Geopolitics Archives - Robert Lansing Institute

North Korea’s Open Entry into Russia’s War Against Ukraine: From Covert Support to Combat Participation

North Korea’s public acknowledgment of troop deployment to Russia marks a qualitative escalation in its involvement in Moscow’s war against Ukraine. This shift exposes the DPRK not as a principled anti-imperialist actor,…

December 17, 2025DPRK, Russia, USA

Democracy Geopolitics Governance ideology National Security

From Partner to Principal Threat: How Russia Chose Confrontation—and What It Could Have Been

In first speech after taking office, Blaise Metreweli, the head of Britain’s intelligence service MI6, warned that Russia represents an aggressive, expansionist, and revisionist threat. Metreweli stated that assassination plots, sabotage, cyberattacks, and…

December 16, 2025Russia

Geopolitics National Security Warfare

From Tehran to the Frontlines: Russia’s Expanding Global Recruitment Campaign for the War in Ukraine

In December 2025, reports emerged that Russia has begun a large-scale campaign to recruit Iranian citizens to fight in its war against Ukraine. Throughout multiple cities in the Islamic Republic…

December 12, 2025Iran, Russia, Ukraine

- Geopolitics Governance Intelligence ops

Russia’s potential “Pro-Assad Coup” strategy In Syria: Motives, Mechanisms And Geopolitical Consequences

Since 2015, Russia has emerged as the single most decisive external actor keeping the Assad regime in power. Its military intervention reversed rebel gains, secured key economic and military footholds,…

December 8, 2025Russia, Syria, USA

Conflict Geopolitics

Sino-Russian Military Convergence: Joint Missile Defense, Strategic Coordination, and the Erosion of U.S. Deterrence”

According to the defense ministries of China and Russia, these drills were allegedly not directed against any “specific third party” and were not intended as a response to the current…

December 8, 2025China, Russia, USA

Geoeconomics Geopolitics Nonproliferation

Putin’s Visit to India: Strategy, Objectives, and Geopolitical Implications Context & Timing

In December 2025, Putin made his first visit to India since the start of Russia's war in Ukraine. The visit occurs amid intense Western (especially U.S.) pressure on India over…

December 5, 2025China, India, Russia, USA

Conflict Geopolitics National Security

Russia’s Naval Base in Sudan: A Strategic Foothold on the Red Sea Limiting U.S. Operational Freedom Near the Suez Canal

Russia’s negotiations with Sudan to establish a permanent naval facility in Port Sudan represent one of Moscow’s most consequential strategic moves outside the post-Soviet space. A Russian base on the…

December 4, 2025Russia, Sudan, USA

Geoeconomics Geopolitics

The Rise of the Organization of Turkic States: A New Strategic Axis Weakening Russia’s Influence in Central Asia

The Organization of Turkic States (OTS), under Turkiye’s increasingly assertive leadership, has transformed from a cultural forum into a dynamic geopolitical bloc. As Russia weakens under the weight of its…

December 3, 2025OTS, Russia, Turkiye

Corruption Geopolitics

Kazakhstan’s Expanding Role in Russia’s Sanctions-Evasion Architecture

Following Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine and the subsequent imposition of Western sanctions, Kazakhstan has emerged as one of the central channels enabling Moscow to access “sanctions-sensitive” goods. Trade flows…

December 1, 2025Kazakhstan, Russia, Sanctions

Geopolitics

Hungary’s Pivot to Moscow: Implications for U.S. Strategy, NATO Unity, and the Trump Administration”

Why now — Strategic timing and immediate context Orbán’s 2025 Moscow visit is less a symbolic gesture than a calculated strategic move — aimed at securing Hungary’s energy future ahead…

November 28, 2025Hungary, Russia, USA