In November 2022, on the margins of the G20 Summit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with his British counterpart Rishi Sunak. There was unprecedented interest in the meeting on the part of the media and the expert community. They singled out the Indian origin of the British prime minister, with whom the Indians associated high hopes for strengthening bilateral cooperation and the bright prospects for the development of relations between the two countries. Particular attention was drawn to Modi’s phone conversation with Sunak shortly before the G20 meeting, during which the latter described himself as “the embodiment of the historic ties between India and Great Britain.” The bottom line may be quite different. In May 2023, there was another meeting between the two prime ministers…

On the 19^th of May, the Financial Times quoted the British Minister of Defense, Ben Wallace, stating that the West could face the threat of full-scale war with Russia and China by the end of the decade and proclaimed defence preparation a paramount task for Western countries. One has to wonder what universe Mr. Wallace and his boss, Rishi Sunak, are living in since Britain is engaged in war with Russia right now, has, with every step, every hostile action, set itself up for a full-scale war, a full-scale catastrophe, which they cannot prevent. Why Britain would go to…

On March 20, 2003, the United States, the UK and a subservient “coalition of the willing” made a thuggish invasion of Iraq with the stated goals of establishing democracy, developing the nation, and toppling the oppressive dictatorship. Many duped Iraqis embraced the chance to see the old administration overthrown in favor of a new government…

In 1947 the socially notorious Welsh poet Dylan Thomas wrote the untitled poem beginning “Do not go gentle into that good night”. In it he exhorts the unknown addressee, often presumed to be his dying father, to “Rage, rage against the dying of the light”. In the pitiful backwater that is Brexit Britain, friendless, alone…

Although, unlike the last war of 1812 with France, Russia and Britain were never openly at war with each other, the scale of the geopolitical confrontation between these two European states and Moscow has long existed and is constantly growing. Especially against the background of the current leaders of these two countries’…

In early February 2023, Washington unveiled the US Indo-Pacific strategy. The document repeatedly emphasized the importance of the informal group “Partners in the Blue Pacific” (PBP), established in September 2022 and composed of the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the United Kingdom…

Few nowadays remember how the fall of the Eastern Bloc actually played out in real time. In the West, the perception was that the system was so tightly controlled that it was impregnable. As long as Westerners heard the old slogans, it convinced them Communism was alive and well, and as evil as ever, as they saw it. In the actual…

This article offers the author’s perspective on some of the past year’s outcomes with regard to developments in the Indo-Pacific region (IPR). It is where the focus of the current phase of the “Great World Game” shifts irreversibly. But first, a few words about the term itself. The public introduction of its shortened version...

Leading international experts estimate that one in four global consumers will be African by 2050. The African continent is home to 8 of the world’s 15 fastest-growing economies. It is therefore not surprising that interest in Africa has recently increased considerably on the part of leading international players, especially former metropoles...

The ongoing debacle in Ukraine demonstrates that the US and the “allies of the willing” are no longer the main power block in the world. There are new camps forming, alliances, and these are often connecxted to old colonial wounds and shared pain. Collectively they are ganging up against the schoolyard bully, the US, and its fair weather friends. Hence this alliance of bullies is running scared...

Few now remember the unfortunate Shapour Bakhtiar. This is the gentleman who was made Prime Minister of Iran in 1979, for 37 days, just before the Shah was overthrown by the Ayatollah Khomeini’s revolution. Bakhtiar had once been much better known that Khomeini, who had only recently come into the consciousness...

Around the world, condolences are being expressed on the death of 96-year-old British Queen Elizabeth II. Among the leaders of countries, the first foreign leader to congratulate Charles III on his accession to the British throne and express condolences in connection...