Showing 1 - 9 of 9
How Iran is able to beat the US in its war
News, Brahma Chellaney, Published on 06/04/2026
» In a rambling address to the American people on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump claimed that the US war against Iran has been a success, vowing to "finish the job … very fast". It was a statement in obvious conflict with the facts. In reality, Iran has upended the model on which US interventionism has long relied.
Trump shows China how to handle Taiwan
News, Brahma Chellaney, Published on 17/03/2026
» Since returning to office last year, US President Donald Trump has ordered military strikes from the Caribbean and eastern Pacific to Africa and the Middle East, targeting alleged drug-smuggling boats and suspected terrorist groups. He has attacked Venezuela and kidnapped its leader. And he has joined Israel in a large-scale assault on Iran. Meanwhile, he is tightening a noose around Cuba, in the hope that the resulting humanitarian crisis will open the way for a "friendly takeover" of the island by the United States.
US strikes on Iran nuke plants risk backfiring
Oped, Brahma Chellaney, Published on 26/06/2025
» Israel and the United States have dealt punishing blows to Iran's nuclear infrastructure. "Operation Rising Lion" and "Operation Midnight Hammer" have been portrayed as precision strikes that will stop the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme in its tracks. But whatever the bombings might have achieved tactically, they risk forfeiting strategically, as Iran is now more convinced than ever that nuclear weapons are the only way to deter future aggression and ensure the regime's survival.
Tackling the global divide over the Ukraine war
News, Brahma Chellaney, Published on 17/03/2025
» At a time of rising geopolitical tensions and deepening global fragmentation, the Ukraine war has proved particularly divisive. From the start, the battle lines were clearly drawn: Russia on one side, Ukraine and the West on the other, and much of the Global South hoping only for the conflict to end. Now, however, alignments are shifting. Whether this will advance efforts to resolve the conflict and strengthen global stability remains to be seen.
Europe's Russia sanctions are a shot in the foot
News, Brahma Chellaney, Published on 19/12/2022
» It seems obvious that sanctions -- an increasingly important tool of Western foreign policy -- should inflict significant pain on the target without exacting unsustainably high costs from the country imposing them. But the European Union's sanctions on Russia -- intended to punish the country for its brutal war of aggression against Ukraine -- do not meet this condition.
The dramatic fall of the House of Rajapaksa
News, Brahma Chellaney, Published on 14/07/2022
» For much of nearly two decades, the four Rajapaksa brothers and their sons have run Sri Lanka like a family business -- and a disorderly one, at that. With their grand construction projects and spendthrift ways, they saddled Sri Lanka with unsustainable debts, driving the country into its worst economic crisis since independence. Now, the dynasty has fallen.
Crippling blow to the global war on terror
News, Brahma Chellaney, Published on 13/09/2021
» The American-led global war on terror, launched 20 years ago after the Sept 11, 2001, attacks against the United States, was already faltering before President Joe Biden took office. Now it may not recover from the blow delivered by Mr Biden's historic blunder in facilitating the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan. The flag of the world's deadliest terrorists -- responsible for killing over 2,000 US soldiers since 2001 -- flies above Kabul on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
Beijing's South China Sea grab
News, Brahma Chellaney, Published on 18/12/2018
» It has been just five years since China initiated its major land reclamation in the South China Sea, and the country has already shifted the territorial status quo in its favour -- without facing any international pushback. The anniversary of the start of its island building underscores the transformed geopolitics in a corridor central to the international maritime order.
'Belt and Road' is buckling under scrutiny
News, Brahma Chellaney, Published on 01/10/2018
» On a recent official visit to China, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad criticised his host country's use of major infrastructure projects -- and difficult-to-repay loans -- to assert its influence over smaller countries. While Dr Mahathir's warnings in Beijing against "a new version of colonialism" stood out for their boldness, they reflect a broader pushback against China's mercantilist trade, investment, and lending practices.