“The way I look at Iron Dome is as the ultimate manifestation of the future of the United States’ role in future conflicts, which is not to be the world police, but to be the world gun store,” said Palmer Luckey in November 2023. Luckey is the founder of Anduril, one of the most prominent DefTech companies. The ambition is clear: to participate in global rearmament by capitalizing on the quality of American innovations and to dominate the arms market—at least in the West—through technological mastery.

The year 2025 has confirmed that one must prepare for much worse in the field of geopolitics and geoeconomics as the intensity and frequency of shocks increase and as the European Union (EU) has no more stable flanks now that crises with the United States (US) become so frequent and reveal a systemic rift. In the world, barriers to trade multiply and dependencies are weaponized.

Over the past decade, China has deployed a diplomatic strategy toward the Pacific Island Countries (PICs). This strategy pursues two main objectives: countering Taiwan's diplomatic influence in the region and countering the influence of liberal democracies in what Beijing refers to as the "Global South."

It has become widely accepted that the world economy should be seen as increasingly shaped by forces of fragmentation, resulting from geopolitical tensions. This article takes another look at this narrative, using international trade data. While an aggregate analysis is consistent with a new Cold War narrative, whereby international trade is increasingly seen as split into two blocs, this is only a mix of very different outcomes. Far from being a widespread trend, geoeconomic fragmentation of trade flows is only significant in “hotspots”: Russia's foreign trade and China-US bilateral exchanges, and the impact is massive in these cases. Outside these “hotspots”, there is no tangible sign that geopolitical tensions have been shaping international trade patterns in terms of blocs, nor is there any hint of a trend toward nearshoring – to the contrary, in fact.

The sovereign wealth funds of Gulf countries have become key players in world finance. By investing colossal sums in strategic sectors, they contribute both to local development and the growing influence of the Gulf monarchies in the global economy and international politics. In the near future, they will have to grapple with two challenges: that of human capital, and that of their geopolitical position between the Global North and Global South.

Central Securities Depositories (CSDs) form the backbone of financial market infrastructure by registering securities, settling trades, distributing cash flows, and managing collateral. While often regarded as mere financial “plumbing,” they in fact underpin strategic objectives such as advancing the Savings and Investment Union, curbing tax evasion, and reinforcing Europe’s geopolitical stance. 

The development of space law has gradually evolved from a top-down normative dynamic dominated by the founding impetus of the UN to a bottom-up normativity driven by national and industrial practices. This evolution is now accompanied by growing normative competition, raising the risk of an Americanization of space law and prompting the question of a European response.

While the EU tries to navigate a myriad international challenges, France is experiencing historic political disarray. What impact will instability in Paris have on Europe's geostrategic capacity?