"The travails of middle powers in an age of US unpredictability...Such is the fate of middle powers: planning for autonomy until the harsh reality of conflict compels them to call their distrusted patron." giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
Saudi Arabia is still doomed to dependence on America
The US president’s latest outburst reveals that Benjamin Netanyahu’s preferences continue to trump Mohammed bin Salman’s ambitions
giftarticle.ft.com
"The average UN-related social media feed is a mish-mash of repetitive slogans about the virtues of global cooperation and photographs of middle-aged officials in suits in conference rooms in the UN basement (I am one of them)." cirsd.org/horizon-arti...
The Seven Parts the UN Secretary General Must Play - CIRSD
William Shakespeare wrote that “one man in his time plays many parts” in the theatre of the world. The Secretary General of the United Nations faces the even greater challenge of playing many differen...
cirsd.org
Five years after taking power, the Taliban remain global pariahs, largely of their own making. The last time the Taliban were in control, the world simply looked away. We cannot let Afghanistan be forgotten again. My latest edition of The Month Ahead 👇
Crisis Group@crisisgroup.org · last wk.📩 The Month Ahead | The Taliban Takeover: Five Years On Sanctions and international isolation are worsening the plight of ordinary Afghans without changing the Taliban’s ways. @comfortero.crisisgroup.org explains why Afghanistan needs a different kind of international attention.
NEW: Kevin Keegan, Liverpool legend, dies aged 75 #lfc
Kevin Keegan, Liverpool legend, dies aged 75
This Is Anfield
thisisanfield.com
My reflections from last year on a possible U.S.-Saudi nuclear deal. Most notable features remain the same: the decoupling of nuclear issues from normalization with Israel and Trump’s political latitude in this space in comparison to a Democratic president. www.crisisgroup.org/alr/united-s...
As Other Partners Struggle with Trump, U.S. and Saudi Arabia Move toward Nuclear Cooperation | International Crisis Group
Crisis Group’s Michael Wahid Hanna on a prospective nuclear cooperation deal between Washington and Riyadh
crisisgroup.org
“After more missiles are fired, ships attacked, infrastructure destroyed and civilians killed, the parties will return to the same negotiating table — only angrier and less capable of compromise.” ~ @crisisgroup.org @alivaez.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/07/15/o...
Opinion | This Is a Forever War in the Making
The vague language of the U.S.-Iran cease-fire memo laid the foundation for the war’s resumption.
nytimes.com
Hamas said this week that it's dissolving its government in the Gaza Strip as part of the U.S.-backed ceasefire agreement with Israel. "In practice, Hamas is still the de facto governing authority," says Amjad Iraqi, senior Israel-Palestine analyst at the International Crisis Group.
Must-read debut report by @dmoravera.bsky.social on the criminal turf wars raging in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. President Claudia Sheinbaum should harness Trump's pressure to tackle official collusion and corruption that sustains organised crime in Mexico. www.crisisgroup.org/rpt/latin-am...
NEW BRIEFING | New Chapter, Same Stalemate: Somalia’s War with Al-Shabaab Neither side is gaining a decisive advantage. Mogadishu needs to bolster its military, alleviate suffering in areas under insurgent control and look for openings for dialogue. www.crisisgroup.org/brf/africa/s...
In Venezuela: “Every moment, every action matters. It is a race against time to find survivors.” www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
'Every person saved is a miracle': Families call to trapped loved ones in region devastated by Venezuela quakes
Families keep vigil at buildings where they fear their loved ones are trapped, but face an impossible task to move heavy debris.
bbc.co.uk
📩 The Month Ahead | NATO’s Awkward, High-Stakes Summit @comfortero.crisisgroup.org unpacks what to watch in the looming meeting between Donald Trump and other alliance members in Ankara. Can NATO keep it together?
NATO’s Awkward, High-Stakes Summit
Hello, It’s hard to believe we’re already halfway through 2026. July is nearly upon us – as is a NATO summit.
linkedin.com
NATO leaders will convene this month. Here’s why the high-stakes meeting between Donald Trump’s White House and the transatlantic alliance, coming at a time of tremendous upheaval, could be awkward and tense. Can the alliance hold it together? My latest: www.linkedin.com/pulse/natos-...
NATO’s Awkward, High-Stakes Summit
Hello, It’s hard to believe we’re already halfway through 2026. July is nearly upon us – as is a NATO summit.
linkedin.com
“Dialogue is a necessary step toward addressing the grievances that have driven citizens to take up arms and enabled jihadists to expand their influence in Mali and the broader Sahel.” @franklinnoss.bsky.social in @justsecurity.org www.justsecurity.org/140398/could...
Could the United States Make a Difference in Mali?
Washington cannot afford to neglect the lessons of past counterinsurgency efforts as it contemplates a partnership with Mali’s military.
justsecurity.org
NEW REPORT | Countering Israel’s Grip on the West Bank Economy Harsh Israeli restrictions since 2023 have made matters much worse, risking instability. Outside powers should push Israel to take remedial steps so that Palestinian livelihoods can recover.
Chokehold: Countering Israel’s Grip on the West Bank Economy | International Crisis Group
Since 1967, the Palestinian economy in the West Bank has become ever more dependent on the Israeli one. Harsh Israeli restrictions since 2023 have made matters much worse, risking instability. Outside...
crisisgroup.org
As ties between North Korea and Moscow deepen, Beijing is aggressively moving to reassert its grip. Excited for tomorrow's conversation on the high-stakes Xi-Kim summit and what it means for the security of the Korean Peninsula. us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Ethiopia dominated my talks with policymakers in Washington and Europe. Here’s why the country’s northernmost region, Tigray, has become a powder keg potentially threatening all the Horn of Africa. us2.campaign-archive.com?e=[UNIQID]&u...
Just saying ⤵️ “The blunt reality is that when there are no consequences, we humans are capable of immense depravity toward those we are taught to scorn as subhuman.” www.nytimes.com/2026/05/11/o...
Opinion | The Silence That Meets the Rape of Palestinians
nytimes.com
What he says he won’t do: “intervene in foreign country’s internal politics. It was the way of Orbán to intervene into the western Balkans, U.S., Spain, Slovakia. It’s not the task of a Hungarian Prime Minister to intervene into other countries’ internal politics.”👏🏽 www.newyorker.com/news/the-new...
Péter Magyar Led Hungarians out of Autocracy. Where Will He Take Them Now?
In his first substantial conversation with a foreign journalist since being elected, Péter Magyar, Hungary’s new Prime Minister, discusses the rewriting of the Hungarian constitution, the implications...
newyorker.com
The Trump-Xi summit looms large in Beijing. Against the backdrop of war in the Middle East, tensions over Taiwan and tariffs, I explain why Xi enters talks with a strong hand: mailchi.mp/crisisgroup....
Strait of Hormuz closure leading to disproportionate impact on poorer nations: ➡️fuel shortages spreading ➡️disruption to food supplies + fertiliser; “risk of malnourishment where agricultural yields have already been hit by climate shocks” ➡️weaker remittance flows giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
The Iran war shock for developing nations
Poorer countries face a triple whammy of crises in fuel, food and remittances
giftarticle.ft.com
DC's posture: hard to decipher. It may be an attempt to reshape the conflict rather than end it. Trump appears eager to find off-ramp from what he hoped would be a short-lived military engagement. His repeated declarations of victory have air of wishful thinking. www.crisisgroup.org/bnt/middle-e...
Iran Crisis Monitor #2 | International Crisis Group
In this weekly update, Crisis Group experts take stock of developments in the Middle East war and the progress of efforts to end it.
crisisgroup.org
🗒️NEW ANALYST’S NOTEBOOK | Latest Sudan Conference Shows Diplomacy is Backsliding Crisis Group President @comfortero.crisisgroup.org and Horn of Africa Director Alan Boswell reflect on this week’s Sudan conference in Berlin. www.crisisgroup.org/anb/africa/s...
Latest Sudan Conference Shows Diplomacy is Backsliding | International Crisis Group
Crisis Group President Comfort Ero and Horn of Africa Director Alan Boswell reflect on this week’s Sudan conference in Berlin, which revealed more divi-sion than unity among key external actors
crisisgroup.org
"The hard truth is that diplomacy has simply not met the scale of this crisis.” @comfortero.crisisgroup.org tells @reuters.com as Sudan enters its fourth year of war today, with little hopes for resolution. www.reuters.com/world/africa...
Germany seeks $1 billion in aid for Sudan to ease hunger crisis
Germany pledged a further 20 million euros ($23.6 million) to Sudan this year, the development ministry said on Wednesday, ahead of an international aid conference hosted in Berlin that is aiming to ...
reuters.com
For Sudan, lack of common vision for the war’s endgame undermines efforts to secure a humanitarian truce. Even if one is attained, if the US, its Arab partners or anyone else is to have best shot at achieving success, they’ll have to tackle range of thorny endgame questions sooner rather than later.
Crisis Group@crisisgroup.org · 4mo agoNEW BRIEFING | Divided Sudan, Elusive Peace For nearly three years, Sudan’s civil war has devastated the country, with the risks of long-term partition and spillover continuing to grow. Outside powers must keep striving for a diplomatic solution. www.crisisgroup.org/brf/africa/s...
“In most countries that have been at war, cease-fires are a welcome development…or Israel’s maximalist leaders, cease-fires are too often seen as getting in way of efforts to finish the job. And even when Israel enters cease-fires, it continues to fire unilaterally.” www.nytimes.com/2026/04/13/o...
Opinion | For Israel, War Is the Only Answer
nytimes.com
A very cool read: Streep and Wintour “living their best lives as the Girl Bosses to end them all.” giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... How Streep and Wintour dealt with the Devil — and won
giftarticle.ft.com
“Defeat for Orbán after 16 years in office would deprive nationalist conservatives across the world of a trailblazer and ideological champion, robbing both the White House and the Kremlin of a highly trusted ally.” giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
giftarticle.ft.com
After six weeks of war, the U.S. and Iran have announced a ceasefire. An important question remains. What will happen now in the Strait of Hormuz after its closure sparked economic crises in countries near and far? We explain in our new Q&A. www.crisisgroup.org/qna/global/i...
With a Fragile Ceasefire under Threat, What Future for the Strait of Hormuz? | International Crisis Group
The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran prompted Tehran to close the Strait of Hormuz, allowing only selected ships to pass through. In this Q&A, Crisis Group experts Yasmine Farouk, Chris Newton and Ali Vaez consider what could come next in this vital maritime trade corridor.
crisisgroup.org
The world must not lose sight of other hotspots even as they focus on war in the Middle East. Myanmar is one of them. @crisisgroup.org looks at why Rakhine state could prove pivotal in shaping the civil war. crisisgroup.org/visual-expla...
What took them so long, you might ask!?!: “more than a year into Mr. Trump’s return to the White House, the Europeans, and much of the world, have concluded that no amount of bowing or scraping will win more than fleeting approval from him.” www.nytimes.com/2026/04/09/o...
Opinion | Europe Is Done With Appeasing Trump
nytimes.com