Home 6 - The Long Brief

Crowd taking photos of Donald Trump on their phones at CPAC 2025. Photo source: Xuthoria / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

State Sovereignty: A Shield, a Tool, or an Obstacle?

State sovereignty is paramount in international relations, yet its definition remains elusive. The lack of a clear definition allows each country to relativize how it understands sovereignty and what it allows as ...

The Liberian-flagged oil tanker MV Sirius Star is at anchor off the coast of Somalia in 2008. U.S. Navy photo by Aviation Warfare Systems Operator 2nd Class William S. Stevens

Commentary

Somali Piracy is Back – Fuelled by Political Turmoil, Aid Cuts and the Iran War

On the evening of April 26, the Egyptian merchant vessel Sward was hijacked by armed men a few miles off the Somali coast. It was ...

Rocinha, Rio de Janeiro Project. Photo source: Wilfredor / Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain.

Commentary

Cooling Poverty is Making Extreme Heat More Dangerous for Millions

Imagine walking along Ipanema beach on a summer afternoon. The sand is golden, there’s a cooling sea breeze, the shade of a parasol and a ...

Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz for a bilateral meeting at the G20 Summit. Picture by Lauren Hurley / No 10 Downing Street

Longreads

Why the Iran War is Breaking the US-European Strategic Alliance

Days after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran began on Feb. 28, 2026, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez denied American forces the use of the ...

António Costa, Volodymyr Zelensky, Ursula von der Leyen at a Special meeting of the European Council, 2025. Photo source: Dati Bendo / © European Union, 2026 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

Commentary

EU Enlargement is Often Deeply Political – as Ukraine and Montenegro Show

The EU formally unblocked a €90 billion (£78 billion) loan for Ukraine on April 23 after Hungary and Slovakia dropped their opposition. This move came ...

Silvia Uscov speaking at George Simion’s press conference, May 4, 2025. Photo source: AUR România / Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain.

Interviews

Romania: What to Expect After AUR’s Motion of No Confidence – An Interview with Silvia Uscov

Romanian politics shows no sign of letting up, and political instability has returned once again. The rifts caused by the annulment of the presidential election, ...

Polling station. Photo source: Paul Albertella / Flickr, CC BY 2.0

Longreads

UK Elections: The End of Two-Party Politics in the UK

The English council elections and parliamentary elections in both Wales and Scotland have proven that the era of dual dominance in UK politics is over, with both Labour and ...

Interviews

“Despite all the Talk of Multipolarity, the U.S. Remains the Dominant Power in the Gulf Region” – An interview with Muhanad Seloom

The ongoing Iran conflict has reached a critical diplomatic impasse under a fragile ceasefire, as U.S. President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s latest counter-proposal, and Israeli ...

Evelyn N. Farkas (Photo: Mori / Office of the President / Wikimedia Commons)

Interviews

“The Hungarian Elections Result is a Fantastic Opportunity” – An Interview with Evelyn N. Farkas

A growing number of researchers believe that today’s various global events, such as pandemics, wars, climate-related crises, and even national elections, are becoming increasingly interconnected. ...

Interviews

The New Conservative Right: How It Changed and Where It’s Headed – Interview with Juan Ángel Soto

The new conservative right, which could be said to have emerged with Fidesz in 2010 and then with Law and Justice in Poland in 2015, ...