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The Middle Corridor: A Perceptible Reality or a Pipe Dream?
Christopher Niklas Peterstam writes on the prospect of the Northern Trade Corridor. He writes that the Northern Trade Corridor, beginning in China’s north-east and traversing the Russian landmass to Europe, had long been a staple of east-west trade. However, with the strict sanctions imposed on Russia by the European Union (EU), China has had to rely on alternative means to transport its goods to the lucrative European market. This has breathed new life into the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), also known as the Middle Corridor. Peterstam writes that long ignored in its secondary position to the Northern Corridor, the TITR as a trade project began in 2013 through multilateral agreements between Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Türkiye. Tangible infrastructure projects were begun to strengthen trade efficiency across these regions, such as the Trans-Kazakhstan railway in 2014 and the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway in 2017. Despite almost a decade having elapsed since the beginning of the project, by 2022, almost 90 percent of EU-PRC land-based trade still occurred via the Northern route. The question remains whether the Middle Corridor can capitalize on global trade reorientations and assert itself as the primary route between East and West. Read this piece by Christopher Niklas Peterstam here.
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From Silos to Synergy: Harmonizing Global Actions for Biological Diversity
In this piece, Aniruddha Inamdar and Sanjay Pattanshetty write that the One Health approach is pivotal in preserving biodiversity and reducing disease risks by integrating efforts across sectors to promote the sustainable balance of health of people, animals, and the environment. By integrating efforts across sectors, encouraging sustainable management of natural resources, and promoting community participation and inclusion of traditional knowledge practices becomes critical in the equitable benefit sharing of biodiversity conservation using the One Health approach. The authors further write that the resulting natural barriers make it harder for pathogens of zoonotic diseases to spread and reduce the likelihood its outbreaks. As the One Health approach emphasizes the collaboration of experts across the human, animal, and environmental sectors, integrated disease surveillance can be vital for early detection and rapid response, write Inamdar and Pattanshetty. Read this piece here.
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Authoritarian Echoes, Democratic Victories: Bruce Cumings on Korean Democracy; An Interview with Bruce Cumings
This Expert's Take covers the politics, dynamics, and complexity involving Korean democracy. Bruce Cumings is Professor Emeritus at the University of Chicago, where he held the Gustavus F. and Ann M. Swift Distinguished Service Professorship of History from 1987 until his retirement in 2022. His acclaimed two-volume work, “The Origins of the Korean War,” challenged established narratives about the Korean War, and fundamentally reshaped scholarly understanding of the region. Cumings is also the author of several other influential books, including “Korea’s Place in the Sun: A Modern History,” “North Korea: Another Country,” and “The Korean War.” The interview, conducted by Synne Norseth on April 9, 2025, explores the trajectory of Korean democracy, from the regime of Park Chung-hee to the impeachment of Yoon Suk-yeol.
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Proxy Wars and Silent Partners: The Pahalgam Attack a Stress Test for India–China Stability
The April 2025 Pahalgam terrorist attack marks a significant moment in South Asia’s evolving security matrix. While the India–Pakistan binary continues to dominate discourse, China’s ambiguous posture following India’s Operation Sindoor warrants deeper scrutiny. This issue brief by Jagannath Panda and Eerishika Pankaj assesses Beijing’s silence, the implications for China-India ties, and China’s alignment with Pakistan’s strategic calculus. Drawing on past crises like Pulwama, Balakot, and Uri, it interrogates China’s selective neutrality, its shielding of Pakistan, and the erosion of its credibility as a regional stabilizer, write Panda and Pankaj. By weaving in Chinese media narratives and official statements, the analysis critically evaluates whether Beijing is prepared—or even interested—in playing a constructive role in South Asian stability. The brief concludes that unless India recalibrates its strategic assumptions and narrative posture, China will continue to manipulate the region’s instability through plausible deniability and transactional diplomacy. Read and download this brief here.
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China’s Techno-Military Modernization in Tibet and its Impact on Climate
This issue brief by Amrita Jash examines China’s extensive techno-military modernization in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), with a focus on infrastructure development and its ecological implications. The Chinese government’s investment in TAR’s infrastructure development, a crucial component of the 14th Five-Year Plan, is focused on large-scale dual-use infrastructure, including road networks, highways, airports, and railroads, writes Jash. Despite being presented as developmental, these infrastructure projects significantly expand China’s military mobility and enhance its regional strategic depth. However, this rapid securitization has serious ecological consequences, such as grassland degradation, waterway pollution, and community displacement. Consequently, Tibet’s fragile ecosystems are increasingly strained by anthropogenic pressures, particularly those linked to China’s intensified land use and infrastructure expansion. This issue brief argues that China’s aggressive infrastructure drive, under the guise of economic development, is a primary driver in accelerating the climate and ecological crisis on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP)—underscoring the entanglement of geopolitical strategy and environmental degradation on the ‘Roof of the World', writes Jash. Read and download the issue brief by Amrita Jash here.
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Apply now: Nordic-Korea Next Generation Experts Training Program 2025-2026
Do you want to learn more about contemporary politics on the Korean Peninsula? Are you from one of the Nordic countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, or Finland) and are you in your early career or pursuing a Master’s degree or PhD? To promote greater awareness and more balanced knowledge, the ISDP Stockholm Korea Center and the Korea Foundation are looking for the next batch of participants for its Next Generation Experts Training Program. The deadline for applications is June 15th, 2025. We look forward to your application!
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A Split in the West: Examining European Autonomy and its Challenges
Akash Sahu writes on the tension that exists in the Western security and global paradigm. He argues that the world order seems to be unraveling. The uncertainty in the transatlantic relationship is a major factor that may shape international security in the coming years. Notwithstanding its substantial role in the founding of global systems after the Second World War, the U.S.-Europe relationship has been revealed as dichotomous, with both sides taking diverging political trajectories, writes Sahu. He further writes that while they may still work together on shared concerns, their ideological rift has been exposed. The policy positions on each side, therefore, may not always be synchronous on all security issues. Read the whole piece here.
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(UN)ambiguous Meaning? Cross-Strait Narratives of UN Resolution 2758
This Focus Asia paper by Agust Börjesson and Elenor Söderberg examines China’s and Taiwan’s narratives about UN Resolution 2758 in the context of current cross-strait relations and the global debate surrounding Taiwan’s UN participation. The paper expounds on what UN Resolution 2758 is and in what historical context it was voted on in the 1971 UN General Assembly. It analyzes the international debate that led up to the resolution’s adoption and argues that it had a different meaning to the UN’s voting member states. The paper also examines how the PRC’s and Taiwan’s narratives of UN Resolution 2758 have evolved over time. Börjesson and Söderberg write that, for the PRC, the resolution affirmed its “one China principle” claiming that Taiwan is part of China. Its use has not so much evolved as but instead intensified. In Taiwan, the narrative about the resolution evolved as it became a multi-party democracy and is now seen in different terms by Taiwan’s ruling DPP and oppositional KMT. They further write that, for the DPP, the resolution does not give the PRC the right to represent its citizens in the UN, whereas the KMT is pragmatic towards the PRC and willing to abide by the “1992 Consensus”. The disagreements between the DPP and KMT present a challenge for Taiwan to have a lasting unified narrative on Resolution 2758, write Agust Börjesson and Elenor Söderberg. Read and download the Focus Asia paper here.
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The Middle Corridor: A Perceptible Reality or a Pipe Dream?
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From Silos to Synergy: Harmonizing Global Actions for Biological Diversity
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Authoritarian Echoes, Democratic Victories: Bruce Cumings on Korean Democracy; An Interview with Bruce Cumings
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Proxy Wars and Silent Partners: The Pahalgam Attack a Stress Test for India–China Stability
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China’s Techno-Military Modernization in Tibet and its Impact on Climate
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Apply now: Nordic-Korea Next Generation Experts Training Program 2025-2026
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A Split in the West: Examining European Autonomy and its Challenges
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(UN)ambiguous Meaning? Cross-Strait Narratives of UN Resolution 2758
Latest Publications
Authoritarian Echoes, Democratic Victories: Bruce Cumings on Korean Democracy; An Interview with Bruce Cumings
Bruce Cumings is Professor Emeritus at the University of Chicago, where he held the Gustavus F. and Ann M. Swift Distinguished Service Professorship of History from 1987 until his retirement […]
Proxy Wars and Silent Partners: The Pahalgam Attack a Stress Test for India–China Stability
The April 2025 Pahalgam terrorist attack marks a significant moment in South Asia’s evolving security matrix. While the India–Pakistan binary continues to dominate discourse, China’s ambiguous posture following India’s Operation […]
China’s Techno-Military Modernization in Tibet and its Impact on Climate
This issue brief examines China’s extensive techno-military modernization in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), with a focus on infrastructure development and its ecological implications. The Chinese government’s investment in TAR’s […]
Books
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Arabs, Turks and Persians: Geopolitics and Ideology in the Greater Middle East
For decades, the Greater Middle East has been a leading challenge to American foreign policy. This vast region – ranging from North Africa in the west to Afghanistan in the […]
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The US and EU, and the Emerging Supply Chain Network: Politics, Prospects, and Allies
The Global Supply Chains have evolved from simply logistical achievements to being the bedrock of the global economy. Driven by technological advances and geopolitical shifts, this transformation underscores the critical […]
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IN DEFENSE OF THE LIBERAL INTERNATIONAL ORDER
In recent years, the geopolitical fight for global economic, diplomatic, and institutional control has acutely intensified, accentuating the crisis in the existing post-World War II Liberal International Order (LIO), championed […]
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Quad Plus and Indo-Pacific: The Changing Profile of International Relations
This book explores how the Quad Plus mechanism is set to reshape the global multilateral economic and security co-operations between Quad partner countries and the rest of the world. With […]