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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 44 28 May 2026 IRAN WAR ENDGAME Why threat to Oman? America's Iran war shows the limits of raw military power: Operation Epic Fury delivered tactical destruction but no political victory, Tehran's regime survived the war and tightened its grip, and the Strait of Hormuz remains Iran's trump card. Trump's threat to "blow up" Oman reveals how far the endgame has now spread across the wider Gulf.

Global Affairs Session 43 26 May 2026 RUSSIA-UKRAINE: DEADLY GAME Shared roots, divided histories, unresolved war Ukraine and Russia share deep historical links through Kyivan Rus', but their paths diverged sharply after the Mongol invasion, leaving Ukraine to develop between competing empires while Moscow grew into a large one. Post-1991 disputes over Crimea, security and identity escalated into war in 2014 and full-scale invasion in 2022, a conflict still unresolved as of 2026.

Global Affairs Session 42 25 May 2026 CHINA+1 SUPPLY CHAINS Why the world is diversifying beyond China Global supply chains, once optimised purely for lowest cost, are being redrawn around resilience and politics. The China+1 strategy captures this shift: companies keep China's scale and supplier depth while adding sourcing bases in Vietnam, India, Mexico and beyond. India is pushing hard to convert this opening into deeper manufacturing participation, even as it still trails rivals on components, logistics and lead firms.

Global Affairs Session 41 22 May 2026 SHINING ASIAN TIGERS How four economies got rich, and five more are following South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong turned themselves from poor, resource-scarce economies into high-income powerhouses within a generation — the East Asian economic miracle. Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam followed as the Tiger Cubs. In 1997 a debt-fuelled crisis exposed the model's weaknesses, yet both groups rebuilt and now face a new test: staying relevant in an age of AI, chips and shifting supply chains.

Global Affairs Session 40 21 May 2026 COMMUNIST VIETNAM WINS Đổi Mới, bamboo diplomacy and Asia's newest manufacturing hub Vietnam has travelled from French colonial exploitation and a divided, war-ravaged nation to becoming one of the world's fastest-growing export economies. The Communist Party's 1986 Đổi Mới reforms opened markets while keeping one-party rule intact, and by 2026 Vietnam is balancing China, the United States and the wider Indo-Pacific through a careful policy of "bamboo diplomacy."

Global Affairs Session 39 19 May 2026 JAPAN’S MIRACULOUS RISE From feudal isolation to economic miracle, and the long road back Japan’s modern story runs from ancient Jōmon and Yayoi societies through Chinese-influenced classical courts and centuries of samurai feudalism, into the Meiji Restoration’s breakneck modernization, a stunning post-war economic miracle, and a painful asset-bubble collapse. Today Japan remains one of the world’s largest economies and a central Indo-Pacific power, deepening its U.S. alliance and regional partnerships even as it manages the legacy of its Lost Decades.