ISDP Voices

The most important lesson of 2022 for all those who are interested in international politics was that nothing is impossible and no prediction even by the most famous of analysts can be taken for granted. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Zelensky’s resistance, and the Russian pushback were only part of the unpredictability of last year. The […]

The German government is in the midst of drafting its very first comprehensive China strategy. While Berlin’s China rhetoric seems to be getting slightly tougher, its ministries have largely avoided making explicit reference to the Taiwan question, a delicate topic while crafting a China strategy. A draft version of the government’s strategy paper merely notes […]

Sri Lankans will head to the polls on March 9 for the first time after the 2022 Aragalaya (struggle) – the mass protests that, amid a spiraling economic crisis, ousted former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa from office last July. The local elections will not in themselves upset the balance of power in Colombo. However, many see […]

It has been nearly a year since the European Commission launched the ambitious proposal for a European Chip Act (ECA) – the EU’s industrial strategy aimed at reshoring regional semiconductor production and doubling its global chip manufacturing market share by 2030. The yet-to-be legislated Act – heralded prematurely as a “success” already in September 2022 […]

The UN Biodiversity Conference or COP15, under the chairmanship of China (jointly organized with Canada), concluded with a round of applause last year. The COP15 aim of ‘Living in harmony with nature’ will now move a step closer to better implementation. The first part of the meeting was held in Kunming, China in 2021, where […]

In the first week of 2023, former Danish Prime Minister and NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen visited Taiwan. The aim of the visit was to encourage other democracies to also show more support for Taiwan’s autonomy and to strengthen EU-Taiwan relations. In a meeting with Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen, Fogh Rasmussen underscored his strong support […]

The geopolitical landscape of the 21st century has seen power dynamics altering towards the Indo-Pacific. This has led both rising and the established powers to reorient themselves towards this region, making the Indo-Pacific one of the most contested regions in the world. Although the region is facing new power competitions, already existing issues have the […]

China has been relentlessly flexing its muscles in Nepal to establish multi-dimensional engagement. After the formation of the Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’-led government on December 26, 2022, China’s activities have become noticeably more assertive. As a planned move, 68-year-old Dahal took oath of office as Nepal’s Prime Minister on the occasion of the […]

The unstoppable rise of China in the international system, especially in the economic, military, political, and technological fields in the last 30 or 40 years, has made it the most important global rival for the United States of America (U.S.), which was the sole superpower of the post-Cold War era. When we look at the […]

In his recent interview on December 27 with the Washington Post, former Afghan president Hamid Karzai demanded that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) begin a national dialogue, which he described as ‘good’ for both Taliban and Afghanistan. Karzai’s demand has been voiced by many Afghans for some time now, to facilitate taking key decisions […]