The European Commission presents a…
Over the weekend, Russia launched…
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited…
In the aftermath of Saudi Arabia's explicit threat to sell off U.S. Treasuries (of which according to the NYT it had some $750 billion) should the…
Trade between Russia and China in the first quarter of the year grew 3.6 percent on the year, to $14.2 billion. A senior CNPC official has confirmed that the…
Last week’s resignation of Turkey’s Prime Minister Ahmed Davutoglu has marked one more stepping stone in President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s path to authoritarian rule. Erdogan has…
Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict • Oil fields in northern Syria are now nominally under the control of the Syrian Kurds. Most of…
Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict We spend a lot of time on Kurdistan because, while it’s not huge in the oil patch, where…
TRIPOLI—The battle for control over Libya is the battle to control Libya’s oil wealth, and it reached its climax on 7 April when the National Oil…
A new round of United Nations sanctions on North Korea has a lot of loopholes, and China is only enforcing those that hit at Pyongyang’s weapons-making…
Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict • With a great deal of help from Russia, the Assad regime has recaptured the strategic city of…
Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict • Kurdish Peshmerga forces, Shi'ite militia’s and Iraq's army are reportedly preparing to launch a joint offensive against…
Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict • Several situations have combined to see a reduction in Iraqi oil sales and exports for February, though…
Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict • Our boots on the ground say that Libya’s Special Deterrence Force (Radda) in Tripoli has arrested the Islamic State’s (ISIS) newly appointed “prince” in Sabartha,…
The Government of Turkey has now put itself in a position whereby it must act rapidly and precipitously to avoid moving to an ultimately losing strategic…
Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict • Despite the oil price slide, Iraqi Kurdistan remains one of the cheapest places in the world to…
In an unexpected geopolitical twist to a new phase of Turkish-Israeli relations, Israel has called for an independent Kurdish nation, which can only be based on…
Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict • Iraq’s oil-rich Basra continues to struggle with a conflict among rival Shi’ite tribes that threatens to spiral…
Terrorists have struck in the heart of Indonesia; the uber violent Boko Haram is rampaging across Nigeria; and ISIS is … everywhere. While the knee-jerk reaction is to ask how…
Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict Turkey, Game is Up You should be worried about Turkey. Two suicide attacks—one perpetrated by the PKK and…
Senior-level sources in numerous Middle Eastern governments have privately expressed bewilderment at recent and current U.S. government strategies and policies toward the region. But a closer…
Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict This week, there is nothing more critical than the extension of the Sunni-Shiite conflict into a much more…
Saudi Arabia’s Sudeiri-line leadership of the House of Sa’ud began 2016 with a major push to save its position and control of the Kingdom. It was…