United States

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China

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Taiwan

India

Military & Security

Politics

U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said the U.S. military planned to conduct maintenance on six naval ships in international shipyards in fiscal year 2025 in preparation for wartime contingency repairs in the Indo-Pacific, the South China Morning Post reported on May 3.

U.S., Indo-Pacific: U.S. To Expand Overseas Ship Repair, Bolster Maritime Interoperability

Benin

Cote d'Ivoire

Niger

Commander of the U.S. Africa Command, or AFRICOM, Michael Langley met with Beninese President Patrice Talon to discuss bilateral military cooperation, Radio France Internationale reported on May 2. 

Benin: AFRICOM Commander Visits Benin, Cote d’Ivoire as U.S. Seeks New Drone Bases in West Africa

Israel

Palestinian Territories

Turkey

Economics

Turkey halted all trade with Israel amid the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, conditioning a resumption of trade on a permanent cease-fire with the Palestinian militant group Hamas and uninterrupted humanitarian aid to Gaza, Bloomberg reported on May 2.

Turkey, Israel: Turkey Halts Trade to Israel Over Gaza War

Yemen

In a televised address, the spokesperson of Yemen's Houthi rebels announced that the group had started a fourth phase of escalation against the United States and Israel by targeting ships heading to Israeli ports in any area within reach, Arab News reported on May 2.

Yemen: Houthis Announce Fourth Phase of Escalation Against U.S. and Israel

Iran

Syria

Israel-Hamas Conflict

Israel struck a building on the outskirts of Damascus, injuring 8 Syrian soldiers on May 2, Reuters reported May 3. 

Israel, Syria: Israel Strikes Syria for the First Time Since April 1

Eritrea

Cuba

Nicaragua

Venezuela

Egypt

Saudi Arabia

Norway

Belarus

Russia

Cyber

Environment, Science & Technology

Reporters Without Borders published its 2024 World Press Freedom Index, indicating that suppression of journalists and political attacks on the press have "significantly intensified" in the last year, The Guardian reported on May 3.

Global: Press Freedom Declines Amid Pivotal Elections Around the World

Solomon Islands

With support from 31 of 50 lawmakers, the Solomon Islands' former Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele was sworn in as the country's new prime minister, Nikkei Asia reported on May 2.

Solomon Islands: Incumbent Party Forms Coalition, Elects New Prime Minister

Ethiopia

Tadesse Werede, the vice president of Tigray's interim administration, said Tigray's ruling Tigray People's Liberation Front, or TPLF, had reached an agreement with Ethiopia's federal government to resolve a dispute with the neighboring Amhara region over the status of western and southern Tigray, Addis Standard reported on May 1.

Ethiopia: TPLF Reached Agreement With Federal Government on Western, Southern Tigray 

The world is connected, but even the broadest topics deserve an individual look. Below are our latest and most relevant military analyses. 

Below are our latest and most relevant military analyses. 

Sub-Saharan Africa

Americas

Asia-Pacific

Europe

Eurasia

Middle East and North Africa

South Asia

The Syrian Civil War

The Yemen Civil War

The Libyan Civil War

The Fight Against the Islamic State

The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict

The India-Pakistan Rivalry

The Ukraine Conflict

Tracking U.S. Naval Power

The Battle for Mosul

Rebalancing Power in the Middle East

Coping With a Nuclear North Korea

The Jihadist Wars

Echoes of the Cold War

Instability in Central Asia

South Asian Militancy

Pakistan: A Military With a Country

Assessments

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on April 29 at a Joint Ministerial Meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council-U.S. Strategic Partnership in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Riyadh will continue to progressively advance diplomatic relations with Israel and deepen defense ties with the United States, while maintaining its cautious outreach to Iran.

Riyadh will continue to progressively advance diplomatic relations with Israel and deepen defense ties with the United States, while maintaining its cautious outreach to Iran.

Assessing Saudi Arabia's Foreign Policy During the Israel-Hamas War and Beyond

Snapshots

Haiti

A Haitian police officer controls the area around the country's National Palace in Port-au-Prince on May 1, 2024.

The reversal in the transitional council's appointment of a new prime minister highlights political tensions within the governing body, indicating risks of further political instability and violence in the coming months.

Disputes Over a Prime Minister Appointment Bode Ill for Haiti's Stability

Columns

On Geopolitics

A globe statue is seen at dusk.

As the international system becomes more multipolar, global norms will be increasingly tested, eroded and redefined, creating a more uncertain and volatile world.

Can International Norms Survive in a Multipolar World?

Media

Podcasts

What types of threat actors will be most active leading up to the election?

Essential Geopolitics: Election-Related Cyber Threats in the U.S.

People attend the funeral procession in Tehran, Iran, on April 5, 2024, for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members killed in a recent Israeli strike in Syria.

Israel and Iran have shown they can stand on the brink and still step back. But future confrontations will run the risk of derailing strategic logic in their behavior, potentially trapping them in a war neither wants.

For Israel and Iran, April's Exchange Ushers In a New Era of Deterrence

What is the future of Japan and the U.S.'s military relationship?

Essential Geopolitics: What Continued U.S.-Japan Cooperation Means for China

Panama

Panama presidential candidate Jose Raul Mulino of the conservative Realizing Goals party gestures during a campaign rally in Panama City on April 28, 2024. 

The Central American country's next president will take office at a time of deepening economic challenges and political tensions, creating business uncertainty and unrest risks in the years ahead.


Previewing Panama's Presidential Election

Fiji

Indonesia

New Zealand

North Korea

Singapore

South Korea

Vietnam

United Kingdom

A 3D rendering of Southeast Asia from space at night with city lights showing Southeast Asian cities in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

In the Asia-Pacific, countries are increasingly pursuing complex networks of political, economic and defense ties as part of a burgeoning "multi-alignment" strategy that seeks to avoid U.S.-China strategic competition.

Examining 'Multi-Alignment' in the Asia-Pacific

U.S.-China Relations

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Argentina

Bolivia

Peru

France

Spain

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and his wife, Begona Gomez, arrive Oct. 5, 2023, at the Carlos V Palace at the Alhambra in Granada, Spain. Sanchez is expected to make an announcement about his political future on April 29 following his surprise decision April 25 to suspend public appearances after a court in Madrid announced an investigation into his wife for alleged influence-peddling and corruption.

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

The Weekly Rundown: South American Foreign Ministers Visit China, the Spanish Premier Announces His Political Future

Morocco

Moroccan Air Force mechanics examine an F-16 fighter jet at an airbase in Ben Guerir, about 58 kilometers north of Marrakesh, Morocco, on June 14, 2021. 

Pressure from its pro-Palestinian population will not deter Morocco from using Israeli technology to expand its domestic weapons capabilities, as Rabat seeks to catch up to Algeria’s military power and position itself as an arms exporter.

Despite the Gaza War, Morocco-Israel Defense Ties Look Set to Deepen

Moldova

People hold Moldovan national flags as they gather outside the presidential palace in Chisinau on Dec. 14, 2023, to celebrate the European Council's decision to open accession talks with Moldova.

In the lead-up to the October presidential election and referendum on Moldova's EU integration, Moscow and its Moldovan political allies will step up their efforts to destabilize the country's pro-European government.

In Moldova, Two Key Votes Portend More Pro-Russian Political Agitation

Rwanda

Congolese soldiers sit in a military vehicle in Kamanyola, a village in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, on Feb. 28, 2024. 

The intensifying fight against M23 rebels in eastern Congo risks triggering border clashes with Rwanda that could threaten Congolese President Tshisekedi's government and risk disrupting Congo's cobalt exports.

Where Is the Conflict in Eastern Congo Headed?

Military & Security

SITUATION REPORTS

U.S., Indo-Pacific: U.S. To Expand Overseas Ship Repair, Bolster Maritime Interoperability

Benin: AFRICOM Commander Visits Benin, Cote d’Ivoire as U.S. Seeks New Drone Bases in West Africa

Turkey, Israel: Turkey Halts Trade to Israel Over Gaza War

Yemen: Houthis Announce Fourth Phase of Escalation Against U.S. and Israel

Israel, Syria: Israel Strikes Syria for the First Time Since April 1

Global: Press Freedom Declines Amid Pivotal Elections Around the World

Solomon Islands: Incumbent Party Forms Coalition, Elects New Prime Minister

Ethiopia: TPLF Reached Agreement With Federal Government on Western, Southern Tigray

Forecasts

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