By Velina Tchakarova Much has been written and speculated over an emerging strategic alliance between Russia and China, which I gave the name ‘the Dragonbear’ in the geopolitics of the 21st century. Interpretations of the context of deepening bilateral relations range from very sceptic to very optimistic prognoses for the future. But what does the Dragonbear really aim to … Continue reading
By Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya The Chinese are in the process of displacing the monopoly of the US dollar. They are dropping their US Treasury bonds, stockpiling gold reserves, and opening regional distribution banks for their own national currency. This will give them easier access to capital markets and insulate them from financial manipulation by Washington and … Continue reading
By Dragan Pavlićević As China’s One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative gains momentum, most interpretations of Beijing’s initial OBOR-related activities have centered on the implications of OBOR for China and her immediate neighborhood. Europe, however, has a special place within the strategy. Europe features as the end point for both OBOR’s sea (Belt) and land (Road) … Continue reading
By Global Europe Anticipation Bulletin (GEAB) Historians will remember that Chinese President Xi Jinping officially launched the new “Silk Road” with a 30 minute speech at the Boao Economic Conference on Hainan Island the 28 March 2015, in front of 16 heads of State or government and 100 or so ministers from the 65 countries which … Continue reading
By Chas Freeman China’s “The Silk Road Economic Belt” and the “21st Century Maritime Silk Road,” or officially called the “one belt, one road” project aims to bring into being a new economic order on the Eurasian landmass. Everything from the Atlantic to the Pacific is to be connected through hyper-efficient infrastructure and new institutional linkages. … Continue reading
By Pepe Escobar, originally posted July 23, 2015 on TomDispatch Let’s start with the geopolitical Big Bang you know nothing about, the one that occurred just two weeks ago. Here are its results: from now on, any possible future attack on Iran threatened by the Pentagon (in conjunction with NATO) would essentially be an assault on the planning … Continue reading
By Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya The tide is changing. The world is no longer dominated by the U.S., Western Europe, and Japan. The Group of Eight (G8), which reverted to the Group of Seven (G7) in 2014, has been displaced by the BRICS, which is why Russia was not bothered when it was expelled from the G8/G7 … Continue reading
By Jeff Desjardins, Visual Capitalist The dollar has been a stalwart of international trade over the majority of the last century. Around the time of the formation of the Eurozone, it reached its recent peak at 71.0% of official foreign exchange reserves. Since then, its composition of global reserves has more recently dropped to a more modest … Continue reading
By Pepe Escobar As austerity-ravaged Europe watches its undemocratic “institutions” grapple with the Greek tragedy, and the US backtracks on a fair nuclear deal with Iran, geopolitical tectonic plates are shifting in the Urals. Can you feel an inchoate multipolar world? Well, just look right here at the BRICS 2015 Ufa declaration. The EU is hardly … Continue reading
By Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya Get ready for ground shattering geopolitical changes. At the crossroads of Asia and Europe, it has been decided that the Russian city of Ufa will be the point of convergence for all the initiatives and projects of the Silk World Order of trade and integration that China and Russia are spearheading. Ufa, … Continue reading