<p>To the west of Eurasia lays Europe, a region predisposed to division. It is surrounded on nearly all sides by islands and peninsulas that make it difficult for Europe to cohere. The northern half of the continent, moreover, sits on a plain whose short, meandering rivers tend to empower countries without forcing them to work with others. The southern half is situated on more mountainous terrain that has historically impeded the creation of strong, unified economies. As a result, Europe is a continent riven by pockets of distinct cultures whose differences are all too often irreconcilable.</p>

Europe is a continent riven by pockets of distinct cultures whose differences are all too often irreconcilable.

Europe

Belize

Andorra

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Holy See

Latvia

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Luxembourg

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Bulgaria

Portugal

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Netherlands

Switzerland

Spain

Montenegro

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Italy

Ireland

Iceland

Hungary

Kosovo

Beyond Quantitative Easing

The Ukraine Conflict

The Politics of Pipelines

EU: Regional Blocs

Divided EU Foreign Policies

Brexit

The Fate of the Eurozone

Banking

Crossing Borders

Globalization

European Disintegration

Echoes of the Cold War

The Fight for Russia’s Borderlands

Snapshots

The Bank of England is seen in London, the United Kingdom, on Sept. 19, 2024.

Economics

Politics

If market pressures persist, the Labour government may have to impose spending cuts or tax hikes that would derail its economic initiatives and make it all the more unpopular.

Market Instability Tests the U.K. Government's Fiscal Strategy

Assessments

United States

Iran

Israel

Syria

China

Russia

Cyber

Military & Security

Nation-states' growing use of hacktivist personas to obfuscate responsibility will increasingly enable them to attack targets they would otherwise avoid and spread propaganda.

Hacktivism Offers Plausible Deniability for State-Backed Cyber Actors

Mozambique

Mexico

South Korea

Security personnel walk on a road with buses blocking an entrance gate to protect impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol from a possible second arrest in Seoul on Jan. 6. If Yoon is not arrested, the opposition could again seek to impeach the country's acting president due to his insufficient support for the arrest efforts, worsening foreign perceptions of political instability in South Korea.

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: Mozambique's President Takes Office, the U.K. Chancellor Visits China

Columns

On Geopolitics

Ukraine

A compressor gas station of the Yamal–Europe pipeline is seen on Feb. 19, 2022, in Wloclawek, Poland. 

Energy

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

The expiration of the Russia-Ukraine transit deal underscores Europe's ongoing efforts to sever its reliance on Russian resources, with far-reaching implications for energy markets and geopolitics in the region and beyond. 

The End of Russian Gas via Ukraine Cements Europe's New Energy Landscape

Sub-Saharan Africa

Americas

Middle East and North Africa

Asia-Pacific

Eurasia

South Asia

Israel-Hamas Conflict

Trade disruptions, shifting military conflicts and domestic political turbulence will shape global affairs in 2025. 

2025 Annual Geopolitical Forecast: An Excerpt

Cargo containers painted with Chinese and U.S. flags.

In this scorecard, we take a critical look at our hits and misses in forecasting geopolitical events over the past year.

Grading Our 2024 Annual Forecast

U.S.-China Relations

U.S.-Iran Relations

Bolivia

Moldova

A natural gas distribution hub is seen near Vienna, Austria, on Nov. 16, 2024.

The Weekly Rundown: Poland Assumes the EU Presidency, Russia-Ukraine Gas Transit Deal Expires

Anti-riot police officers with dogs walk past burning barricades made by protesters in Maputo, Mozambique, on Nov. 7, 2024. 

The Weekly Rundown: A New French Government, a Ruling on Mozambique's Disputed Election

Increased EU purchases of U.S. fossil fuels may ease trade tensions and facilitate talks with the incoming Trump administration, but they are unlikely to alone defuse the risk of tariffs and other trade disputes in the years ahead.

Can the EU Avoid Trump's Tariffs by Importing More U.S. Oil and Gas?

Cargo containers painted with Chinese and U.S. flags. Trade disruptions, shifting military conflicts and domestic political turbulence will shape global affairs in 2025.

Environment, Science & Technology

Social Issues

Trade disruptions, shifting military conflicts and domestic political turbulence will shape global affairs in 2025.

2025 Annual Forecast: A Global Overview

The European nonprofit privacy group noyb, an acronym for "none of your business," filed six complaints against AliExpress, Shein, TikTok, Temu, WeChat and Xiaomi for unlawfully transferring European users' data to China, Reuters reported on Jan. 17.

Europe: Noyb Files Complaints Against Six Chinese Companies

The European Union and Mexico updated their free trade agreement and enhanced bilateral trade and investments by slashing tariffs on agricultural and food products and eliminating non-tariff barriers to establish a level playing field in each other's markets, a press release by the European Commission showed on Jan. 17.

EU, Mexico: Revamped Trade Agreement To Move Forward, Pending Ratification

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called for the European Union to lift sanctions against Russia, asserting that the incoming U.S. Trump administration would usher in a "new era" of sanctions-free relations with Russia, though he acknowledged such a shift would not come immediately, Bloomberg reported on Jan. 17, citing Orban's remarks to state radio.

Hungary: Orban Calls for End to EU Sanctions on Russia

A majority of Bulgarian lawmakers approved a government led by center-right GERB party member Rosen Zhelyazkov, put forward as prime minister by the largest parliamentary group and supported by a coalition of leftist, populist and centrist parties, Politico reported on Jan. 16.

Bulgaria: Parliament Appoints New Coalition Government To Break Political Crisis 

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, where the two leaders signed a "100 Year Partnership" agreement on military, technology and energy cooperation, Reuters reported on Jan. 16. 

Ukraine, U.K.: Starmer Meets With Zelensky, Underscores Support for Ukraine

Malaysia

Malaysia and the European Union will likely reopen suspended free trade agreement negotiations when Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim visits Brussels, Belgium, the week of Jan. 20, Politico reported on Jan. 15. 

EU, Malaysia: Dormant Free Trade Negotiations Likely To Resume

French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou announced during his inaugural policy speech in the National Assembly that he would "renegotiate" President Emmanuel Macron's contentious pension reform with labor unions and opposition parties in the coming months, but he stated the pension law would continue to apply in its current form without an agreement, Reuters reported on Jan. 14.

France: Government Opens to Renegotiation of Macron's Pension Reform

Iraq

British Prime Minister Kier Starmer and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani inked a 12.3 billion pound, roughly $15 billion, trade and investment deal as the two countries seek to reset ties, a bilateral security deal and discussed the return of irregular migrants to Iraq, Reuters reported Jan. 14. 

U.K., Iraq: U.K. and Iraq Sign 12.3B Pound Trade Deal and a Security Pact to Improve Bilateral Relations

Europe

SITUATION REPORTS

Europe: Noyb Files Complaints Against Six Chinese Companies

EU, Mexico: Revamped Trade Agreement To Move Forward, Pending Ratification

Hungary: Orban Calls for End to EU Sanctions on Russia

Bulgaria: Parliament Appoints New Coalition Government To Break Political Crisis

Ukraine, U.K.: Starmer Meets With Zelensky, Underscores Support for Ukraine

EU, Malaysia: Dormant Free Trade Negotiations Likely To Resume

France: Government Opens to Renegotiation of Macron's Pension Reform

U.K., Iraq: U.K. and Iraq Sign 12.3B Pound Trade Deal and a Security Pact to Improve Bilateral Relations

Forecasts

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