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Global Affairs Session 83 24 August 2026 IRAN'S LONG GAME What the future holds for the global economy now Iran’s long game in August 2026 is not simply to survive US-Israeli pressure. It is to convert survival into bargaining power by using military endurance, the Strait of Hormuz, Eurasian connectivity and strategic relationships to shape the terms of an eventual settlement.

Global Affairs Session 73 6 August 2026 THE KINDLEBERGER TRAP When no one wants to lead The Kindleberger Trap describes a world in which the established power stops supplying global public goods, while the rising power does not replace it. Trump’s transactional America, Xi Jinping’s limited responsibility and Putin’s disruptive strategy point towards fragmented power, competing blocs, weaker institutions and crises without a trusted stabiliser.

Global Affairs Session 70 30 July 2026 CHINA’S AI THREAT TO THE USA How open-weight models, low prices and industrial scale challenge American AI power China’s artificial-intelligence challenge to the United States is no longer based mainly on copying American breakthroughs. It increasingly combines near-frontier models, open weights, low prices, engineering efficiency and rapid industrial deployment. America still leads across the complete AI stack, but China has found ways to compete around some of its most expensive technological advantages.

Global Affairs Session 57 23 June 2026 CHINA VS US: THE EPIC AI CLASH China cracks cheaper and open-source The contest between the United States and China for AI supremacy has hardened into a full-stack rivalry running from chips and data centres to models, applications and global standards. Washington leads at the frontier with closed, premium models built on the world's best compute and capital, while Beijing has turned chip restrictions into an advantage, flooding the market with cheaper, open-source alternatives. What began as a race for better products is fast becoming a contest for control of the next computing platform, and for military, economic and geopolitical power.

Global Affairs Session 53 15 June 2026 IRAN WINS THE WAR America proposes a peace deal — Israel is unhappy After months of war that began with a joint U.S.–Israeli strike campaign on 28 February 2026, the United States and Iran have announced a preliminary framework to end the fighting, halt the U.S. blockade of Iran, and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Markets reacted instantly — oil fell, the dollar weakened, and Gulf and Indian assets rallied — even as Iran's nuclear programme remains unresolved. The war leaves behind a case study in asymmetric warfare, a reshaped Gulf, and early signs that Iran may emerge as a stronger regional power.

Global Affairs Session 45 29 May 2026 ISRAEL IN AMERICA A small community's outsized footprint in US politics American Jews are barely 2.4 percent of the US population, yet they sit close to the centre of one of the most closely watched relationships in world affairs — the US-Israel alliance. Well-organised lobbies, deep historical ties and shared strategic interests keep that relationship strong, even as the Gaza war and events in Lebanon visibly reshape how younger and more diverse Americans view Israel.

Global Affairs Session 31 26 March 2026 GULF STATES FACE A SOVEREIGNTY TEST Why wealth, alliances and outsourced protection cannot substitute for sovereign resilience The Gulf states built prosperity through global finance, energy exports and external security guarantees. The 2026 regional crisis exposed the limits of that model: sovereignty cannot be treated merely as a service purchased from another power. Durable security requires costly domestic resilience, collective defence and the capacity to withstand pressure on infrastructure, trade routes and political autonomy.

Global Affairs Session 30 6 May 2026 AMERICA IS STUCK IN THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ How military escalation turned a regional waterway into America’s strategic trap The United States entered the Iran conflict with overwhelming military power, but the Strait of Hormuz gave Tehran asymmetric leverage over shipping, energy prices and regional stability. The resulting confrontation shows why military superiority does not automatically produce political control.

Global Affairs Session 21 23 April 2026 IRAN WAR 2026 – THE FULL STORY From the Shah-era alliance to the fragile April 2026 standoff The Iran War of 2026 emerged from decades of accumulated hostility: the fall of the Shah, the hostage crisis, the Iran–Iraq War, Hezbollah’s rise, the nuclear dispute, the collapse of the JCPOA and increasingly direct conflict between Iran and Israel. This session follows that full chain from the early 1970s to the unresolved standoff of 22 April 2026.

Global Affairs Session 20 22 April 2026 AMERICA'S WARS: WHO BENEFITS? Following the economic, institutional and political winners created by war This session examines who can gain when the United States enters or sustains wars. Defence contractors, energy companies, private military firms and reconstruction businesses may obtain direct commercial benefits, while governments, military institutions, intelligence agencies and political leaders may gain budgets, authority, influence or short-term public support.

Global Affairs Session 18 20 April 2026 END OF GLOBALIZATION & IMPACT ON INDIA From prosperity and interdependence to protectionism, rivalry and fractured supply chains Globalization promised freer movement of goods, capital, ideas and people, along with prosperity and stability. It expanded trade, investment and India’s economic opportunities, but unequal gains, China’s manufacturing rise, political backlash, geopolitical rivalry and protectionist policies have pushed the system into reverse.

Global Affairs Session 17 17 April 2026 DEADLY PETRO-IMPERIALISM OF USA Oil power, Big Oil and the politics of intervention This session examines the argument that American power in oil-rich regions is shaped by petro-imperialism: the use of political, economic and military influence to secure energy interests. It connects fossil-fuel dependence, global oil reserves, Big Oil’s influence over United States politics and the consumer cost of military escalation, while invoking Smedley Butler’s warning about war and business.

Global Affairs Session 14 14 April 2026 MESSY NEW WORLD ORDER AWAITS US A messy multilateralism awaits The United States built the post-1945 order and remained its dominant pole until China emerged as a second true pole. Washington preferred a controlled transition, but Russia’s 2022 system shock, Iran’s regional leverage, Europe’s uneven rise and the manoeuvring of swing states are producing a fragmented, layered and transactional order instead.