United States

Russia

Economics

Energy

The United States imposed some of its harshest sanctions yet on Russia's energy sector, designating over 180 vessels, Russian oil producers Surgutneftegas and Gazprom Neft, Russian maritime insurance providers Ingosstrakh and Alfastrakhovanie, and dozens of oil traders and other entities, The Washington Post reported on Jan. 10.


Russia, U.S.: Washington Steps Up Sanctions on Russian Oil

Cyber

Military & Security

Politics

U.S. President Joe Biden signed on Jan. 16 an executive order issuing a litany of cybersecurity directives, including bolstering federal cybersecurity measures and improving AI-powered defenses.

U.S.: Biden Issues Sweeping Cybersecurity Executive Order

China

Taiwan

Taiwan's opposition Kuomintang and Taiwan People's Party legislators suggested amending the annual budget to introduce cuts of up to 44% on 38 defense projects, including the country's domestic submarine development program, drones and mine-laying vessels, Focus Taiwan reported on Jan. 16.

Taiwan: Budget Cuts Highlight Potential Wrinkle in U.S. Defense Cooperation

Mozambique

Militants belonging to Islamic State West African Province, or ISWAP, and Jama'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihad, also known as JAS or Boko Haram, on Jan. 14  killed at least 40 people from Nigeria's Dumba community in Borno state, Reuters reported the following day. ISWAP and JAS militants killed farmers and fishermen in Dumba, near Lake Chad, and reportedly left many others missing. 

The Weekly Rundown: Mozambique's President Takes Office, the U.K. Chancellor Visits China

Ukraine

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Incoming U.S. national security adviser Mike Waltz laid out several points of the incoming Trump administration's approach to the Russia-Ukraine war, most notably a request for Ukraine to lower its mobilization age from the current 25 to 18, ABC News reported on Jan. 12.

Ukraine: U.S. National Security Adviser Pushes Ukraine To Lower Mobilization Age

Environment, Science & Technology

U.S.-China Relations

Science & Technology

The U.S. Treasury Department is finalizing its final rule to block certain outbound investments into China covering the artificial intelligence, semiconductor, microelectronics and quantum computing sectors, Reuters reported on Oct. 21.

China, U.S: Washington To Formally Ban Certain Investments Into AI, Semiconductors in China

Israel

Lebanon

The U.S. Biden administration dispatched special envoy Amos Hochstein -- who brokered the 2022 maritime agreement between Lebanon and Israel -- to Lebanon to present proposed Israeli conditions for de-escalation, Axios reported on Oct. 21.

Israel, Lebanon: Israel Proposes Maximalist Conditions for Diplomatic Settlement With Lebanon

Turkey

Fethullah Gulen, the U.S.-based leader of Turkey's banned Islamist Hizmet movement, died on Oct. 20, according to Herkul, a website associated with the group.

Turkey, U.S.: Islamist Leader's Death Removes Thorn in U.S.-Turkish Relations

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On Geopolitics

Global Elections

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Analysis with Global + US tags

Assessments

Canada

Costa Rica

Dominican Republic

Mexico

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his wife Jeanette Rubio arrive at the State Department in Washington, D.C., to speak to employees on Jan. 21, 2025. 

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: Israel-Lebanon Ceasefire Expires, Rubio Tours Latin America

Annual

Forecasts

Israel-Hamas Conflict

Trade disruptions, shifting military conflicts and domestic political turbulence will shape global affairs in 2025. 

2025 Q1 Geopolitical Forecast

Iran

Germany

A compressor gas station of the Yamal–Europe pipeline is seen on Feb. 19, 2022, in Wloclawek, Poland. 

The expiration of the Russia-Ukraine transit deal underscores Europe's ongoing efforts to sever its reliance on Russian resources, with far-reaching implications for energy markets and geopolitics in the region and beyond. 

The End of Russian Gas via Ukraine Cements Europe's Energy Landscape

Media

Podcasts

We analyze some of the ways ChatGPT could be abused in the near future -- or already is. 

Essential Geopolitics: The Cyber Risks From ChatGPT

Syria

Europe

Nation-states' growing use of hacktivist personas to obfuscate responsibility will increasingly enable them to attack targets they would otherwise avoid and spread propaganda.

Hacktivism Offers Plausible Deniability for State-Backed Cyber Actors

On Security

Chinese social media apps Xiaohongshu, or RedNote, and Lemon8 are the top two most downloaded apps in Apple's App Store, and Xiaohonshu is one of the top 10 most downloaded apps in the Google Play Store, Bloomberg reported on Jan. 13. Meanwhile, as Chinese officials grapple with an impending TikTok ban in the United States, they are considering a potential sale of the app to U.S. tech mogul Elon Musk, Bloomberg also reported the same day.

U.S.: Looming TikTok Ban Prompts Shift to Other Chinese Apps While China Considers Possible Sale to Musk

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Debug Article in content v2 for geo focus

When handbag designer Sherrill Mosee learned that roughly 2,700 purses and backpacks she had ordered from her Chinese manufacturing partner would not make it onto one ship this autumn, she was initially content to wait.

'It's going to be hard': US firms race to get ahead of Trump tariffs

What are U.S. voters' top economic concerns?

STAG: Essential Geopolitics: The Future of Somalia UPDATED

Snapshots

NYSE workers during morning trading Nov. 26 in New York.

Though tariffs are unlikely, threats alone will likely chill investment amid growing uncertainty about U.S. trade policy.

Trump's Tariff Threats Alone Likely to Chill North American Investment Edited

The United States encompasses territory spanning from the Arctic Circle and Central Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico and the North Atlantic.    The Greater Mississippi Basin is the United States' core and serves as the underpinning of its role as a global superpower.    The basin hosts an extensive network of navigable rivers that overlay the world's largest contiguous piece of arable land. This naturally interconnected river system facilitated integration among settlers and allowed for cheap transport of goods, providing the United States with the ability to feed itself efficiently and rapidly build up industry and capital to expand west. The Midwestern core gave early America strategic depth, while an expanding U.S. coastline, naturally indented with deep harbors, provided its opening to the world.    After reaching the Pacific coast in the mid-19th century, the United States found itself insulated by two oceans. On the continent itself, geography again has worked in the country's favor: lakes to the north and deserts to the south insulate the United States' population centers, with both Canada and Mexico facing too many natural constraints of their own to seriously rival it.    This unparalleled level of wealth and protection gives the United States options that few to no countries can claim. For one, the United States has used its wealth and security to build up the world's largest navy. Control of the world's major sea-lanes gives the United States the power to facilitate or deny trade to allies or rivals of the day. The onus therefore is on the United States to carefully manage its engagements abroad and build up strategic allies to protect its overseas interests and preserve its strength at home. 

SITUATION REPORTS

Russia, U.S.: Washington Steps Up Sanctions on Russian Oil

U.S.: Biden Issues Sweeping Cybersecurity Executive Order

Taiwan: Budget Cuts Highlight Potential Wrinkle in U.S. Defense Cooperation

The Weekly Rundown: Mozambique's President Takes Office, the U.K. Chancellor Visits China

Ukraine: U.S. National Security Adviser Pushes Ukraine To Lower Mobilization Age

China, U.S: Washington To Formally Ban Certain Investments Into AI, Semiconductors in China

Israel, Lebanon: Israel Proposes Maximalist Conditions for Diplomatic Settlement With Lebanon

Turkey, U.S.: Islamist Leader's Death Removes Thorn in U.S.-Turkish Relations

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