The hottest Geopolitics Substack posts right now

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Top World Politics Topics

Borrowed Time

Doomberg • 8235 implied HN points • 23 Jan 26
🌍 World Politics Geopolitics
  1. EU leaders face weak accountability: Kaja Kallas was promoted to the EU's top diplomat role despite revelations that her husband's company continued doing business with Russia, highlighting hypocrisy and limited political consequences.
  2. The EU's foreign policy machinery is overlapping and ineffective, with roles and authority spread across institutions in ways that create confusion and make coordinated strategy difficult. Putting relatively inexperienced people into those powerful but ill-defined posts makes the problem worse.
  3. The EU has alienated many major powers and is drifting without a clear geopolitical strategy while facing economic and energy weaknesses. Those fragilities could spark a severe crisis or political shake-up if there is an energy shock, a defeat in Ukraine, or dramatic geopolitical moves elsewhere.

The Building of Fortress Iran

God's Spies by Thomas Neuburger • 105 implied HN points • 23 Mar 26
🌍 World Politics Geopolitics
  1. Two centuries of foreign meddling and territorial losses left a deep national trauma, so Iran’s politics are driven by a fear of being carved up or controlled by outsiders.
  2. Every Iranian regime—monarchy, democratic, and theocratic—has been trying to build a strong, indivisible state, but each approach failed in different ways, leaving security prioritized over political openness.
  3. The Islamic Republic turned that impulse into a Fortress Iran, and repeated foreign interventions and sanctions have only hardened Iran’s siege mentality and made internal change harder.

Niall Ferguson: Could This Be the Start of World War III?

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 1201 implied HN points • 05 Mar 26
🌍 World Politics Geopolitics
  1. U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran could act as a flashpoint leading to a much larger, possibly global, war.
  2. People are once again asking if the new conflict could become World War III, similar to the alarm that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
  3. Concerns that this could escalate into a broader conflagration are serious and not an unreasonable overreaction.

In Praise of Trump's Leader-Decapitation Strategy

Richard Hanania's Newsletter • 1926 implied HN points • 07 Mar 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Geopolitics
  1. Targeted killing of hostile leaders is an effective, achievable foreign-policy tool that can reduce threats without full-scale nation building.
  2. The United States should favor limited, precise actions like leader-decapitation over large, costly interventions and long occupations.
  3. This approach still carries real risks of escalation and unintended consequences, so it must be used carefully and isn’t a cure-all.
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'The rock upon which all dictators have perished'

Wrong Side of History • 403 implied HN points • 06 Mar 26
🌍 World Politics Geopolitics
  1. The UK–US 'special relationship' is real in institutions and history but is unequal and often treated with cynicism because each country ultimately puts its own interests first.
  2. British domestic politics and shifting voter demographics make leaders cautious about joining American military actions, so popular opposition and unclear goals limit UK support.
  3. The alliance was strongest when both sides shared a clear mission against common threats and deep ties (culture, nuclear forces, intelligence), but its emotional pull has weakened across generations.

Towards a Greater Middle Eastern War & Defeat in Ukraine

Glenn’s Substack • 1039 implied HN points • 24 Sep 24
🌍 World Politics Geopolitics
  1. The conflict in Gaza is spreading and could bring in more countries, which worries local leaders facing protests for not being tougher against Israel and the US.
  2. Ukraine is struggling with a lack of resources, and the situation is getting worse as public support is fading and political divisions grow.
  3. Both the Middle East and Ukraine are heading towards major wars, and the US seems to lack a clear plan to deal with these rising tensions.

Forget Trump and Greenland. Howard Lutnick Gave the Davos Speech that Mattered

TK News by Matt Taibbi • 10203 implied HN points • 23 Jan 26
🌍 World Politics Geopolitics
  1. A senior U.S. commerce official publicly declared that globalization has failed and argued for an America‑first approach that prioritizes domestic workers over offshoring.
  2. Those remarks mattered more than the headline-grabbing political theater at Davos because they directly challenged the World Economic Forum’s pro-globalization consensus and signaled a real policy shift.
  3. The speech sparked boos, walkouts, and outrage among global elites, exposing deep divisions and forcing Europe and others to rethink competitiveness and self-reliance.

Midweek Update #2: The Two Wars

Phillips’s Newsletter • 346 implied HN points • 18 Mar 26
🌍 World Politics Geopolitics
  1. The US and Israel are running a high-tech air campaign that can strike many targets and kill leaders, but that military edge has not yet forced political collapse or produced internal allies to end the war.
  2. Iran is fighting a very different, low-cost campaign that uses its coastline, drones, and sea drones to threaten shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and disrupt the global economy in order to pressure opponents politically.
  3. Both sides are racing against time: US political pressure (especially on the president) raises the risk of escalation, while Iran hopes to outlast strikes, so the conflict could intensify before it eases.

Where in the World Is Mojtaba Khamenei?

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 556 implied HN points • 11 Mar 26
🌍 World Politics Geopolitics
  1. Mojtaba Khamenei appears to be injured and is being kept out of public view after the initial US–Israeli strikes.
  2. Senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders have likely taken charge of the regime and are running the war in his stead.
  3. The regime is leaning on performative displays of loyalty—like a taped cardboard cutout at rallies—which exposes efforts to hide instability and maintain appearances.

The Iran Strike Is All About China

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 1604 implied HN points • 02 Mar 26
🌍 World Politics Geopolitics
  1. The U.S.-Israel strike on Iran is meant to weaken a key pillar of China’s regional strategy, not just punish Iran for sponsoring terrorism.
  2. China has spent billions building Iran into a strategic asset and supplying the regime with tools to survive domestic popular rejection.
  3. The attack signals a broader push to reshape regional power in the Indo-Pacific and roll back Beijing’s growing architecture of influence.

What I'm reading about Dubai influencers, data-center missile strikes, and Iran; a great and sleazy Elmore Leonard adaptation, and more

Read Max • 711 implied HN points • 09 Mar 26
🌍 World Politics Geopolitics
  1. A curated reading list dives into the war in Iran, covering unexpected angles like Dubai influencers, undersea cables, missile attacks on data centers, and the strain on the foreign-policy establishment and international law.
  2. A stylish, sleazy film adaptation of an Elmore Leonard story is highlighted and recommended.
  3. Four music tracks are recommended, and subscribers are offered extras like weekly emails, curated master lists, and merch, with some links that may pay a small commission.

Why America is Losing the War With Iran (w/ John Mearsheimer) | The Chris Hedges Report

The Chris Hedges Report • 345 implied HN points • 12 Mar 26
🌍 World Politics Geopolitics
  1. The U.S. and Israel miscalculated by launching the attack on Iran; there is no clear military exit and the campaign risks a humiliating defeat that could weaken American influence in the region.
  2. Iran is using a smart asymmetric strategy—missiles, drones, and threats to close the Strait of Hormuz while targeting energy and desalination infrastructure—to inflict economic pain and gain bargaining leverage.
  3. The conflict could trigger a major global economic shock, push Gulf states to rethink their ties with the U.S., and draw more Russian and Chinese support for Iran, multiplying long-term geopolitical risks for Israel and America.

Postscript to a postscript

Material World • 1597 implied HN points • 06 Mar 26
🌍 World Politics Geopolitics
  1. Two facilities on the Persian Gulf — one for oil and one for gas — handle a huge share of the world’s hydrocarbons, and almost all of that production must leave by sea through the Strait of Hormuz.
  2. Those terminals are physically concentrated and within reach of missiles and drones, so recent closures show how quickly supply can be halted by military or proxy attacks.
  3. Political leaders often underestimate how vital and vulnerable this physical energy infrastructure is, and disruptions to it can trigger serious economic and geopolitical turbulence.

NATO’s Destruction of Ukraine Under the Guise of “Helping”

Glenn’s Substack • 1718 implied HN points • 17 Sep 24
🌍 World Politics Geopolitics
  1. NATO's support for Ukraine is often framed as a selfless act to help against Russia, but it may not align with what most Ukrainians actually want. Many Ukrainians have shown little interest in joining NATO.
  2. There have been several instances where peace agreements, such as the Minsk-2 agreement, were ignored or sabotaged by Western powers, showing that their true interests may lie elsewhere.
  3. The situation in Ukraine has led to severe consequences for the population, with many lives lost and a push towards nationalism and division, rather than unity and peace.

The Resource Wars Have Begun

Anima Mundi • 1009 implied HN points • 28 Feb 26
🌍 World Politics Geopolitics
  1. Control of raw materials — oil, rare earths, cobalt, uranium, gold — is the central driver of many current wars and diplomatic moves. Conflicts from Iran to Venezuela to the DRC are being shaped more by resource access than by ideology.
  2. Three competing strategies are colliding: the US uses transactional military leverage for resource access, China builds long-term infrastructure and standards to secure supplies, and Russia funds war through extraction while shadow actors profit. That collision is creating a multipolar scramble with no clear global rules or effective institutions.
  3. The resource scramble risks cascading global crises — energy chokepoints, nuclear proliferation, supply‑chain collapses if Taiwan is attacked, and worsening humanitarian and democratic breakdowns. These cascades threaten markets, food and energy security, and accelerate the weakening of dollar dominance.

If You Think The US Wants To Bring Democracy To Iran, Watch What They're Currently Doing To Iraq

Caitlin’s Newsletter • 2211 implied HN points • 24 Feb 26
🌍 World Politics Geopolitics
  1. The US is using economic levers—like control of Iraq’s oil revenue—to pressure Iraqi political choices, for example by pushing against Nouri al‑Maliki’s bid for prime minister.
  2. America often reshapes governments and economies to keep friendly rulers in power, so its talk of bringing democracy can mask direct control and interference.
  3. Policy toward Iran looks aimed at weakening or fragmenting the country to maintain dominance rather than promoting democracy, with some strategists even advocating balkanization.

Googoosh: Iran’s Freedom Is Within Reach

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 445 implied HN points • 12 Mar 26
🌍 World Politics Geopolitics
  1. The 1979 Islamic Revolution replaced the old order with a theocratic regime that repressed culture and sharply curtailed women’s rights, silencing prominent artists.
  2. Many people lived through bans, war, and exile; some left to reclaim their voices but remained deeply attached to their homeland.
  3. After decades of authoritarian rule and decline, the regime now seems vulnerable and a secular, democratic future for Iran feels within reach.

⚡ War reminds us of civilization’s true currency

Faster, Please! • 913 implied HN points • 09 Mar 26
🌍 World Politics Geopolitics
  1. Energy is civilization's universal currency. Almost everything we do needs energy transformed into useful work, and our prosperity depends on mastering that transformation.
  2. Geopolitical conflicts and shocks quickly show how vulnerable modern life is to fuel disruptions, for example by pushing up gasoline prices.
  3. The global food system relies heavily on fossil-fuel-driven processes like using natural gas for the Haber-Bosch fertilizer synthesis, so energy disruptions can raise fertilizer and food costs worldwide.

How Close Is Israel to Maximum Escalation?

God's Spies by Thomas Neuburger • 854 implied HN points • 11 Mar 26
🌍 World Politics Geopolitics
  1. Iranian strikes are doing more unacknowledged damage because interceptors and targeting radars are being depleted, so smaller missile and drone salvos are having bigger effects.
  2. Israel appears willing to use extreme measures to survive, including the feared “Samson Option” as a last resort, and U.S. policy is tightly entangled with those Israeli decisions.
  3. The conflict’s duration is uncertain: Iran signals readiness for a long fight while Israel may be running short on time and reluctant to accept a ceasefire until the Iranian threat is fully removed.

✨ The race to economic supremacy in the Age of AGI

Faster, Please! • 1553 implied HN points • 03 Mar 26
🕹 Technology Geopolitics
  1. AI could be a powerful general-purpose technology like the PC or the internet, bringing big but historically familiar economic change.
  2. If AI reaches human-level general intelligence, it could perform nearly every economically valuable task and radically reshape work and the economy.
  3. How AI is developed and deployed will determine whether the world converges toward shared gains, diverges into greater inequality, or sees one actor achieve runaway economic dominance, sparking a global race for supremacy.

More Shockingly Honest Confessions From The Empire Managers

Caitlin’s Newsletter • 2835 implied HN points • 17 Feb 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Geopolitics
  1. Some US officials are openly saying future wars are being planned in Israel and are pushing for military action against countries like Iran, even while admitting that American troops could be harmed.
  2. Top politicians are praising five centuries of Western colonialism and calling for a renewed Western alliance with Europe to reassert dominance over the Global South.
  3. There is a strong critique that 'Western civilization' today relies on war, exploitation, and ecocide, and many argue that this system should be challenged and reformed rather than celebrated.

BRICS Develops a Multipolar Economic Architecture

Glenn’s Substack • 1099 implied HN points • 20 Sep 24
🌍 World Politics Geopolitics
  1. BRICS is working to create a new economic system that doesn't depend on the US. This means countries can trade and cooperate without worrying about US control.
  2. There is a strong desire among countries to join BRICS and work together to trade in their own currencies instead of the US dollar. This could help protect their economies from US influence.
  3. BRICS aims to foster connections between diverse nations, including rivals, to manage political issues through economic collaboration, rather than division. This could lead to a more cooperative global environment.

Chartbook 432 "Writing column. Talking w peril" - polycrisis or stroke?

Chartbook • 4077 implied HN points • 03 Feb 26
🌍 World Politics Geopolitics
  1. Widespread misconduct among powerful people exposes deep hypocrisy and blurs the moral and political lines that were supposed to hold institutions together.
  2. Buzzwords like "polycrisis" or "rupture" understate the problem — the moment feels more like a sudden, disorienting collapse driven by personal and motivational breakdowns among elites.
  3. Calls for rational, rules‑based fixes sound hollow unless we confront the underlying psychological and ethical rot; rebuilding trust will be slow and require honest, therapeutic reckoning, not just policy tweaks.

Is the Iran War Winding Down—or Ramping Up? Plus. . .

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 472 implied HN points • 10 Mar 26
🌍 World Politics Geopolitics
  1. The war with Iran isn’t clearly ending: calming words briefly soothed markets, but tougher threats and vows to keep fighting make a quick finish unlikely.
  2. Calling for unconditional surrender is unrealistic and risky; Iran has agency and such demands are likely to prolong the conflict and raise the stakes.
  3. Iran’s new leader faces a precarious, paranoid situation where external pressure and internal instability make survival and effective rule very uncertain.

The Split-Screen War

Comment is Freed • 241 implied HN points • 15 Mar 26
🌍 World Politics Geopolitics
  1. The war is split between air dominance by Israel and the US and a separate, more consequential campaign of Iranian missiles and drones that is disrupting regional economies and blocking shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
  2. Iran planned for survival and has used regional attacks as counter-coercion, while the US and Israel lacked a clear strategy and wrongly assumed a short, decisive victory that left them unprepared for the wider economic fallout.
  3. The Iranian regime is fragile but can still leverage the chaos it creates to extract concessions, and the mounting international economic pain is increasing pressure on the US to find a negotiated way out.

Top Links 1032 Hormuz to Asia. Cuba goes solar. Gramsci on sex and production & Brecht on shooting people like me.

Chartbook • 457 implied HN points • 05 Mar 26
🌍 World Politics Geopolitics
  1. U.S. LNG exports have created a new decade in global gas trade, reshaping energy flows and geopolitical links from the Gulf (Hormuz) to Asian markets.
  2. Cuba is embracing solar power, marking a notable shift toward renewable energy and greater island energy resilience.
  3. There is renewed engagement with thinkers like Gramsci and Brecht, using their ideas about sex, production, and violence to rethink political and cultural conflicts.

Things that Go Boom

Rough Diamonds • 25 implied HN points • 13 Mar 26
🌍 World Politics Geopolitics
  1. Explosives and propellants are the single biggest supply bottleneck in a US–China Pacific war; precision missiles and torpedoes could be used up in weeks to months.
  2. The US energetics supply chain is tiny and fragile—many critical ingredients and products come from one or a few plants, and expanding or qualifying new facilities is expensive, dangerous, and takes years.
  3. New manufacturing tech and startups could raise capacity and safety (continuous flow, AI control), but they won’t solve a near‑term crisis, so policymakers must consider faster procurement, allied sourcing, substitutions, or cannibalizing stocks.

The End of Hegemony & Emergence of Multipolarity

Glenn’s Substack • 1119 implied HN points • 19 Sep 24
🌍 World Politics Geopolitics
  1. The US is no longer the dominant world power. There is a shift towards a multipolar world where multiple countries have influence.
  2. Western leaders struggle to imagine new ways of working in this multipolar world. They often want to cling to old ideas of Western dominance instead of adapting.
  3. Instead of trying to restore past power dynamics, the West should look for new opportunities that come with this change in global power.

Taiwan Can Rescue the World from China

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 468 implied HN points • 09 Mar 26
🌍 World Politics Geopolitics
  1. Taiwan is actively breaking its economic dependence on China and taking big steps to diversify its supply chains and economy.
  2. China is rapidly increasing its share of global manufacturing—projected to reach about 45% by 2030—which raises risks for the global economy and heightens geopolitical competition.
  3. Taiwan’s advanced tech and manufacturing strengths could help other countries reduce reliance on China and strengthen the wider global economy.

Thinking about the Long Haul

John’s Substack • 7 implied HN points • 24 Mar 26
🌍 World Politics Geopolitics
  1. A two-hour interview with a former Indonesian trade minister explored a wide range of current global conflicts and where they might lead.
  2. This was the third long conversation between them and featured a friendly, engaged back-and-forth.
  3. The overall assessment was bleak, offering a dark outlook on the direction of world affairs in the years ahead.

Weekend Update #176: Ukraine Is Showing Its Value, Particularly For Europe

Phillips’s Newsletter • 368 implied HN points • 15 Mar 26
🌍 World Politics Geopolitics
  1. Ukraine has become a fast-growing military tech hub, producing cost-effective anti-drone systems, mid-range strike drones, and other innovations that can quickly help allies and should be central to Europe’s defense future.
  2. Recent U.S. moves—downplaying Russia’s role in arming Iran and easing oil sanctions—have effectively boosted Russian revenue and helped Moscow project power that endangers U.S. and allied forces.
  3. Hungary’s seizure of Ukrainian gold and its ties to Putin show that some European states are actively undermining Ukraine and European unity, underscoring the need for Europe to back Ukraine and fix its political structures.

Marco Rubio’s Minor Diplomatic Miracle

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 2559 implied HN points • 16 Feb 26
🌍 World Politics Geopolitics
  1. He gave a blunt, high-stakes critique of European complacency and questioned long-standing assumptions about the continent’s security.
  2. Even while challenging those sacred cows, he won over senior European leaders and received a standing ovation at the Munich Security Conference.
  3. The speech acted like an intervention — a stern warning that Europe risks squandering its security if it doesn’t change course.

The Middle East Is Ready for the Abraham Accords 2.0

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 324 implied HN points • 12 Mar 26
🌍 World Politics Geopolitics
  1. Iran is growing regionally isolated and its proxy forces like Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Hamas are weakened or sidelined.
  2. That isolation gives the United States and Gulf Arab states a rare strategic opening to deepen security cooperation and counter shared threats.
  3. The Abraham Accords can be upgraded from symbolic normalization into a practical, integrated security architecture linking Israel and the Gulf.

Going to War, Again, for Israel

The Chris Hedges Report • 920 implied HN points • 28 Feb 26
🌍 World Politics Geopolitics
  1. The United States is being pulled into a war that mainly serves Israeli goals, not American interests, risking American lives and flouting international norms.
  2. Israel and its lobby have huge influence over U.S. politics, using money, trips, and pressure to secure massive military aid and political support.
  3. The conflict will be costly and prolonged, causing many deaths, spiking oil prices, regional chaos and likely long-term failure like past regime-change wars.

From October 7 to Killing Khamenei

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 843 implied HN points • 03 Mar 26
🌍 World Politics Geopolitics
  1. A single cross-border attack on October 7 set off a 28-month war that drew in at least 18 countries and cost tens of thousands of lives.
  2. The conflict expanded largely because of miscalculations by multiple actors, turning a brief, localized assault into a sprawling, unpredictable war.
  3. By the later stages, regional power shifted: Israel emerged as the dominant military force while Iran was weakened and many leaders who started or supported the fighting were killed.

This Is How an Energy Crisis Starts. Plus. . .

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 454 implied HN points • 09 Mar 26
🌍 World Politics Geopolitics
  1. The war is raising the risk of a global energy crisis as strikes and threats to the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s Kharg Island are disrupting oil exports and sending prices sharply higher.
  2. Iran’s Kurds remain the regime’s most determined internal opponents and will be central to any future change, but they are unlikely to mount a large-scale invasion into Iran despite outside expectations.
  3. The conflict is reshaping geopolitics and security: it weakens Gulf hub cities and could shift finance to places like Singapore or Cape Town, while also stoking terrorism scares and contentious domestic political reactions.

Tempting Target

Doomberg • 8012 implied HN points • 02 Jan 26
🌍 World Politics Geopolitics
  1. Saskatchewan sits on an enormous, flat, and predictable potash-rich evaporite formation that formed when an ancient sea repeatedly evaporated, which makes large-scale mining relatively easy and cheap.
  2. The province is the world’s dominant potash producer with vast reserves and supplies roughly a third of global potash needs, making it a major source for fertilizer and a key supplier to the U.S.
  3. Rising geopolitical assertiveness in the Western Hemisphere raises the risk that a sparsely populated, resource-rich place like Saskatchewan could become a strategic target or subject to pressure.

Matt Pottinger: Trump Could End the War Tomorrow. I Don’t Think He Will.

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 389 implied HN points • 10 Mar 26
🌐 International Geopolitics
  1. The president said he could declare the Iran war over right now and claimed key objectives, like rolling back Iran’s weapons programs, have been met.
  2. At the same time he kept emphasizing reasons to keep fighting long enough to make results stick, suggesting an impulse to “finish the job” rather than quit early.
  3. A former deputy national security adviser thinks the president probably won’t take the offered off‑ramp and is more likely to let the conflict continue for weeks to ensure durable outcomes.

If You Want Freedom and Democracy For Iranian People and All Peoples, You Must Start By Admitting What America Is and Does

Freddie deBoer • 7054 implied HN points • 15 Jan 26
🌍 World Politics Geopolitics
  1. The United States often intervenes abroad to secure strategic and economic interests, not to install genuine democracy, and can openly prioritize access to resources like oil over self-determination.
  2. Historical interventions — from Iran’s 1953 coup to wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and recent meddling in Venezuela — usually produce authoritarianism, corruption, militias, and instability instead of freedom, so skepticism of intervention is rational.
  3. Opposing U.S. intervention does not equal supporting oppressive regimes; people can want internal change while also rejecting foreign control, and restraint in using force helps avoid repeating past harms.