Geopolitics Archives - Robert Lansing Institute

Manufactured Enemies: The Strategic Logic Behind Niger’s War Talk with France”

A member of Niger's ruling junta has urged his country's citizens to prepare for "war" with France, as relations with the former colonial power hit new lows. Why Now: Strategic…

February 13, 2026France, Niger, Russia

Conflict Geopolitics National Security

Moscow’s Arctic Red Lines: How Russia Could Respond to the Militarisation of Greenland

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that if Greenland is militarized and actions threatening Russia are implemented there, Moscow will take military-technical measures. “Of course, in the event of the militarization of…

February 12, 2026Greenland, Russia, USA

Democracy Geopolitics Intelligence ops Propaganda and Disinformation War crimes

Prosecuting Resistance, Forgetting Aggression: Kosovo and the Failure of Proportional Justice

More than two decades after the Kosovo war, international justice has produced an outcome that remains deeply contested: the Serbian state, whose forces carried out systematic and widespread crimes against…

February 10, 2026Kosovo, Russia, Serbia

Geopolitics

A Crisis That Pays Dividends Elsewhere

Russia Is the Audience Iran is not the central audience of the current US confrontation; Russia is. The confrontation involving Iran is unfolding inside a geopolitical system already under sustained…

February 9, 2026Iran, Russia, USA

Conflict Geopolitics National Security Warfare

Russia’s Borderlock in Central Africa: Gold, Gray Zones, and the Erosion of U.S. Leverage

Russia’s actions along the Sudan–CAR border following the gold-mine incident represent not a security response, but a deliberate territorial control operation. By sealing cross-border routes, detaining civilians, and denying access to observers, Moscow…

February 9, 2026CAR, gold, Russia, Sudan, USA

- Geopolitics Governance

Africa at the Margins: How U.S. Policy Shifts Create Openings for China and Russia

In early 2026, President Donald Trump nominated Frank W. Garcia Jr., a Republican congressional aide with limited Africa experience, to be Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of African Affairs, the…

February 4, 2026Africa, USA

Geoeconomics Geopolitics Intelligence ops Propaganda and Disinformation

Frexit Without Exit: How Anti-EU Movements Shape French Politics Without Winning Power

A march by supporters of France’s withdrawal from the European Union (“Frexit”) took place in central Paris. On February 2, 2026, more than a thousand people gathered in the French…

February 4, 2026EU, France, Russia

Geopolitics Intelligence ops National Security

Parliamentary Contact as a Tool of Influence: How Moscow Will Exploit Anna Paulina Luna Initiative

Republican Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna invited deputies of the State Duma of the Russian Federation to Washington with the declared purpose of holding consultations and discussions on a peaceful settlement of the war in…

February 2, 2026Russia, Ukraine, USA

Geopolitics Warfare

Russia’s Arms Exports to Ethiopia and the Erosion of U.S. Leverage in the Horn of Africa

Russia’s supply of Yak-130 trainer/light attack aircraft and Orion strike UAVs to Ethiopia provides Addis Ababa with additional strike and reconnaissance capabilities without the political conditions that typically accompany Western military assistance. For the United States,…

January 30, 2026Ethiopia, Russia, USA

Conflict Geopolitics Warfare

Probability of a U.S. strike on Iran (late Jan 2026)

What’s pushing the probability up Visible military posture shift: reporting over the past week describes a major U.S. buildup—carrier presence and additional air assets—plus multi-day U.S. aerial exercises in the region under CENTCOM. …

January 28, 2026Iran, Russia, USA