Global Insights

Visit us at Network2020.org. It has been just over a year since President Trump’s “Liberation Day” global tariff announcement. Since then, the global trade landscape has shifted as countries hedged against their traditional dependence on the U.S. market. Driven by the increasing use of trade as a political weapon and constant tariff disputes, long-time allies like Canada, the UK, and the EU are now diversifying their trade partnerships as evidenced by landmark moves like the new EU-Indi...

Visit us at Network2020.org. Three weeks into 2026, the United States removed a foreign head of state by force, threatened to take territory from a NATO ally, and backed a crackdown in Iran. Since this conversation was recorded in late January, the Supreme Court has struck down the president's sweeping tariffs, U.S. and Israeli strikes have killed Iran's supreme leader, and Europe has begun the largest military buildup since the Cold War. How dead is the U.S.-led rules-based order? What...

Visit us at Network2020.org. With the 2025 National Security Strategy placing renewed emphasis on the Western Hemisphere, Washington appears poised to engage more actively in Latin America than at any time in the past three decades, prioritizing challenges such as migration, transnational crime, and growing geopolitical competition with China. At the same time, several nations, including Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Haiti, and Peru, are preparing for presidential elections in 2026, wit...

Visit us at Network2020.org. The killing of Ali Khamenei in joint U.S.-Israeli strikes has thrust Iran into uncharted territory. With its supreme leader gone, dozens of senior officials dead, and a war now spreading across the region, the Islamic Republic faces the most serious crisis in its history. A new supreme leader has been named, Khamenei's own son, but the regime's fractured power centers, a devastated military, and a population that overwhelmingly rejected the system long befor...

Visit us at Network2020.org. Four years after Russia’s second invasion of Ukraine and its ensuing war, new attempts are being made to end the conflict. This past January, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the three-way talks between representatives of Ukraine, Russia, and the United States in Abu Dhabi “constructive.” These recent diplomatic efforts have put new ideas on the table, from prisoner exchanges to postwar reconstruction and possible security guarantees. However, ...

Visit us at Network2020.org. The recent wave of protests and the subsequent crackdown in Iran have left a new round of scars on the beleaguered Islamic Republic. The broad-based upheaval has not only challenged the government’s grip on power but also raised critical questions about the stability of its system, the viability of alternatives, and the wishes of a population of a complex country. An energy superpower, Iran has tremendous potential that has been curbed by stifling sanctions....

Visit us at Network2020.org. Since the end of World War II, the global order has been shaped largely by a Western liberal system led by the United States. Yet, recent developments, from the release of the U.S. National Security Strategy to the January capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces have underscored what many observers of international affairs argue is the end of that liberal, rules-based order. At the same time, rapid technological advancement and the rise...

Visit us at Network2020.org. The global economy has entered an age of confusion, roiled by trade wars and technology as it gained its post-pandemic footing. The global rise of populism and an AI-fueled market surge further complicate the story. The result? A world that feels less predictable, less secure, and far harder to govern. What explains the breakdown of the old order? Can the U.S. and China coexist without destabilizing the global system? What is the future of democratic capital...

Visit us at Network2020.org. Africa sits at the center of the global energy transition. From cobalt and copper in the Democratic Republic of Congo to major infrastructure initiatives like the Lobito Corridor, the continent’s mineral wealth—an estimated 30% of the world’s supply—is now indispensable to green-energy supply chains. As global powers compete for influence and investments, African governments, private-sector leaders, and human rights organizations face mounting pressure to en...

For the context of this conflict, see our earlier episode here: Revisiting Sudan’s Conflict: Context and Implications Sudan is in the midst of one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, a catastrophe that has become both a moral and political failure. More than 12 million people have been displaced and over 150,000 lives lost as violence, famine, and chaos engulf the country. Since 2010, using satellite imagery and open-source data, Nathaniel Raymond and his team have uncovered evidence of...

Visit us at Network2020.org. Over the past decade, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Honduras have experienced a resurgence of authoritarian practices. Leaders have expanded executive power, undermined judicial independence, curtailed press freedom, and increased the use of mass incarceration and militarized policing—all under the banner of security and stability. These developments echo past dictatorships but take on new forms in today’s political and technological context, connecting local ...

Visit us at Network2020.org. The United States has long been recognized as the global leader in artificial intelligence (AI), a technology transforming trade, foreign policy, and military strategy. China, once seen as years behind, is rapidly closing the gap, most recently with the launch of DeepSeek. With competition heating up in both chip technology and AI innovation, Washington has sought to maintain its edge through export controls and a recently unveiled AI Action Plan. As the wor...

Visit us at Network2020.org. Sudan’s war—between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, sparked in April 2023—has entered a deadlier phase. Recent attacks on the Abu Shouk camp near El-Fasher, a widening cholera outbreak, and aid blockages that leave much of the country in need have pushed the crisis to a breaking point. We’re re-running this episode to explain how a promised transition to civilian rule unraveled into open war, how Darfur’s past atrocities and broader questions of accou...