The 2016 arbitral ruling on the South China Sea in favour of the Philippines continues to shape maritime governance and strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific.
The Communist Party of China (CPC), under the leadership of Xi Jinping, has been strengthening its ideological framework to increase its capacity for governance. This is crucial to the party system, as it increasingly believes it needs to respond to changes in the global order. Through ideological correction, in the form of Xi Jinping Thought, the party leadership believes it can better navigate a world in transition and emerge victorious. In other words, as the leadership theorises about the global order, elite politics under Xi Jinping is transforming. Xi is strengthening governance within both the party and state to respond to the global security order. This impacts elite politics as it navigates the changes within the Chinese political system.
The UAE’s exit from OPEC and OPEC+ signals a transformation in global energy governance, driven by competing interests and the securitisation of energy.
Pakistan’s attempt to mediate in the 2026 West Asia crisis should be understood primarily as a strategy of geopolitical survival through diplomatic utility.
Amid challenges stemming from a complex international environment, Vietnam, under its new leadership, is seeking to influence the evolving regional strategic discourse.