With the failure of moderates’ Western outreach in the aftermath of US withdrawal from the JCPOA, the conservatives, now in power in Iran, are looking for a long-term partnership with Russia which would bring stability in their shared neighbourhood, geoeconomic opportunities and also weaken the influence of moderates and reformists.

The Ukrainian crisis is less about Ukraine, its national politics and foreign policy, and more about redefining the rules not only of the European security but also the international order and the simmering rivalry between great powers in particular.

Prime Minister Kishida Fumio gave a resolute call for pursuing “realism diplomacy for a new era” in his Diet deliberations. How strategically innovative and politically effective will it prove in pursuing Tokyo’s national interests in the US–China–Japan calculus?

China’s growing military presence in Central Asia through military exercises, trainings, extending arms assistance and building military infrastructure, has an impact not only on the region but also its neighbours, especially Russia and India.