Analysis is where longer arguments are made. Pieces trace a conflict, alliance, sanction regime or economic crisis back through the decisions and interests that produced it, then set out the range of outcomes still available. Sources and assumptions are stated. Written for readers who want causation rather than a summary of yesterday.
Seabed minerals, fishing rights and cable corridors have turned the high seas into a slow-motion scramble governed by a 1982 treaty with 1990s amendments.
Christopher Lee · May 20, 2026
The region's only all-eight-states institution has been paused since 2022 — and its working groups quietly show what governance loses when diplomacy stops.
Valentina Sokolov · April 27, 2026
Singapore, Switzerland and a growing queue of minnows have built a niche the great powers cannot occupy: neutral ground with good logistics.
Christopher Lee · April 5, 2026
The European Union translates every binding text into every official language — a legal choice with a price tag and a hidden politics.
Valentina Sokolov · March 13, 2026
Central banks keep reserves in each other's vaults for sound technical reasons — which is exactly what makes the repatriation wave a political seismograph.
Valentina Sokolov · February 18, 2026