Foreign Affairs - Katoikos

WHEN POWER REFUSES TO EVOLVE: RETHINKING GLOBAL GOVERNANCE China’s Global Governance Initiative isn’t defiance — it’s a response to paralysis

Daryl Swanepoel
World , UN , Peace & Security , China , Politics , Analysis , Foreign Affairs
16 October, 2025

When President Xi Jinping unveiled the Global Governance Initiative (GGI) earlier this year, Western capitals reacted as though the world had just tilted on its axis. The headlines were predictable: China challenges the world order. Beijing builds a parallel system. The liberal rules-based order under siege. But pause for a moment. Who exactly built this…

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation – Stronger regional integration or a tool for bigger geopolitical and geoeconomic games?

Manan Shah
Russia , World , India , China , Analysis , Foreign Affairs
6 September, 2025

The 25th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit was held in Tianjin, China from August 31 to September 1, 2025. Coming at a major historical juncture, this summit arguably grabbed the global limelight more than ever before, bringing together the main non-Western powers and emphasizing their commitment to establishing a “more just, equitable and representative multipolar…

Tariffs or Talks? The Future of China-EU EV Trade Is at a Crossroads

Tianlu Zhu
Europe , China , Economy , Analysis , Foreign Affairs
21 July, 2025

As China and the European Union edge closer to a pricing mechanism for EV exports, the question is no longer whether competition exists but how to shape it responsibly. Behind the headlines of tariffs and anti-subsidy probes lies a more nuanced story of competition, collaboration, and industrial transformation. Recent remarks by Chinese and European stakeholders…

BRICS: Navigating a Complex Economic and Political Landscape

Johnatan Santos
Russia , World , India , Peace & Security , Analysis , Foreign Affairs
28 August, 2024

Initially formed as “BRIC” – Brazil, Russia, India, China – and subsequently becoming “BRICS”, with the addition of South Africa,[1] this group of countries constitutes a unique coalition of emerging economies that collectively represent a significant counterbalance to the established economic powers of the West. Despite their collective identity, BRICS members are markedly different in…

The Birth of the Confederated Alliance of the Sahel States

On Saturday, 6 July 2024, in Niamey, capital of Niger, during the first meeting of the Alliance of Sahel States[1] (ASS/AES) a new agreement was signed to mark the beginning of the Confederated Alliance of the Sahel States[2]. According to the communiqué final of the summit, the former military Alliance of the Sahel States has…

Global diplomatic shortage?

From the EU-27 to the US to India, foreign services are chronically understaffed. Beyond resignations of current diplomatic staff for a variety of reasons, youth interest specifically towards the public sector and diplomacy seems to be declining, while political apathy appears to be on the rise. This begs the question as to whether there is…

The Fragile Humanitarian Crisis in Haiti

In a matter of days, an earthquake and a tropical storm (Grace) hit one of the poorest Caribbean islands, leading to at least 2,400 deaths and over 13.000 serious injuries. It is estimated that more than 130,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, and 600.000 Haitians were impacted. However, these last natural disasters are just part…

Surveillance camera gathering intelligence

Keep Your Friends Close: Washington Spies on NATO Partners

The US National Security Agency (NSA) used a partnership with Denmark’s foreign intelligence unit to spy on citizens of the European Union, Danish state broadcaster DR said. According to the investigation, which covered the period from 2012 to 2014, the NSA used Danish information cables to spy on citizens of Sweden, Norway, France and Germany….

US – Iran Geopolitical Cataclysm has Weakened International Law, Global Governance, and International Cooperation

The United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, began his first 2020 press conference with the following words: “The New Year has begun with our world in turmoil. We are living in dangerous times. Geopolitical tensions are at their highest level this century.” His words brought me back to my January 2014 visit to the provincial city…

Deadly blasts hit Turkey

Ankara, the capital of Turkey, was hit on Saturday, 10 October by two deadly blasts leaving 95 people dead and 245 injured. A pro-Kurdish political party, whose members were among those killed in the blasts, puts the death toll at 128, 120 of whom allegedly have already been identified.