The 2007 presidential elections marked a turning point for France. Nicolas Sarkozy, the candidate who promised to modernize the Republic and restore France’s global authority, was elected as the new French president. To many, he appeared as a reformist, determined to turn the page on France’s stagnant political epoch. However, behind the scenes of his campaign, a more discreet and opaque story was being written.

“We have enough fuel deliveries ensured, not just until the end of the year, but even after it”, Bulgarian minister of energy, Zhecho Stankov, told a group of journalists as he participated in a joint-inspection of the new gas pipeline, Rupcha-Vetrino. Only a few days earlier, on October 23rd, the United States announced new sanctions against two of Russia’s primary oil companies- Rosneft and Lukoil- both of which continue to operate refineries and gas stations across a numbe

Russian President Vladimir Putin, in his 2005 State of the Nation Address, described the fall of the USSR as “The greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century”. Given the chronic instability that many post-soviet states have experienced since, combined with the multitude of conflicts that arose within the borders of the former USSR,  Putin’s statement does not deviate much from the reality of facts. Indeed, the fall of the Soviet Union marked the end of an undoubtedly aut

On October 23rd, 2025 the EU passed a landmark new sanction package which will be crucial in its struggle towards complete decoupling from Russian fossil fuels. Among other measures, the package bans Russian LNG imports from 2027. Still, criticalities remain: Russia has managed to avoid sanctions by means of a “shadow fleet” of tankers and internal divergences make a common and decisive position on the matter hard to reach. Can the bloc decouple itself from Russian energy, o

Amid a U.S. government shutdown and Argentina’s tense election year, Washington’s $20 billion lifeline to Buenos Aires blurs the line between economic policy and political loyalty. As President Milei battles inflation and a collapsing peso, Trump’s support intertwines U.S. aid with electoral stakes. With China’s influence expanding in Argentina’s energy and lithium sectors, this move exposes a fragile economy and a deeper power struggle. Could this deal redefine influence in

There is a strong undercurrent in the ocean of African politics. As the West’s political interference and exploitation of African resources enter public knowledge, an ideology has seemingly risen from the ashes: Pan-Africanism. Through controversial political figures and alliances between Ibrahim Traore and the AES, the growth of Pan-Africanism has strong implications for intercontinental relations. Could this be the future of African politics?

After a delivery driver was murdered by riot police, Indonesia’s flaring protests erupted into flames. President Prabowo Subianto, a former general under the 33-year military dictatorship, is now aiming to undermine democratic institutions in favor of what he calls a “polite democracy”. As he increases military presence and props up the elite, Indonesians and their SEA neighbors are faced with a question: at what point does the shadow of an authoritarian past fully engulf a r

Once elevated under the Assad regime, Syria’s Alawite community now bears the burden of revenge killings driven by decades of sectarian tension. However, nothing happens in a vacuum; Syria’s neighbours watch carefully whether the nation will rise from the ashes or collapse into violence again. Will Ahmed al Shaara’s administration divide or unite Syria?

Norway’s centre-left bloc secured 87 seats; with Labour leading the coalition and halting years of decline, while the populist Progress Party emerged as the main opposition. Støre now faces four years of governing with a slim majority, battling over taxes, oil exploration and the $2tn wealth fund in a country vital to Europe’s energy future.