<p>Everything that informs geopolitics can be found in South Asia: challenging demographics, geographic diversity, and contentious, ill-defined borders. The Himalayan Mountains form the northern border of South Asia, whose two main rivers, the Indus and the Ganges, support the region&rsquo;s great population centers. India is the region&rsquo;s dominant country, home to the world&rsquo;s fastest growing economy. But its rivalry with neighboring Pakistan, a fellow nuclear power and growing consumer market, has made South Asia one of the world&rsquo;s most dangerous nuclear flashpoints. The region is also a testament to how militancy and militarism can undermine the regional integration needed to unleash higher economic growth.</p>

Everything that informs geopolitics can be found in South Asia: challenging demographics, geographic diversity, and contentious, ill-defined borders. 

South Asia

Afghanistan

Bangladesh

Bhutan

India

Maldives

Nepal

Pakistan

Sri Lanka

The India-Pakistan Rivalry

The Politics of Pipelines

Banking

Crossing Borders

Globalization

Social Issues

The Pulse of Political Islam

Instability in Central Asia

South Asian Militancy

India's Own Worst Enemy

Pakistan: A Military With a Country

Assessments

Europe

Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal holds a press conference on EU-India trade relations at the European Commission’s headquarters in Brussels, Belgium on June 17, 2022.

Economics

Politics

A free trade agreement could help both sides reduce their respective dependencies on China, if disputes over issues like market access and tariffs don’t get in the way.

The Drivers and Challenges to an EU-India Trade Deal

South Africa

Brazil

China

Russia

An attendant stands next to South African, Indian, Russian, Brazilian and Chinese flags during a BRICS summit in Xiamen, China, on Sept. 4, 2017. 

Energy

Environment, Science & Technology

The addition of other non-Western nations like Saudi Arabia would boost BRICS’ economic and political heft as an alternative to the G-7, though it may come at the cost of the bloc’s internal cohesion.

For BRICS, More Members Would Mean More Power -- and More Problems

A protest May 9, 2023, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, against the arrest of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. The former prime minister's arrest increases nationwide risks of protests, social unrest, travel disruptions, and potential violence, and notably worsens political instability.

The former prime minister's arrest increases nationwide risks of protests, social unrest, travel disruptions and potential violence, and notably worsens political instability.

In Pakistan, Imran Khan's Arrest Will Worsen Already Heightened Political Instability

Paraguay

Israel

United Kingdom

A general view shows a Knesset session in Jerusalem, Israel, on March 20, 2023. 

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

The Weekly Rundown: The U.K. and Paraguay Hold Elections, Israel's Knesset Resumes

International Monetary Fund representative Rahul Anand (center) speaks during a press conference in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Nov. 9, 2022. 

Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Maldives all face varying degrees of financial and economic risks in the years ahead unless they enact far-reaching (and politically unpopular) reforms.

Where Are South Asia's Most Vulnerable Economies Headed?

Media

Sub-Saharan Africa

Americas

Middle East and North Africa

Asia-Pacific

Eurasia

Forecast Webcast

Join our analysts for this webcast recording exploring key topics identified in the RANE's 2023 Second-Quarter Worldview Forecast.

RANE's 2023 Second-Quarter Worldview Forecast

Podcasts

Military & Security

What risks does the Taliban face as the fighting season begins?

Essential Geopolitics: Recent Security Developments in Afghanistan

Nigeria

Japan

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose during their Feb. 4, 2022, meeting in Beijing. Chinese President Xi Jinping will arrive March 20, 2023, in Moscow for a three-day trip to Russia to meet with President Vladimir Putin and other high-ranking Russian officials. 

The Weekly Rundown: Nigeria Elects Governors, Xi Visits Russia

Snapshots

Supporters of the opposition National Peoples Power (NPP) take part in a protest in Colombo, Sri Lanka, to urge the government to hold local elections as scheduled on Feb. 26, 2023. 

The delayed ballot will offer a key glimpse into the country's political climate since last year's mass protests, and could weaken its new government's ability to enact IMF-mandated reforms.

The Significance of Sri Lanka's Upcoming Local Elections

Police stand guard in Male, the Maldives, as protesters take part in an anti-India rally organized by the island nation's opposition coalition on March 25, 2022. 

The September ballot will decipher whether the island nation deepens its historically close ties with India, or drifts toward China and religious extremism.

What's at Stake in the Maldives' Presidential Election

A number of leaders from former Prime Minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party have resigned from the party in recent weeks, notably including former human rights minister and senior leader Shireen Mazari, with many citing violence by PTI supporters following Khan's May 9 arrest, Dawn reported on May 24.

Pakistan: PTI Leaders Continue to Leave Party While Others Remain Detained

The Central Bank of India requested citizens deposit or exchange the country's highest denomination 2,000-rupee note by Sept. 30, Reuters reported on May 20.

India: Central Bank to Withdraw 2,000-Rupee Notes From Circulation

Iran

Leaders from Pakistan and Iran inaugurated a border market in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, as well as an electricity transmission line that will provide Iranian electricity to some of Pakistan's rural areas, AP reported on May 18.

Pakistan, Iran: Inauguration of Border Market, Electricity Transmission Line Signals Warming Relations

Thousands of government supporters staged a sit-in outside Pakistan's Supreme Court in the capital of Islamabad to protest the court's May 11 ruling that former Prime Minister Imran Khan's May 9 arrest was unlawful and merited his immediate release, AP reported on May 15.

Pakistan: Government Supporters Conduct Sit-In to Protest Supreme Court's Release of Khan

India's opposition Indian National Congress party won Karnataka state's legislative assembly election, defeating the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), AP reported on May 13.

India: Bharatiya Janata Party Loses Karnataka State to Congress Party

The Islamabad High Court granted Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan protective bail for legal cases registered against him across the country until May 15, Dawn reported on May 12.

Pakistan: Islamabad High Court Grants Khan Protective Bail

Pakistan's Supreme Court deemed "[t]he manner of execution" of former Prime Minister Imran Khan's arrest warrant "invalid and unlawful" and ordered his release, Dawn reported on May 11.

Pakistan: Supreme Court Deems Khan's Arrest Unlawful, Orders His Release

The Afghan Taliban and Pakistan agreed on May 7 to cooperate on issues of mutual concern, including by increasing trade and reducing tensions along their border, AP reported the next day.

Afghanistan, Pakistan: Afghan Taliban, Pakistan Seek to Boost Trade, Improve Relations

South Asia

SITUATION REPORTS

Pakistan: PTI Leaders Continue to Leave Party While Others Remain Detained

India: Central Bank to Withdraw 2,000-Rupee Notes From Circulation

Pakistan, Iran: Inauguration of Border Market, Electricity Transmission Line Signals Warming Relations

Pakistan: Government Supporters Conduct Sit-In to Protest Supreme Court's Release of Khan

India: Bharatiya Janata Party Loses Karnataka State to Congress Party

Pakistan: Islamabad High Court Grants Khan Protective Bail

Pakistan: Supreme Court Deems Khan's Arrest Unlawful, Orders His Release

Afghanistan, Pakistan: Afghan Taliban, Pakistan Seek to Boost Trade, Improve Relations

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