Connect with us

Diplomacy

Global Geopolitics launched in Berlin, focusing on multipolarity and changing global order

Published

on

International scholars and policy experts gathered in Berlin for the launch of Global Geopolitics, a new peer-reviewed academic journal examining the complex dynamics of international relations, power structures, and global strategic trends.

The inaugural roundtable, organized in cooperation with the Berlin-based Eurasian Society, provided a platform to discuss developments such as the perceived decline of Western unipolarity, the emergence of what some speakers termed “civilizational states,” and differing interpretations of value-based foreign policy in a more fragmented global environment.

A mandate for inclusivity in a changing world

The launch took place during what Efe Can Gürcan, the journal’s Editor-in-Chief, described as a period of “profound change” and “major transition.” Dr. Gürcan, affiliated with Queen’s University Belfast and the Turkish Academy of Sciences, outlined the journal’s aim to broaden discussions within the field of geopolitics.

“Today we’re meeting at a moment of profound change… and geopolitics is once again moving on the headlines, on the forefront of our agenda,” Gürcan stated in his opening remarks. He noted that despite growing interest in geopolitical issues, there remain “very few academic journals which are exclusively focused or devoted to the study of geopolitics.”

According to Gürcan, the journal seeks to move beyond conventional binaries often present in geopolitical debates. “Geopolitics is often framed by reference to conflict, exclusion, rivalry,” he observed. “While this is partially true, we prefer to take a much more expansive approach… at the end of the day, it all comes down to one simple word: inclusivity.” He outlined three pillars of this approach:

  • Geographical inclusivity, encouraging contributions from scholars across all the seven continents, not just the West, not just the East, not just the Global South.”
  • Disciplinary inclusivity, incorporating perspectives from various disciplines including history, sociology, and economics,
  • Analytical inclusivity, integrating perspectives from International Relations (IR) theory as well as both traditional and critical geopolitics, and examining not only conflict but also cooperation, connectivity, and non-traditional security issues.

Efecan Gürcan

“In Global Geopolitics, the term ‘global’ is not used in the same sense as ‘globalism,’” Gürcan clarified, adding that “it is a conscious and meaningful choice on our part,” which does not imply alignment with any specific political project or ideological agenda. Rather, the pairing of “global” and “geopolitics” is deliberate, underscoring the journal’s commitment to geographical, disciplinary, and analytical inclusivity alongside academic rigor.

The journal’s editorial infrastructure reflects today’s multipolar reality, boasting a board with representatives from the UK, Canada, India, China, Japan, Brazil, Peru, Türkiye, among others. The first issue addresses topics such as the Ukraine conflict, energy policy, and global migration through empirical research.

The failure of moralism and the return of “realpolitik”

Following Dr. Gürcan’s introduction, the keynote session was opened by Alexander Rahr, Chairman of the Eurasian Society and a veteran historian formerly associated with the German Council on Foreign Relations. Rahr delivered a scathing critique of the current intellectual climate in Germany and Western Europe, arguing that the fixation on “liberal values” has rendered traditional diplomatic analysis obsolete.

“Germany, but also some other European countries, are now focused 100% in their view, in their analysis, in their policy, on so-called liberal values and nothing else,” Rahr asserted. He argued that this moral absolutism was sustainable only when the West was unchallenged. “It went okay for the West to have this kind of projection over the past 25 or 35 years when the West was united, the West was strong… Now we are in serious trouble.”

Rahr framed the launch of the journal as a necessary intervention to reintroduce “Realpolitik” into the European discourse. He lamented the lack of diverse voices in the German public sphere, contrasting it unfavorably with the United States, where figures like John Mearsheimer or Jeffrey Sachs still command attention.

For Rahr, the geopolitical imperative for Europe is clear: a pivot toward understanding, rather than lecturing, the emerging powers. “I would like to make the focus on the BRICS countries,” he said. “These BRICS countries… have the potential of becoming new poles in the world.”

He argued that for Germany and Europe, getting closer to these nations is not merely an economic option but a security necessity. “Only by doing this we can sustain, maintain peace and cooperation in this complex multipolar world.” Rahr specifically highlighted the need to comprehend “Chinese thinking” and “Indian thinking,” areas where he claims European elites know “very little, almost nothing.”

The dangers of the “missionary mentality”

Dr. Christopher Mott, a Washington Fellow at the Institute for Peace and Diplomacy, addressed what he called the “dangers of missionary mentality.” Dr. Mott offered a realist deconstruction of the liberal international order, warning that the impulse to convert the world to a single ideological standard is a recipe for endless conflict.

Mott began by quoting the philosopher George Santayana: “The humanitarian, like the missionary, is often an irreconcilable enemy of the people he seeks to befriend because he has not imagination enough to sympathize with their proper needs nor humility enough to respect them as if they were his own.”

Mott argued that the “unipolar moment” following the Soviet collapse was a “freakish occurrence” in history, lasting at most 20 years. The shock currently felt in Western capitals, he suggested, stems from a refusal to accept that normalcy—historical multipolarity—has returned.

Christopher Mott

“99% of human history was effectively multipolar,” Mott noted. “How do we most constructively learn to be normal again after having bathed in the mentally stultifying lies of a universal human destiny?”

He cautioned against viewing the emerging order as a shared journey. “There is no shared political journey. The future will be as divergent as the past was,” Mott said. He advocated for “polycentrism,” a system where different regimes and ideologies coexist based on “sovereign geographic entities” rather than a forced consensus.

“Liberal internationalism, in its quest to become a universal arbiter of morality… forgot that once upon a time its greatest asset was that it acknowledged many forms of being,” Mott said, referencing the philosophy of Spinoza and Hobbes. He warned European states against becoming a “Saudi Arabia of militant humanism,” exporting a universalist worldview that isolates them from the rest of the globe.

Mott’s prescription for the North Atlantic was a return to “situational realism” and local interest. He closed by invoking George Washington’s Farewell Address, citing the founding father’s warning against weaving “artificial ties” with foreign powers. “Reject Baerbockism, embrace situ-realism,” Mott concluded, referring to the current German Foreign Minister’s value-based diplomacy.

Deconstructing the “West” and the “Global South”

Professor Jagannath Panda, Head of the Stockholm Center for South Asian and Indo-Pacific Affairs, shifted the focus to the structural dynamics of power in Asia and the broader globe. Panda challenged the very terminology used to describe the current order, suggesting that the binary of “East vs. West” has dissolved.

Reflecting on the recent World Economic Forum, Panda observed: “What I found very interesting in Davos is that there was less about economics… it was more about political economy, political security.” He went further, stating that speeches from leaders like Donald Trump and Justin Trudeau revealed a fracturing of the traditional Western bloc.

“There is nothing called ‘West’ today,” Panda argued. “If West does not exist, then can we really say that there is a fight exist between West and East? Probably there is no fight.” He extended this skepticism to the term “Global North,” suggesting that the convergence of interests is creating a “contesting world order” where countries partake in multiple, overlapping typologies of power.

Panda distinguished between multilateralism (a process establishing networks), multipolarism (the structural base of power), and multipolarity (the medium through which power is distributed). He cited BRICS as a unique entity that combines all three, unlike the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which functions purely as a multilateral mechanism.

Highlighting the growing strategic autonomy of nations, Panda pointed to the recent trade negotiations between India and the European Union. He noted that for the first time, EU leaders were chief guests at India’s Republic Day, signaling a “special chemistry” driven by mutual necessity rather than ideological alignment. “Both sides talk about something unique: strategic autonomy,” Panda said.

Panda also predicted a shift in the nature of global conflict. While territorial disputes remain, he warned that “resource politics is going to be shaping the global politics in times to come.” He identified coastal and corridor nations—such as Myanmar, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives—as critical players in this new arena, where control over supply chains and raw materials will supersede traditional land grabs.

The empire of chaos and energy wars

The final keynote was delivered by Thomas Fazi, an Italian journalist and author known for his critique of neoliberalism. Fazi provided the most confrontational assessment of the day, characterizing the current geopolitical transition as the end of “500 years of Western economic, political, and military global hegemony.”

Fazi argued that while the rise of the non-Western world should be a natural evolution, the Western elite views it as an “existential threat,” leading to a form of “clinical” insanity in policymaking. “The US and Western powers [are] doing everything they can to slow down, if not stall, this transition to multipolarity,” Fazi said.

Thomas Fazi

He offered a provocative analysis of the Trump administration’s foreign policy, suggesting that what appears to be erratic behavior is actually a strategy of “engineered permanent chaos.” According to Fazi, Trump is not attacking random countries but “targeting the weak links” in the China-led system, such as Venezuela and Iran.

“Chaos… in Trump’s strategy is part of the strategy itself,” Fazi posited. He linked this to a broader US objective: re-establishing control over the physical and financial flows of energy. Fazi argued that the “unraveling” of the petrodollar system, driven by nations like Russia and Iran trading outside US jurisdiction, poses a lethal threat to American hegemony.

Lively Q&A highlights diverse perspectives on power, trade, and Europe’s future

Responding to a question about the resilience of non-Western powers, Mott argued that states with deep historical roots, distinct from mere nation-states, are overperforming.

“A state whose basis… is based in something a bit more historic than just election cycles… these are the states that will outperform,” Mott said. He cited China, India, and Ethiopia as prime examples of powers that can weather political storms because their identity transcends a single form of government. He contrasted this with the fragility of the Arab nation-states compared to the historical depth of Türkiye and Iran. “Iran has a level of continuity that enables it to punch above its weight.”

Rahr added a European dimension to this concept, arguing that Europe once possessed a form of “cultural unity” that has been eroded by “80 years of Americanization.” He warned that without recovering this cultural memory—which he insisted must include Russia—Europe risks being fractured or reduced to vassalage.

The Q&A session also addressed the economic architecture of the coming era. Responding to inquiries about the future global economy, the panelists agreed that the era of unfettered globalization is over, replaced by securitized trade and protectionism.

“You’re definitely going to see a pivot away from international free trade across the board,” Mott predicted. “Everything is going to be justified under the terms of national security.” He described a future of “state-directed preferred trade methods,” where efficiency is sacrificed for geopolitical reliability.

Fazi concurred, noting that the “free market” was always a myth in the West, but argued that the current shift represents a “fusion of state and corporate power.” He lamented that this retreat from globalization is being framed defensively rather than as an opportunity to improve domestic living standards. “We’re not seeing Western leaders talk about… investing to improve the lives of our citizens. No, we have to secure… so our enemies can’t blackmail us.”

Panda added that while protectionism will rise, so will the complexity of trade disputes. He pointed to the EU-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) not as a triumph of liberal economics, but as a “compromised deal” born of necessity. “Europe is in massive need of partnerships… economic security,” Panda said, noting that the deal represents a diversification away from China and the US for both parties.

Jagannath Panda

The discussion concluded with a debate on Europe’s role in a multipolar system. Fazi took a hardline stance, arguing that the European Union and NATO are structurally incapable of adapting to the new reality. “The European Union is a completely ahistorical reality… an imperial model which has hollowed out democracy,” Fazi claimed, dismissing hopes for reform as “illusions.”

Panda, however, offered a more moderate view, suggesting that Europe’s indecisiveness is its greatest weakness. “The time has come to take a call… to have a future army,” Panda urged, advocating for a Europe that acts as an independent pole rather than a US dependency.

Mott offered a final strategic prescription for the emerging order: a “modus vivendi” based on the rejection of hegemony. “The one thing that definitely should unite future architects of a stable multipolar order is to combat revisionism effectively,” Mott said. He envisioned a system of “counterbalancing forces” and “non-aligned leagues” that act as buffers to prevent any single power from dominating the globe.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Diplomacy

Anthropic uncovers Claude use by Iranian, Houthi, and Russian units

Published

1 day ago

on

11/09/2026

By

Artificial intelligence company Anthropic has disclosed attempted “abuses” of its Claude AI model ranging from conventional weapons to biological research by state-linked entities, foreign intelligence services, and cybercrime networks, publishing the findings in a detailed threat intelligence report.

A significant portion of the report comprised the development of guided missile software by the Houthis in northern Yemen and the conversion of the model into a military reconnaissance tool by Iran-linked actors seeking to target US naval assets in the Middle East.

Covering the period between December 2025 and August 2026, the report shared details of activities detected across seven primary areas: cyberattacks, influence operations, mass surveillance, conventional weapons development, biological risks, and unauthorised model distillation.

The company announced that it had terminated all accounts violating its rules and shared the resulting data with relevant international counterparts.

According to findings by Anthropic’s Threat Intelligence unit, a weapons cell based in northern Yemen, where the Houthis operate, substituted human software engineers with the Claude Code system across three distinct missile development programmes.

These efforts comprised a tactical rocket equipped with a terminal guidance system powered by a commercial smartphone processor, a multi-stage ballistic missile with a target range exceeding 2,000 kilometres, and missile designs carrying a hypersonic glide vehicle.

The cell utilised the artificial intelligence to adapt open-source autopilot software to the smartphone processor, optimize flight control algorithms, and compile firmware.

Structuring their Claude accounts like a virtual engineering team, the Houthis assigned one account to write code, another to conduct research, and a third to review and audit the written code.

The report noted that the group conducted an actual test launch with a guided rocket in the Yemeni theatre.

Immediately following the failure of the live-fire test, the actors were documented returning to the Claude platform within hours to upload telemetry data and diagnose the cause of the malfunction.

The cell was observed successfully compiling offline simulation tools capable of operating independently even if access to Claude were severed.

Iran tracked US warships and personnel

Another military case detailed in the report involved attempts by Iran-linked cyber actors to target US naval forces in the Middle East.

These actors were found to have scraped open-source military data to draft operational targeting manuals directed against American warships and personnel.

Iran extracted name rosters of American military personnel from the captions of publicly accessible military photographs, monitored vessel and aircraft transponder data, authored code to scan commercial satellite imagery, and mapped vulnerabilities in maritime satellite communication terminals.

Other networks linked to the Tehran government were determined to have developed domestic and regional surveillance systems. A Qom-based unit produced a malicious web browser extension disguised as a prayer-time application to harvest credentials from social network users, funneling the data into a central case management system designated “Arman”.

Additionally, official Iranian institutions reportedly cloned authors’ voices using AI and operated multilingual disinformation networks to lay the groundwork for the supreme leadership succession.

Russia also used it for an autonomous kamikaze drone swarm

The report stated that an independent Russia-based software team developed fully autonomous kamikaze uncrewed aerial vehicle swarm software dubbed “DronDoc” or “Serafim”.

Affiliated with a university connected to the Russian Academy of Sciences, the team was said to have trained the artificial intelligence to distinguish between friendly and hostile elements using footage retrieved from the Ukrainian battlefield.

The developed system was designed with the capability to select targets, execute live human classification, and issue detonation commands without requiring human intervention, with simulations run directly against coordinates in the Donetsk region.

Meanwhile, the Russian-origin “Midnight Blizzard” group targeted the Ukrainian drone supply chain and staged attacks aimed at foreign officials and drone engineers by compromising hotel Wi-Fi networks.

A procurement manager stationed at a design bureau in Moscow was also discovered drafting plans via Claude to circumvent European sanctions. The individual was recorded assembling fraudulent tender and logistics correspondence to transport German-made magnetometers, space-grade photovoltaic sheets, and military aviation oxygen systems into Russia through intermediary firms based in China and Hong Kong.

Biological threats and pathogen engineering

The report disclosed five concrete cases regarding the deployment of artificial intelligence in hazardous biological research. Virologists attached to a military research institute were documented using AI for gain-of-function research aimed at enhancing the transmissibility and immune-evasion capabilities of the mosquito-borne Chikungunya virus.

Similarly, experimental designs were prepared to adapt the H5 avian influenza variant, which carries a 50% mortality rate in humans, to mammals and confer airborne transmission capabilities, while immune-evasion mechanisms of pathogens from the smallpox virus family were modelled.

The identities of paralytic neurotoxins subject to export control lists and haemorrhagic fever virus proteins featured on the World Health Organization’s priority epidemic list were deliberately masked and submitted to the AI for analysis.

In addition, a consultant working on behalf of the Malian State Intelligence Service designed a mass surveillance platform designated “Lakana 360” with the assistance of Claude.

The system was designed to monitor approximately 25 million SIM cards registered across three mobile operators in the country without requiring court orders, intercept audio recordings, and cross-reference records with biometric databases.

Separately, leading Chinese artificial intelligence firms including Alibaba, Moonshot, DeepSeek, Zhipu, and Xiaomi were alleged to have initiated hundreds of millions of unauthorised sessions to extract the logical reasoning chains of Claude models. Moonshot and DeepSeek platforms reportedly routed their own users’ queries secretly through Claude, in the process exposing Chinese police surveillance feeds from hundreds of cameras covering military facilities in Chengdu, internal credentials of Chinese state-owned enterprises, and live database access codes connected to the Russian Defence Ministry to third parties.

Türkiye detail in the report

The report also detailed cases involving the abuse of the Claude AI model, incorporating findings concerning an Istanbul-based technology firm.

In case GTG-84005 of the intelligence report, an operation aimed at commercial election manipulation targeting voters in Malaysia was intercepted.

According to the findings, the operation operated under the guise of a startup providing cyber intelligence and counter-disinformation tools. Anthropic determined that Istanbul-based BBS Bilisim Teknolojileri was behind the infrastructure.

According to documents, the company marketed the architecture as a paid influence operation service styled as a “military-grade, AI-powered, real-time political operations ecosystem”.

Managing roughly 1,000 synthetic X accounts, the system processed demographic and electoral data across 222 parliamentary constituencies in Malaysia, calibrating targeting around sensitive social fault lines including ethnicity, religion, and the monarchy.

The network also circulated content from Russian and Chinese state media masquerading as independent Malaysian news via an artificial media outlet designated “Malaysia Pulse”, while manufacturing fraudulent intelligence dossiers targeting an opposition politician and civil society organisations.

Anthropic reported that the network received a request to generate 1 million artificial impressions in support of the Malaysian Prime Minister and sought to secure a contract with the country’s national communications regulatory authority.

While no evidence emerged that the undertaking succeeded, the associated user accounts were closed and operational digital indicators were shared.

Continue Reading

Diplomacy

EU pursues closer ties with Israel on space and air defence

Published

3 days ago

on

09/09/2026

By

The EU is turning to Israel to bolster its new initiatives in high-tech air defence and space capabilities.

Shimrit Maman, head of the Israel Space Agency, travelled to Brussels this week and met on Tuesday with European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation Ekaterina Zaharieva to discuss key sectors, including artificial intelligence and robotics.

The visit took place ahead of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s first major speech on space, scheduled for Thursday at a summit in Paris.

In the speech, Von der Leyen is expected to warn against mounting hostilities and emphasise the necessity of strengthening Europe’s presence in space.

“It’s very hard to do everything by yourself,” Maman told Politico, adding that the militarization of space is “already happening, it’s just we are not aware of the extent,” and noting that allies are showing growing interest in “dual-use” technologies intended for both civilian and defence purposes:

“One thing we’re working on is early-warning systems. For example, during the last wave [of missile attacks] with Iran, we saw this very clearly. How we were getting the alerts to all the civilians in Israel, and that made the casualties so low. This is part of the system. We’re working on a very holistic view, where you can alert in advance, the system alerts the citizens.”

Following several years of effective disengagement caused by political tensions surrounding the invasion of Gaza, the EU has recently begun forging closer military and technological ties with Israel through a series of agreements.

Competition from Washington and strategic rivalry with Moscow and Beijing have nevertheless underlined the requirement for allies possessing sophisticated industrial capacity.

In 2024, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen backed calls by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to create an EU-funded air defence shield.

Three senior officials involved in the discussions said, however, that the plans stalled after officials in the Commission and several national capitals concluded that the project would require reliance on Israeli air defence technology, which was considered too sensitive one year into the Gaza conflict.

Yet Israel’s Rafael, which is expanding its European operations significantly, has now confirmed that it will open a factory to manufacture the Iron Dome air defence system at a former Volkswagen plant in Germany.

One week ago, Greece signed a 3 billion euro agreement with the Israel Ministry of Defense.

The deal provides for the establishment of a new multi-layered air defence network designed to shoot down drones, hostile jets, and rockets.

“We see everything integrating into this multi-layer defence approach,” Maman said, highlighting satellite imagery and artificial intelligence modelling as primary focal points for joint development efforts:

“I’m not only seeing defence as ballistic missiles from Iran… think about a fire, a flash flood or even a long drought… we have a proven track record, and we’re getting really good results.”

Continue Reading

Diplomacy

UK reassures US that new Israeli settlement sanctions are symbolic

Published

4 days ago

on

08/09/2026

By

The UK has reportedly engaged in behind-the-scenes talks to avoid a backlash from the US over anti-Israel sanctions scheduled for announcement today.

According to a report by Bloomberg, Andy Burnham’s government is expected to ban trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank today.

Burnham is seeking to pursue a firmer stance on an issue of high importance to the governing Labour Party, though one that risks angering US President Donald Trump.

Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband will unveil a new sanctions regime targeting Israel but limited to Jewish settlements in the West Bank, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Burnham and Trump spoke by telephone on Monday, the Prime Minister’s Office said. A statement noted that the two leaders discussed a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinian territories.

The discussion suggests that Burnham used the call to notify Trump that sanctions against Israel were imminent.

The proposals under review included a new sanctions regime with measures to block the exchange of goods and services with Israeli settlements.

Miliband also evaluated expanding existing human rights sanctions to encompass the blocking of aid, which has drawn criticism for exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The Foreign Secretary further considered explicitly endorsing the International Court of Justice’s non-binding 2024 opinion that declared Israel’s occupation of territory currently recognised by the UK as the State of Palestine to be unlawful.

Even so, UK officials fear the announcement could cause an early setback in Burnham’s relationship with Trump.

To defuse a backlash from the Trump administration, British diplomats privately informed the US that the sanctions are largely symbolic and will have no tangible impact on the UK’s broader trade or security ties with Israel, according to sources familiar with the discussions.

The proposals were drawn up after Israel decided to issue tenders for the construction of 1,200 settlement housing units in an area of the West Bank.

Disputes between Israeli settlers and Palestinians have intensified in recent months as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces a difficult battle to retain his seat in a general election scheduled for 27 October.

Burnham joined the leaders of Canada and five European governments, including France, Germany, and Italy, in signing a statement that condemned the housing plan as “unacceptable” and urged Netanyahu to withdraw the tender.

In a separate statement, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemned a call by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir for “nightly assassinations” in Gaza.

Burnham is eager to demonstrate early to the Labour Party that he is adopting a more critical approach toward Israel than his predecessor, Keir Starmer.

Although Starmer hardened his stance against Israel during his two years in office, including by formally recognising the State of Palestine, his initial refusal to demand that Netanyahu halt military operations in Gaza divided the party.

This division led to a decline in Labour’s poll ratings and boosted electoral gains for the Green Party across the country.

Burnham’s return to Parliament last month led to Starmer’s resignation. Burnham apologised for Labour’s handling of Israel’s military operation in Gaza under his predecessor, stating that the party “did not adopt the right stance”.

Last month, Burnham’s new Defence Secretary, Wes Streeting, who faced intense competition from a Muslim independent candidate in his northeast London constituency at the last general election, stated that Israel had fallen “short” of international standards.

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told the BBC’s “Newsday” programme that there would “undoubtedly” be a US response.

Accusing the Labour Party of “discriminating against the Israeli government”, Huckabee said: “It is like throwing a rock and not knowing where it lands. The UK is a sovereign country and can do as it pleases, but so is the US.”

Republican Florida Congressman Randy Fine also warned that British firms would be barred from doing business with local governments in the state if sanctions were imposed.

In a post on X, Fine said: “Florida has made its stance clear. Any company—or country—that boycotts Israel will be boycotted by Florida.”

Labour MPs and Jewish groups have warned the government that any sanctions against the settlements could amount to a “de facto boycott” of Israeli goods and compromise the safety of British Jews.

Continue Reading

MOST READ

Turkey