World Politics Review
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In-depth news and expert analysis on global affairs. Subscribe here: https://wpr.pub/subscribe
Washington’s new Libya initiative, would bridge the country’s decade-long divide only at the very top, leaving the elections Libyans have awaited since 2014 no closer to happening, Mustafa Fetouri writes.
Trump’s Reunification Initiative in Libya Will Only Prolong the Gridlock
The proposed power-sharing agreement offers no credible path to elections or long-term political stability.
worldpoliticsreview.com
Ukraine’s drone strikes on Russia’s e-commerce warehouses, Candace Rondeaux argues, are doing more than disrupting deliveries. They’re straining the banking system that helps keep money flowing to Russia’s war effort.
Ukraine’s ‘Warehouse War’ Is Hitting Russia Hard
Kyiv’s drone strikes are are putting pressure on Russia’s e-commerce giants and straining its banking system.
worldpoliticsreview.com
The U.S.-Saudi nuclear deal is driven partly by Washington’s fear that pulling back from the Middle East will let China fill the vacuum, even though Beijing has neither the military capacity nor the desire to become the region’s security guarantor.
The U.S.-Saudi Nuclear Deal Is a Symptom of Middle East Policy Delusions
The fate of the agreement may be up in the air, but it was motivated by pathologies that have perverted U.S. Middle East policy for decades.
worldpoliticsreview.com
Beijing’s first official response to overcapacity criticism doesn’t just reject the claims. It defends China’s manufacturing dominance as the natural result of global economic history, not a policy problem, Mary Gallagher writes.
Beijing Still Doesn’t Think Overcapacity Is a Problem
China’s first official response to industrial overcapacity allegations assails its critics and defends its position as the “world’s factory.”
worldpoliticsreview.com
The Iran war was a rare opportunity for the Gulf Cooperation Council to deepen cooperation. Instead, it threw the bloc’s internal divisions into sharper relief, leaving its future relevance in question.
The Iran War Gave the GCC a Chance to Unite. It Chose Not to
The conflict has only exposed deep tensions within the bloc, which only look set to harden, weakening its potential leverage.
worldpoliticsreview.com
Four years after being extradited to the U.S. on drug trafficking charges, former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández is home again after a pardon from Donald Trump—and is already rebuilding his old political machine, WPR columnist James Bosworth (@bloggingsbyboz.bsky.social) writes.
Hernández’s Return to Honduras Tees Up a Presidential Power Struggle
Honduras’ controversial former leader is expected to get involved in politics again, putting President Nasry Asfura in a tough spot.
worldpoliticsreview.com
President Trump’s new civilian nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia could pave the way for the kingdom to build its own bomb. The agreement, Adam Gallagher argues, is a symptom of the pathologies that have shaped U.S. Middle East policy for decades.
The U.S.-Saudi Nuclear Deal Is a Symptom of Middle East Policy Delusions
The fate of the agreement may be up in the air, but it was motivated by pathologies that have perverted U.S. Middle East policy for decades.
worldpoliticsreview.com
For the first time, China’s government has directly answered years of criticism over industrial overcapacity. The response is a defense, not an admission, Mary Gallagher writes.
Beijing Still Doesn’t Think Overcapacity Is a Problem
China’s first official response to industrial overcapacity allegations assails its critics and defends its position as the “world’s factory.”
worldpoliticsreview.com
The Gulf Cooperation Council has long been held together by fear of a shared threat rather than by institutional integration. The Iran war exposed how thin that unity really is, revealing an alliance in name more than in practice, Jonathan Fenton-Harvey writes.
The Iran War Gave the GCC a Chance to Unite. It Chose Not to
The conflict has only exposed deep tensions within the bloc, which only look set to harden, weakening its potential leverage.
worldpoliticsreview.com
Honduran President Nasry Asfura needs the political network built by his predecessor and fellow National Party leader Juan Orlando Hernández to govern. He also cannot afford to be seen embracing a man convicted of taking cartel bribes and accused of stealing an election.
Hernández’s Return to Honduras Tees Up a Presidential Power Struggle
Honduras’ controversial former leader is expected to get involved in politics again, putting President Nasry Asfura in a tough spot.
worldpoliticsreview.com
When Iran retaliated against its Gulf neighbors during the war with the U.S. and Israel, it handed the Gulf Cooperation Council a rare chance to unite. Instead, the bloc chose the opposite path, exposing divisions that are only set to harden, Jonathan Fenton-Harvey writes.
The Iran War Gave the GCC a Chance to Unite. It Chose Not to
The conflict has only exposed deep tensions within the bloc, which only look set to harden, weakening its potential leverage.
worldpoliticsreview.com
Juan Orlando Hernández's return to Honduran politics after a U.S. pardon sets up a collision course with President Nasry Asfura, whose governing coalition depends on the very networks Hernández built.
Hernández’s Return to Honduras Tees Up a Presidential Power Struggle
Honduras’ controversial former leader is expected to get involved in politics again, putting President Nasry Asfura in a tough spot.
worldpoliticsreview.com
My new piece in @wpr.bsky.social argues that the spread of Chinese AI models is not just about censorship of obviously sensitive topics such as Tiananmen and Xinjiang, but also about the subtler ways these models may shape how we understand the world. www.worldpoliticsreview.com/china-ai-mod...
The spread of Chinese AI models with built-in censorship mechanisms could quietly shape the global information environment for the worse.
The Global Danger of China’s State-Controlled AI Models
The spread of Chinese AI models with built-in censorship mechanisms could quietly shape the global information environment for the worse.
worldpoliticsreview.com
A great power orders; it isn’t ordered. By that standard, @profpaulpoast.bsky.social argues, Britain doesn’t qualify anymore.
No, the U.K. Is Not a Great Power
The U.K. still aspires for greatness, but it no longer plays any major agenda-setting role in global security affairs.
worldpoliticsreview.com
Some argue Chinese AI models’ political bias can simply be retrained away since they’re open-weight. But even a stripped-down version of DeepSeek kept repeating Beijing’s line on Taiwan and Xinjiang in its Chinese-language answers.
The Global Danger of China’s State-Controlled AI Models
The spread of Chinese AI models with built-in censorship mechanisms could quietly shape the global information environment for the worse.
worldpoliticsreview.com
From Ukraine to the Middle East, Britain keeps showing up but rarely leading. That’s not what a great power looks like, @profpaulpoast.bsky.social writes.
No, the U.K. Is Not a Great Power
The U.K. still aspires for greatness, but it no longer plays any major agenda-setting role in global security affairs.
worldpoliticsreview.com
North Korea built its nuclear arsenal in secret and has kept its dictatorship intact for decades. Iran built more openly and has endured economic collapse and military strikes. The contrast, @fridaghitis.bsky.social writes, is shaping how other regimes weigh the risks of going nuclear.
The Iran War’s Lessons for Autocrats
The Iran war and uncertainty over the U.S.-Saudi nuclear deal are prompting other regimes to reassess the risks and rewards of pursuing nuclear weapons.
worldpoliticsreview.com
Critics argue the Cockroach Janta Party focused too narrowly on ousting a single minister rather than pushing for the deeper institutional reforms needed to outlast a single news cycle. Its future as a political force in India may hinge on which argument wins out.
Can India’s Cockroach Movement Become a Lasting Political Force?
The youth-led Cockroach Janta Party grew from an online satire into a movement that forced a rare government concession. But its next chapter remains unclear.
worldpoliticsreview.com
Britain still styles itself a great power. But columnist @profpaulpoast.bsky.social argues that title no longer fits—London isn’t setting the agenda in any of today’s major security crises. Read more here:
No, the U.K. Is Not a Great Power
The U.K. still aspires for greatness, but it no longer plays any major agenda-setting role in global security affairs.
worldpoliticsreview.com
Chinese AI models don’t just censor sensitive topics, they subtly reshape how people understand events like Taiwan and the war in Ukraine, Yaqiu Wang (@yaqiu.bsky.social) writes. As these models spread worldwide, that could quietly reshape the global information environment.
The Global Danger of China’s State-Controlled AI Models
The spread of Chinese AI models with built-in censorship mechanisms could quietly shape the global information environment for the worse.
worldpoliticsreview.com
The Iran war and uncertainty over the U.S.-Saudi nuclear deal are prompting other regimes to reassess the risks and rewards of pursuing nuclear weapons, @fridaghitis.bsky.social writes.
The Iran War’s Lessons for Autocrats
The Iran war and uncertainty over the U.S.-Saudi nuclear deal are prompting other regimes to reassess the risks and rewards of pursuing nuclear weapons.
worldpoliticsreview.com
India’s satirical Cockroach Janta Party has drawn comparisons to the 2011 movement that produced the Aam Aadmi Party and went on to govern Delhi for a decade. But whether the CJP can follow that path from protest to durable political force remains far from certain.
Lagos records show delivery-related traffic collisions crashes climbing year over year, part of a broader surge as delivery apps expand rapidly across one of the world’s most dangerous cities for drivers. Damilola Ayeni reports for WPR from Lagos:
Traffic Crashes Are Surging in Nigeria. Delivery Platforms Are Part of the Problem
Nigeria’s booming delivery industry is leading to an alarming rise in fatal crashes by pushing drivers to meet aggressive deadlines.
worldpoliticsreview.com
Police fired water cannons and tear gas at protesters in Albania’s capital this month, the sharpest escalation yet in a movement that has turned a resort dispute into a test of where Albania’s prime minister stands between Washington and Brussels.
In Albania, an Anti-Trump Uprising Forces a Foreign Policy Reckoning
A controversial resort project backed by Trump’s family is forcing Prime Minister Edi Rama to choose between Washington and Brussels.
worldpoliticsreview.com
Iran fought a war to defend a nuclear program the world already knew about—and paid dearly for it. @fridaghitis.bsky.social writes that the lesson for other autocrats eyeing nuclear weapons is stark: build fast, but build quietly.
The Iran War’s Lessons for Autocrats
The Iran war and uncertainty over the U.S.-Saudi nuclear deal are prompting other regimes to reassess the risks and rewards of pursuing nuclear weapons.
worldpoliticsreview.com
The resignation of India’s education minister was a rare concession from a government known for standing firm. But for the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party, the more difficult question is whether it can turn that victory into a lasting political force, Arsalan Bukhari writes.
Can India’s Cockroach Movement Become a Lasting Political Force?
The youth-led Cockroach Janta Party grew from an online satire into a movement that forced a rare government concession. But its next chapter remains unclear.
worldpoliticsreview.com
Serious crashes are rising sharply across Nigeria. In interviews with Damilola Ayeni, Lagos delivery drivers pointed to bonus structures that reward speed as a primary culprit.
Traffic Crashes Are Surging in Nigeria. Delivery Platforms Are Part of the Problem
Nigeria’s booming delivery industry is leading to an alarming rise in fatal crashes by pushing drivers to meet aggressive deadlines.
worldpoliticsreview.com
A controversial resort project backed by Trump’s family is forcing Prime Minister Edi Rama to choose between Washington and Brussels, columnist @amandamcoakley.bsky.social writes.
In Albania, an Anti-Trump Uprising Forces a Foreign Policy Reckoning
A controversial resort project backed by Trump’s family is forcing Prime Minister Edi Rama to choose between Washington and Brussels.
worldpoliticsreview.com
Facing legal challenges and a public backlash, Nairobi is struggling to balance domestic accountability with its U.S. ties, Maurice Oniang’o writes for WPR.
Trump’s Ebola Quarantine Facility Is Testing the U.S.-Kenya Partnership
Facing legal challenges and a public backlash, Nairobi is struggling to balance domestic accountability with its U.S. ties.
worldpoliticsreview.com