Weapons in Yemen. Iran is building drone and ballistic missile factories in Yemen to avoid targeting by future U.S. and Israeli attacks, Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida reported. According to the story, Tehran has already delivered advanced missiles and drones to Yemen, along with hundreds of military experts to train the Houthi rebels on their use. It […] The post Daily Memo: Iranian Outsourcing, Israeli Forces in Rafah appeared first on Geopolitical Futures ..read more

At the end of April, Belarus updated its Military Doctrine and its National Security Concept to respond to urgent security threats, regional volatility and its neighbors’ military buildups. The Kremlin hailed the documents as marking the end of Minsk’s traditional balancing strategy in favor of full alignment with Moscow. Though there is truth to this […] The post New Strategic Documents Preserve Belarus’ Options appeared first on Geopolitical Futures ..read more

Russian response. Russia announced that it will hold drills simulating the use of tactical nuclear weapons after France and the United Kingdom made comments last week about the Ukraine war that the Kremlin said were “dangerous.” French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview published last Thursday that he wouldn’t rule out the possibility of […] The post Daily Memo: Russian Drills, Xi in France appeared first on Geopolitical Futures ..read more

In my book “The Storm Before the Calm,” I wrote that the United States is headed into institutional and socio-economic crises. The institutional crisis, in my view, would primarily concern the way the federal government functions, but it would also implicate the way universities function. The latter is critical because the university is the arena where future technologists, investors and members of Congress establish the foundations of their knowledge. On the crisis of universities, I see three issues. One is financial; the cost of education has been unsustainable for individuals and the gover ..read more

Bolstering ties. The head of U.S. Africa Command, Gen. Michael Langley, is visiting Benin to strengthen relations with the West African country. The United States is looking for reliable partners in the region after the military junta in Niger demanded in March that nearly 1,000 U.S. troops based in the country leave. On Friday, Reuters […] The post Daily Memo: US Reaches Out to Benin, Georgia Refuses US Invite appeared first on Geopolitical Futures ..read more

From the war in Ukraine to economic uncertainties at home and across the Western world, Germany is facing a number of challenges with which its leaders will soon be forced to contend. Last week, I had the chance to attend talks with foreign policy and security experts in Berlin, a trip that raised several important […] The post Germany’s Future, According to Germans appeared first on Geopolitical Futures ..read more

As Russia is locked in a difficult war in Ukraine, its southern flank – the South Caucasus – is in disarray. There is a new balance of power there now that Azerbaijan has consolidated its victory against Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh, and, upset that Russia did not come to its aid, Armenia seems to be reorienting […] The post Azerbaijan and the South Caucasus Borderlands appeared first on Geopolitical Futures ..read more

Geopolitical and national security threats are constantly changing and evolving, sometimes it’s hard to keep up. In this ClubGPF live discussion, Rear Admiral (ret) Douglas Fears, Former U.S. Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Advisor to the President joined GPF Chairman George Friedman to discuss a wide range of threats from cyber to denial of service, malign influences in social media and ballistic missile defense. The post The Changing Landscape of Threats | ClubGPF Preview with George Friedman and Rear Admiral Doug Fears appeared first on Geopolitical Futures ..read more

Moving forward. Israel is considering sending a delegation, led by Mossad chief David Barnea, to Cairo in the coming days to discuss a cease-fire in Gaza, the Wall Street Journal reported. A delegation of senior Hamas representatives reportedly also traveled to Cairo earlier this week for talks mediated by Qatar and the United States. Meanwhile, China’s […] The post Daily Memo: Gaza Update, South Korea-Australia Talks appeared first on Geopolitical Futures ..read more

Europe sleepwalking. Europe is increasingly dependent on Russian fertilizers, the head of a major producer of nitrogen-based mineral fertilizers told the Financial Times. Svein Tore Holsether, the chief executive of Yara International, said Europe is “sleepwalking into handing over critical food and fertilizing power to Russia,” with the EU importing twice as much fertilizer from […] The post Daily Memo: Russian Fertilizers, US Sanctions appeared first on Geopolitical Futures ..read more