ending domestic turmoil make Africa's struggle for industrialization difficult, but the rich mineral deposits and young population continue to attract the attention of developed countries. This increased interest in the continent also leads to an increase in competition between countries. It is noteworthy that Chinese, Turkish, Italian and Indian investments in African countries have increased in recent years, on t...