Governments are beginning to use conversational artificial intelligence as a primary point of access to public information. A person asks about a benefit, a permit or an administrative procedure and receives a fluent reply. The promise is compelling: services available beyond office hours, in accessible language and at potentially lower operating costs. But the design…
Israel has entered a critical phase of political uncertainty following President Isaac Herzog’s decision to give former military chief Gadi Eisenkot the first opportunity to form a government after the inconclusive parliamentary elections of October 27. Herzog announced his decision on November 7, and Eisenkot formally received the mandate the following day. The leader of…
Democrats have reclaimed Congress, but presidential power remains largely intact. The real test is whether America’s divided government can reshape its foreign policy. The American electorate has changed the balance of power in Washington. In the November 3 midterm elections, Democrats secured control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, ending Republican dominance…
Europe’s hybrid-car bargain with Beijing bought time but not balance. The EU’s future as a geoeconomic actor now depends on two tasks. It must turn its single market into a credible bargaining tool. It must also shrink the chokepoints China holds over it. On 9 October 2026, EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič left Beijing with…
In recent years, conflicts have increasingly stretched from the Russia-Ukraine theatre to South Asia and West Asia. These contemporary conflicts, particularly the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the West Asian theatre, have been serving as real-time test laboratories, where not only military technologies (both modern and outdated), but also prevailing assumptions and notions about warfare and strategy…
When wars widen, sanctions tighten and rival powers demand support, countries outside the traditional centres of power face a difficult question: how can they protect their interests without being pulled into someone else’s contest? BRICS is one forum through which a number of emerging economies are trying to answer that question. Its value lies less…
India’s policy on imported crude oil has made energy security inseparable from its foreign policy. With nearly 89% of its crude requirements met through imports, New Delhi must balance affordable supplies against the geopolitical risks of its energy relationships. That policy balancing has become more complicated following Washington’s October 2026 executive order establishing additional tariff…
A film about the man who counted Punjab’s secret dead was itself made to disappear. What the removal of Satluj reveals about how democracies handle an unusable past. Rivers possess an inconvenient habit. They remember what civilizations insist on forgetting. They carry mountain silt for thousands of miles, preserving the geology of places they have…
Featured illustration: AI-generated for The Convention.
The global economy depends on shipping routes that often receive little attention until they are threatened. When a major route is disrupted, the effects are not confined to the sea. They can spread across countries, affecting fuel prices, transportation costs, trade and industrial activity. The Strait of Hormuz is one of the clearest examples of…