The articles in this section focus directly on real world issues with geopolitical stakes.
Here you will find in-depth analyses.They are sorted out by issues presented below. You can also access our scans, i.e. information collected to identify signals, presented without analysis.
Then, we explain how we select issues and finally you can access the latest articles published.
French translations: Only recent articles are human translations. We gradually review the automatic translation (DeepL) of the remaining 600 plus articles…
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Geopolitics by Issues
Access the articles in this section by chapters.
Our new initiative Climate Change, Planetary Boundaries and Geopolitical Stakes – incl. Water security, Energy security and Extreme environments (Arctic, Antarctica, Space, Deep Sea, etc.) besides Environmental Geostrategy
Pandemics – incl. the COVID-19 Pandemic
War – incl. Ukraine, The Islamic State, Syria, Libya
Photos and Art Design by Jean-Dominique Lavoix-Carli (images 1,3,6), Pixabay (2,5), various public domain (4).
Monitoring and Scanning
Our scanning and monitoring is grounded in years of practice and in-depth knowledge and experience of research for political and geopolitical issues.
Our complimentary scans are discontinued. We only provide scans on a commissioned basis.
The Sigils: a series of daily, raw (non edited) scans. Each focuses on a specific issue.
The Red Team Analysis Weekly scanned the horizon every week for weak – and less weak – signals regarding all political and geopolitical risks and uncertainties, as well as national and global changes and instability, using crowdsourcing.
Horizon Scanning Board
(demonstration sample only) – The system provides selected open source intelligence – OSINT – signals that are particularly interesting, among all the signals identified. The collection of signals provided here are a demonstration sample only.
Photos from ESO Photo Ambassadors
How we select geopolitical issues
In this section, we address the major issues our contemporary world faces. These issues may obviously be part of geopolitics, for example the crisis and conflict in Ukraine or the Islamic State and terrorism. They may also surprise you because they are not usually think about as related to geopolitics, as with the COVID-19 pandemic.
What determines if an issue must be put under watch and analysed is the impact it has on the security of polities and societies, hence the larger field of “international security”, which is more adequate as a category than geopolitics.
The issues we address may be mainstream and correspond to acute crises at one stage, or, on the contrary ignored by the media and larger public.
It is absolutely crucial to consider the issues belonging to the second category. Indeed the deeper processes run in the background, often below collective perception level, but fundamentally influence and constrain our choices. They must thus be known and explored. Furthermore, they will often lead to apparently sudden crises. If we make an analogy with volcanoes, you can imagine these deeper dynamics and issues as the earth mantle and plates, slowly changing and reorganising themselves, while this very reorganisation leads to pressure and volcanic eruption. A perfect example for this type of issues is climate change and all environmental problems.
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Our latest articles
- The Houthis, Bab el-Mandeb, and Maritime Transport
(Art direction and design; illustration created with AI: Jean-Dominique Lavoix-Carli) Fighting rages in Yemen, as the strategic battle for control over Bab el-Mandeb, the West Coast, and its mountainous defense line intensifies. Whatever the current battlefield dynamics, a profound shift occurred in September 2026. On 10 September, the Houthis seized the port city of Mocha, …Continue reading “The Houthis, Bab el-Mandeb, and Maritime Transport”
- The Strange Mystery of Bolivia’s Lithium Reserves
(Art direction and design; illustration created with AI: Jean-Dominique Lavoix-Carli) When exploring how geopolitics and critical mineral supply chains — here, Lithium — may interact and impact each other, the first thing to do is to find out where the deposits of a critical mineral are located, how much resource is estimated within those deposits …Continue reading “The Strange Mystery of Bolivia’s Lithium Reserves”
- WATCH OUT – The Iran War, Saudi Arabia, and the Houthis
What: Saudi Arabia is a key actor in the US-Israel vs Iran war thanks to its strategy and geographical location. As a result of the conflict, Saudi Arabia could see its place as major regional actor enhanced. On the short term, much hinges on future Houthis’ actions… - SIGNAL – The Golden Dome, a New Technological Frontier
(Art direction:Jean-Dominique Lavoix-Carli Image: The White House, Public Domain) The Golden Dome rising The Golden Dome, heavily promoted by the Trump administration, is a technostrategy/industrial strategy that is already mobilizing major players in the space and AI sectors, including SpaceX, Starlink, Palantir, and Anduril. In this new landscape shaping the relationship between industry and defense …Continue reading “SIGNAL – The Golden Dome, a New Technological Frontier”
- Impacts of the U.S. Threat against Greenland: the U.S.-EU Trade Deal, the EU Parliament and the Future of Europe
(Art direction and design: Jean-Dominique Lavoix-Carli) Following the 2026 summit in Davos, the American threat on Greenland has taken a less dramatic turn. However, the issue has not disappeared. Meanwhile, the impacts of the crisis are wide-ranging and will be long-lasting. As a result, we must continue monitoring how events unfold. Critically, we also need … - Signal – Mini-Chronicles (11): Iran, Trump, and China
(Art design: Jean-Dominique Lavoix-CarliImage: USS Abraham Lincoln, Public Domain) Iran crisis While the mullahs’ regime is carrying out appallingly violent repression against its own population, American political and military authorities are pre-positioning a maritime, air, and land military force of historic proportions in the Persian Gulf. Thus, the confrontation between the American military and Iran …Continue reading “Signal – Mini-Chronicles (11): Iran, Trump, and China”
- The American Threat against Greenland: When Should It Have Triggered a Watch?
(Art design: Jean-Dominique Lavoix-Carli) On 23 December 25, Trump declared again he wanted to take over Greenland.1James Landale and Rachel Hagan, “Trump says US ‘has to have’ Greenland after naming special envoy”, BBC, 23 December 2025. By December 25, tensions over the issue were already high, especially between the U.S. and the Kingdom of Denmark.2See …Continue reading “The American Threat against Greenland: When Should It Have Triggered a Watch?”
- Why the Messenger Still Gets Shot — And What You Can Do About It – Video
(Art design – featured image: Jean-Dominique Lavoix-Carli) During a meeting with senior leaders and decision-makers, one participant remarked how difficult it is to warn about impending or future danger. Doing so entails the risk of being labelled negative or unpleasant, and ultimately pushed aside. In such conditions, how can we carry out proper strategic foresight …Continue reading “Why the Messenger Still Gets Shot — And What You Can Do About It – Video”
- The Real War: U.S. vs. China – Video
(Art design – featured image: Jean-Dominique Lavoix-Carli) The tension between the U.S. and China, marked by constant ups and downs between the two giants, has become a permanent feature of the 21st-century international order. It impacts us all. It must be mainstreamed into our analyses, into the way we anticipate and foresee the future. What …
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