Geopolitics & Defense
Geopolitics, conflicts and defense: Ukraine and Russia, the Middle East, China and Taiwan, NATO, military industry, sanctions, trade and energy security.
About this list
This reading list brings together items from the sources selected for Geopolitics & Defense. Open each item at its original source for the complete article, episode or video. This is a selection of current coverage, not a complete archive.
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Deep Connections: Kaja Bego on the undersea cables that underpin the global economy
Katja Bego is a researcher at Chatham House and an expert on undersea cables. https://www.chathamhouse.org/about-us/our-people/katja-bego f you would like to support this podcast please consider taking out a paid subscription to my Substack arthursnell.substack.com or if you don't want the hassle of a subscription you can buy me a coffee! ko-fi.com/snellarthur If you want to buy any of the books talked about in this show, please support independent bookshops by using Bookshop.org with this link:
The Warning Label Is The Pitch
OpenAI burned $15 million in three days to beat Anthropic to a Millennium Prize problem. Nobody's quite sure whose work they trained on to do it. This week the cousins bring in their science cousin - physicist Dan Green, Marko's college roommate - to explain what AI is actually doing to math, and why the whole thing smells less like a real breakthrough and more like an elaborate flex.
What Happens When Fossil Water Runs Out? Part 1 || Peter Zeihan
Fossil water is ancient water trapped in deep aquifers that take millennia to recharge, rather than the standard seasonal rainfall recharge. So, once you use it...it's gone. Join the Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/PeterZeihan Full Newsletter: https://bit.ly/3Tthee0
What’s at Stake in Brazil’s Election
Results would have broad implications on foreign policy.
Can Development Work in Wartime?
How can you tackle poverty and create infrastructure amid an active conflict? Alexander De Croo is the head of the U.N. Development Program, and he joins FP’s Ravi Agrawal to make the case for spending development dollars on building long-term resilience. He’s exploring solutions to opium poppies in Afghanistan, electric grids in Ukraine, and sanitation in Gaza, even as major donors such as the United States pull back.
Algeria moves to restore death penalty for arson: What to know
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune wants a return to executions after another summer of devastating wild fires, but rights groups say the amendment passed by parliament is problematic.
Building Out the Power Grid: Large Power Transformers || Peter Zeihan
There are three major obstacles to expanding the U.S. electrical grid: generation capacity, permitting, and large power transformers (LPTs). Let's focus on LPTs today. Join the Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/PeterZeihan Full Newsletter: https://bit.ly/4hNoqL6
Rights, faith groups urge Congress to block $2.8B bomb sale to Israel
If the Trump administration moves forward with the transfer, dozens of groups are urging lawmakers to seek a joint resolution of disapproval.
What Happened in Russia’s 2026 Parliamentary Elections?
Russia embarked on its first parliamentary elections since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine with ramped up repression and an emptied political space amid the ongoing war. Even so, these tightly controlled elections did not go exactly according to plan. What do the results mean? How important are elections in the current Russian political system? What’s different in the newly elected Duma. Check out the Vlast newsletter here.
How To Ban Diesel Exports || Peter Zeihan
A ban on American crude or diesel exports isn't going to improve energy security; if anything, it will reduce domestic production. The problem lies in geography. Join the Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/PeterZeihan Full Newsletter: https://bit.ly/4yaixxq
What America and China Fear Most About AI: A Conversation with Kyle Chan and Helen Toner
Over the course of just a few months, artificial intelligence has become one of the most central issues, and one of the most fraught issues, in the relationship between the United States and China. Policymakers in Washington and in Beijing simultaneously worry about which country’s tech sector has the advantage and wonder whether the search for advantage will itself lead to catastrophe for both countries and everyone else. Recent bilateral meetings, including the one last week between U.S.
The Case for Trump’s Global Strategy
U.N. ambassador Mike Waltz on Iran, Sudan, China, Russia, and more.
The Case for Trump’s Global Strategy
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz has become one of the Trump administration’s most visible spokespeople, publicly explaining and defending its policies on everything from Iran to Venezuela and Sudan. But how has Washington’s global role changed as the White House pulls back from multilateral institutions? How does the administration make the case for an unpopular war in Iran? Waltz sits down with FP Live to talk through the White House’s foreign-policy strategy.
U.S. Sanctions on Iran Take a New Approach || Peter Zeihan
The U.S. has just announced that it will remove any company or country caught servicing Iranian-owned aircraft from the U.S. dollar system. But these sanctions don't target the IRGC or regime; instead, they impact everyday Iranians in the hope of stirring up a rebellion against the regime. Join the Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/PeterZeihan Full Newsletter: https://bit.ly/4d10OQA
The UK Airbase Puzzle and Inside the Trump-Xi Summit
On this episode of Talking Geopolitics, GPF Chairman George Friedman joins host Christian Smith to discuss the unfolding security incident at RAF Fairford, the fallout from the US-China summit and Xi's letter to Trump, and the overblown risks of AI in geopolitics and related technology. Information on the RAF base plot is changing rapidly. Episode recorded on September 28, 2026. Subscribe to our free newsletter and receive Special Report: Reviving NATO's Eastern Line by Antonia Colibasanu at http://www.geopoliticalfutures.com/gpf-newsletter.
Lebanon seeks Turkey’s help to join Syria-Saudi rail link: What to know
Beirut is seeking Ankara’s support to link its ports to a railway project aiming to link Turkey to the Gulf, through Syria and Jordan.
Countering Asia's Axis of Authoritarianism
In this episode, Mike is joined by Dr. Sheena Chestnut Greitens, Associate Professor at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. They discuss how regime survival concerns among the Indo-Pacific’s authoritarian powers are shaping their foreign relations and the region's broader strategic competition.
The AI Race: U.S. vs. China || Peter Zeihan
The AI race is in full swing. China is chasing digital sovereignty, but there's a glaring hole in that plan...it doesn't have the advanced manufacturing capabilities to achieve it. Here's the real kicker: nobody does. Join the Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/PeterZeihan Full Newsletter: https://bit.ly/46FmVbK
Ep 211. Peacemakers: Do Aziz Abu Sarah and Maoz Inon have the answers to ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
This is a story about an Israeli and a Palestinian who refuse to give up. Instead, they teach us that “Peace is an action”. Rejecting revenge and rage, Aziz offers an image that stays with us: anger is like nuclear power. It can destroy, or it can light a path. This is a conversation about what it takes to choose the latter, and what the rest of us might do next.
Is AUKUS Too Big to Fail?
In this episode of The Diplomat’s Asia Geopolitics podcast, hosts Ankit Panda and Katie Putz mark the 5th anniversary of the AUKUS partnership with a discussion of the trilateral security agreement between Australia, the U.K., and the U.S., breaking down its significance, concerns regarding its sustainability amid a changing political landscape, the challenges faced by the U.S.
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