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  • One Foot In, One Foot Out: Uneven Defense Investments from the Eastern Flank

    One Foot In, One Foot Out: Uneven Defense Investments from the Eastern Flank

    By Savannah Taylor | Rising Expert on Economics | April 14, 2026 | Photo Credit: Flickr Budapest is renowned for its nighttime lighting, with iconic landmarks like the Parliament building along the Danube. Yet in the city’s Freedom Square, the Soviet Liberation Memorial, kept there after a treaty to remove troops by the…

  • A Summit Without Fireworks – and a New Enlargement Dilemma

    A Summit Without Fireworks – and a New Enlargement Dilemma

    By Stoycho Velev | Rising Expert on Eastern Europe | March 6, 2026 | Photo Credit: European Union The EU–Western Balkans Summit on 17 December 2025 was never expected to deliver grand announcements. Beyond the usual affirmations, enlargement hardly dominated the European Council agenda at the end of the year, as the meeting…

  • Kazakhstan is Showing how Central Asia can Benefit from the Great Power Rivalry

    Kazakhstan is Showing how Central Asia can Benefit from the Great Power Rivalry

    By Claire Astrid Fuchs | Rising Expert on Geostrategy | February 26, 2026 | Photo Credit: Flickr Central Asia stands at a crossroads. The region’s future will be shaped not by which great power prevails, but by whether Central Asian nations can sustain multi-vector diplomacy while pursuing economic diversification. Central Asia has entered…

  • Unlocking Engagement with Pyongyang: Lessons from US-Vietnam Reconciliation

    Unlocking Engagement with Pyongyang: Lessons from US-Vietnam Reconciliation

    By Marialaura De Angelis | Rising Expert on Multilateralism and Diplomacy | February 4, 2026 | Photo Credit: Flickr Vietnam has often been cited as a potential model for North Korean economic development, contingent on denuclearization and a transformed security environment that would enable Pyongyang to pursue reforms similar to Vietnam’s Đổi Mới.…

  • How China is Making Europe Rethink Its Economic Diplomacy in Africa

    How China is Making Europe Rethink Its Economic Diplomacy in Africa

    By Patrycja Jasiurska | Rising Expert on Multilateralism and Diplomacy | January 23, 2026 | Photo Credit: Flickr “If I ask China to build a road, I’ll be driving down it in the time it takes the World Bank to approve the loan.” This statement, attributed to an African head of state, briefly…

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