India’s 2026 BRICS Presidency: Multilateralism, Multipolarity, and the Venezuelan Test

Lucas Carlos Lima

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As the presidency passes from Brazil to India, the central challenge facing BRICS in 2026 will not be the continuation of an already well-established common agenda, but rather the task of striking a workable balance among national positions on more divisive issues – areas in which the group is increasingly expected to articulate a collective stance.

The role of the BRICS’ rotating presidency is more consequential than it might initially appear. The presiding state is not merely responsible for convening and managing discussions across the bloc’s various tracks of cooperation; it also sets priorities and frames the political tone for the year. In this respect, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already outlined, in broad terms, the guiding principles of India’s presidency: resilience, innovation, cooperation, and sustainability.

DRDO eyes next-gen electronic warfare to propel India as global defence leader: Top official

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Bengaluru: The DRDO is focusing on next-generation electronic warfare technologies, spectrum dominance, and indigenous fighter aircraft programmes, with a strong emphasis on self-reliance and future warfare domains, its Director General (Electronics and Communication Systems), B K Das, said on Tuesday.

Speaking to PTI on the sidelines of the Electronic Warfare Conference-India (EWCI), Das said the event aimed to bring together all stakeholders in electronic warfare-including industry, academia and research institutions-to work towards a common objective in a rapidly evolving conflict domain. "The main focus is to bring together the entire electronic warfare ecosystem of the country-industry, academia and research institutions-to work towards a common cause in this emerging domain of warfare," he said.

Shooting For The Stars With A Paper Airplane: The US-Pakistan Rare Earths Deal

Eve Register

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In October 2025, Pakistan shipped its first load of rare earth minerals to the United States as part of a new $500 million agreement between the two nations. After months of trade negotiations, this shipment was of great symbolic significance, intended to show that Pakistan can deliver on its promise to provide the U.S. with the minerals needed to strengthen the resilience of vulnerable supply chains. The two countries have revealed a three-step plan to develop this relationship, calling for mining projects to scale up extensively by 2028. It is crucial, however, to understand the range of obstacles Pakistan faces when it comes to accessing the potential wealth of its mineral reserves.

Pakistan’s Critical Mineral Reserves: Hype and Reality

Although Pakistan does own extensive reserves, which its government states have an estimated value of $6 trillion and stretch across 230,000 square miles, the possession of these reserves is only one component of an extensive framework which is required to actually use and profit from these reserves. Ultimately, there is a stark disconnect between the promises being made to secure investment and the realities of what can actually be delivered.

How Will China’s DF-27 Long-Range Missile Reshape the Pacific?

James Holmes

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There is much we still do not know about the DF-27 missile—but it is worth examining the consequences for the US Navy if the Pentagon’s claims are taken at face value.

All respect to my colleague and friend Professor Andrew Erickson, but China’s DF-27 antiship ballistic missile does not represent “a new form of naval force,” as he wrote in USNI News last month. It is intimately familiar, and more ominous for all that. It represents the latest in a centuries-old form of naval force approaching its apex potential thanks to advances in sensor, computer, and weapons technology backed by the willpower and resources of a prosperous, ambitious, and increasingly domineering maritime power. Everything old is new again.

China’s Debt Problem—And Our Own

Corbin K. Barthold

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The United States and China are the world’s two great powers. The US boasts the largest economy, the global reserve currency, the leading AI firms, and a military with unmatched worldwide reach. China has the globe’s second-largest economy (far ahead of third-place Germany); commanding positions in key fields such as drones, batteries, and rare earths; an increasingly formidable navy; and, by virtue of its export dominance, substantial leverage over global trade. Cold War II is taking shape.

Or is it?

Dig deeper, and both nations start to look like surprisingly fragile societies drifting slowly but steadily toward disaster. Speaking on a podcast last month, China analyst Dan Wang offered a striking observation: “These two countries,” he said, need “to stop delivering” themselves “humiliating self-beatings.” In the United States, political divisions are entrenched, the distractions of the culture war persist, and respect for the rule of law is eroding. In China, meanwhile, disillusionment with the Chinese Communist Party—though largely hidden from Western eyes—runs deep, while the Chinese military reportedly wastes nearly half its time imbibing political propaganda rather than training for combat.

Chinese EV Batteries Are Eating the World

Zeyi Yang

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THE symbolism was clear last June when Emmanuel Macron, surrounded by factory workers, held up a sleek lithium battery in his right hand and a mining lamp in his left. He was in Douai, a northern French city with a coal mining history dating back to the 1700s. The city is now also the site of a battery factory, which would allow France to produce all parts of electric vehicles domestically. This factory, Macron declared, represented an “economic and ecological revolution.”

Macron immediately acknowledged that France didn’t pull this off alone: “We brought in investors from the other side of the world. They transferred their technologies. They helped train people,” Macron said, gesturing at a man beside him.

‘De-Islamization’ Is Rapidly Gaining Momentum In Iran

Chen Li

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Despite harsh crackdowns, large-scale protests still erupt across multiple regions of Iran. Available information indicates that recent demonstrations have spread to all 31 provinces and more than 180 cities nationwide. Beyond major metropolitan centers such as Tehran, large gatherings have also appeared in Kurdish areas and in provinces traditionally regarded as politically conservative.

From the available information, this wave of protests was initially triggered by Iran’s livelihood crisis, where high inflation has caused a sharp depreciation of the Iranian rial, while the costs of basic necessities like water, electricity, and food have risen rapidly. Within a very short period, the demonstrations quickly evolved into open resistance against Iran’s theocratic government and Islamic rule itself, extending further to challenge the very essence of Islamic authority.

Iran and the New Middle East

Robert D. Kaplan

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The Middle East is on the brink of a geopolitical earthquake. For close to half a century, since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, clerical Iran has been the organizing principle of the Middle East. Iranian revolutionaries created Hezbollah in Lebanon, supported and armed Hamas in Gaza, supported and armed the Houthis in Lebanon, and propped up the Assad family regime in Syria. They were an implacable enemy of both Israel and Saudi Arabia, and stoked terrorism and anti-Semitism in the West through social media and other means. And let’s not forget, Iran has been the principal force, through its militias, keeping the post-Saddam Hussein Iraq violent and anarchic.

Iran was an accessory to the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, and that has proved to be the Islamic regime’s ultimate undoing. Israel’s military response in a two-year war shattered Hamas, devastated Hezbollah, and, as a consequence, led to the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria. Iran’s missile and nuclear threat against Israel led to the war last June, in which Israel and the United States did untold damage to Iran’s senior military and intelligence leadership and to its air defense system.

“Principled and pragmatic: Canada’s path” Prime Minister Carney addresses the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting

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Thank you, Larry.

It’s a pleasure – and a duty – to be with you at this turning point for Canada and for the world.

Today, I’ll talk about the rupture in the world order, the end of a nice story, and the beginning of a brutal reality where geopolitics among the great powers is not subject to any constraints.

But I also submit to you that other countries, particularly middle powers like Canada, are not powerless. They have the capacity to build a new order that embodies our values, like respect for human rights, sustainable development, solidarity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of states.

The power of the less powerful begins with honesty.

Every day we are reminded that we live in an era of great power rivalry. That the rules-based order is fading. That the strong do what they can, and the weak suffer what they must.

World leaders in Davos must stand up to Trump. This is their chance

Robert Reich

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Hundreds of global CEOs, finance titans, and more than 60 prime ministers and presidents are in Davos, Switzerland, for the annual confab of the world’s powerful and wealthy: the World Economic Forum.

This year’s Davos meeting occurs at a time when Donald Trump is not just unleashing his brownshirts on Minneapolis and other American cities, but also dismantling the international order that’s largely been in place since the end of the second world war – threatening Nato, withdrawing from international organizations including the UN climate treaty, violating the UN charter by invading Venezuela and abducting Nicolás Maduro, upending established trade rules, and demanding that the US annex Greenland.

Trump’s Iran Tariff Puts Friends And Foes On The Same Hook

James Durso

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On 12 January 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump announced, “Effective immediately, any Country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a Tariff of 25% on any and all business being done with the United States of America.”

Trump’s announcement aims to weaken the government of the Islamic Republic in the wake of weeks of protests against the government, sparked by a weak economy. Trump told the protesters to keep fighting their government and that “help is on the way.”

The Geopolitics of Maduro’s Capture: What Does Operation Absolute Resolve Mean for Russia?

Henry Ziemer

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The capture of Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces on January 3, 2026, has sent shockwaves around the world. U.S. adversaries in Beijing, Moscow, and Havana are closely watching what the future may hold for their own aspirations in the Western Hemisphere. In the case of Russia, the immediate prognosis is negative. The Kremlin has lost a key outpost in the Americas, the reputation of Russian military equipment has been further tarnished, and robust U.S. sanctions enforcement against shadow tankers portends poorly for the Russian war economy. In many ways, Maduro’s capture underscores that Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine has been a tremendous folly. That conflict’s immense human and fiscal cost has hamstrung Moscow’s ability to project power further afield.

Nevertheless, Russia continues to seek an advantage despite its defeat. Most notably, Russian media outlets have seized on narratives about the erosion of international law and the resurgence of spheres of influence to legitimize the Kremlin’s own revisionist ambitions and highlight U.S. disputes over Cuba, Greenland, and Mexico. Such narratives are likely to be leveraged in Russia’s ongoing influence campaigns in the Global South.

What a post-US world order might look like

Zohaib Tariq

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Ibn Khaldun, the 14th-century giant of political philosophy, argued that every great power passes through a natural civilizational cycle lasting five generations—roughly 125 years—before decline becomes unmistakable.

If we place the United States within this framework, its global arc began with the Monroe Doctrine in 1823 and reached full dominance after World War I. By that measure, the US-led rules-based international order has already outlived the historical life expectancy Ibn Khaldun envisioned for empires.

Had he been alive today, Ibn Khaldun might have credited America’s longevity to one factor he considered essential for state survival: the endurance of a functioning and credible justice system. As long as justice prevails, he wrote, a state can endure.

A Dutch Warship Just Shot Down a Swarm of Attack Drones off UK Coast

Evelyn Hart

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Tensions across contested maritime zones are reshaping how allied navies prepare for conflict. From the Baltic to the Red Sea, the proliferation of uncrewed systems has added complexity to both surveillance and engagement strategies. Traditional naval assets, designed for symmetrical warfare, are being pushed to adapt under operational and technological pressure.

In this evolving environment, NATO members are testing how synthetic and live combat scenarios can be combined to simulate attacks no longer theoretical. Small, networked drone swarms. Semi-autonomous surface vessels. Saturation strikes designed to overwhelm defense layers in seconds. Exercises are no longer abstract; they are practical rehearsals for incidents that could unfold with little warning.

Greenland Between Denmark And The USA: What Is The Price For The Largest Island In The World?

Dr. Vladislav B. Sotirovic

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The largest island in the world, Greenland (that is not green at all but rather covered by white ice), has in recent months and even several years become one of the hottest geopolitical spots and disputes in world politics and international relations. The island, which has been administratively part of the Kingdom of Denmark for two centuries, has seriously caught the eye of the USA, namely its Trump administration, which firmly claims that the island simply must be under direct control and administration of the USA for its national security, otherwise it will be “swallowed up” by Russia and China (whose [Russian] submarines already operate around the island). The latest statements by NATO leaders support the idea of “Russian occupation of Greenland” as the reason for the increased presence of (small and meager) NATO soldiers on the island, but in essence, this position advocates the transfer of the island under American administration.

Venezuela And The Donroe Doctrine

Frank Schell

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In the early morning of January 3, the U.S. Delta Force and other special forces, supported by the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy, captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Celia Flores at their residence on a military base. More than 150 aircraft of different types and about 20 U.S. bases were said to be involved in this spectacularly successful exfiltration known as Operation Absolute Resolve, which had been planned for months in concert with U.S. intelligence and law enforcement sources. 

Evidently power in Caracas was cut off by U.S. cyberattacks, and Venezuelan air defenses were suppressed to allow entry of multiple types of helicopters. Maduro and his wife are now in New York; he is charged with cocaine trafficking as leader of a cartel known as Cartel de los Soles. His wife and son (not in custody) have also been charged along with some others.[1] Venezuelan sources report dozens of security personnel killed, including 32 Cubans.[2] No U.S. deaths were reported.

Europe and ballistic-missile warning: space for improvement

Giorgio Di Mizio

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Russia’s use of the Oreshnik (RS-SS-X-28) conventionally armed ballistic missile against Ukraine underscores this threat to NATO Europe. Launch detection, however, remains reliant on United States space-based systems, a dependency that the Alliance’s European members are grappling to address.

Within NATO, the United States is key to the early-warning mission through its Shared Early Warning System (SEWS), which provides near real-time information about missile launches. This capability is largely enabled by its Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS), making Washington the sole provider of orbital early warning. NATO’s European members are now seeking to address their shortfall in this area through the development and acquisition of sovereign capabilities, but they face challenges in doing so.

After Trump’s Military Wins, China Retreats into Space

Brandon J. Weichert

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The Chinese military’s “Project Nantianmen” is far from reality—but it shows that Beijing is thinking about the right questions for the future of space warfare.

Things are getting wild in the wake of the Trump administration’s incredible tactical raid in Caracas, Venezuela—which resulted in the capture of the Venezuelan president and his wife in mere minutes.

The skill and precise execution involved, along with the negative implications for Venezuela’s global partners, has prompted a wave of recrimination and a degree of hand-wringing from America’s enemies, notably China, about their own military capabilities.

Why Trump Blinked on a Chinese Drone Ban

Brandon J. Weichert

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In recent months, the United States has continued its abandonment of hawkish trade policies with the People’s Republic of China—not because of some great love for China by the Trump administration, but simply because China has the United States in a bind with its dominance of rare earth minerals.

As part of this new conciliatory approach by Washington, the United States has dropped its proposed rule on Chinese drone imports. This move has sent shockwaves through national security circles, seeing as it was national security concerns that initiated the proposed rule on Chinese drone imports.

The U.S. Is the Sole Superpower

Meaghan Mobbs

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The stunning U.S. military operation on January 3, 2026, that captured Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, was not merely a counternarcotics raid or an act to remove a dictator who had illegally assumed power after losing an election. It was a deliberate strike against the emerging multipolar world order. By removing Maduro from power, bringing him to face justice in New York on narco-terrorism charges, and signaling direct U.S. influence over Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, President Trump has sent an unmistakable message: The United States will not tolerate a global landscape where adversaries like China, Russia, and Iran carve out spheres of influence at America’s expense.

For years, champions of multipolarity have celebrated a world where power was held not just in Washington, but Beijing, Moscow, and other capitals across the globe, thereby fostering “balance” and reducing U.S. dominance and dependence. Venezuela, the holder of the world’s largest proven oil reserves at over 300 billion barrels, became a key battleground in this vision.

F-35, Submarines, Golden Dome: The Canadian Choices America Is Watching Closely

Joe Varner

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F-35 Fighter in Belgium. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Synopsis and Key Points: Washington’s intensified focus on Greenland is framed as homeland risk management driven by polar vulnerabilities that cut across Greenland and Canada’s northern approaches.

-The argument treats North America as a single defensive system where missiles, bombers, submarines, and cyber operations exploit seams in Arctic warning and coverage. Greenland’s strategic value is tied to missile warning, space domain awareness, and command-and-control infrastructure anchored by Pituffik, but broader presence is presented as insufficient given evolving threats.

AI Wargame Points to Catastrophe for US

Virginia Allen

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Virginia Allen is a senior news producer for The Daily Signal and host of "The Daily Signal Podcast" and "Problematic Women." Send an email to Virginia. Heritage Foundation researchers harnessed the power of artificial intelligence to argue in a new report that the U.S. is not prepared for a war with China.

“We believe a war is coming,” says Rob Greenway, director of the Allison Center for National Security at the D.C. think tank. “We believe we are not prepared for it. We have proven we’re not prepared for it.”

This weakness actually “incentivizes the Chinese,” Greenway told The Daily Signal.

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Greenway and his team at Heritage used artificial intelligence to simulate an extended conflict with China in the Indo-Pacific, in order to identify vulnerabilities for both the U.S. and China. The report also provides recommendations to the U.S. government.

Tech Edge: A Living Playbook for America’s Technology Long Game

Navin Girishankar

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China is often portrayed as either unstoppable—dominating electric vehicles (EVs), batteries, and solar panels—or lacking the creativity to push the technological frontier. The United States is either celebrated as the unquestioned AI leader or criticized for losing its manufacturing base and becoming dangerously dependent on rivals. The reality is more complex—and more instructive.

In 2025, China made AI progress under chip constraints, achieved breakthroughs in robotics and quantum computing, and weaponized its control of rare earth processing, yet it still cannot produce a certified jet engine or compete in high-end machine tools. The United States controls 90 percent of AI chip markets and produces far more advanced AI models than China, yet it has lost much of the manufacturing capacity needed to build at scale and depends on rivals for critical materials.

China’s ‘Frugal Stack’ and Its Path to AI Diffusion

Kai-Shen Huang

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The prevailing wisdom in Washington holds that the artificial intelligence (AI) race is a contest of brute force, to be won by the side with the most advanced chips, the largest data centers, and the deepest pockets. But in early January, the AGI-Next summit in Beijing functioned as a signal event, revealing a strategic clarity that is often absent from official rhetoric, and hinting that the U.S. may be optimizing for a race China is quietly rerouting.

During the summit, the major architects of China’s AI ecosystem, including leaders from Zhipu AI, Moonshot AI (Kimi), Alibaba (Qwen), and Tencent, presented a remarkably sober self-assessment. They framed the odds of China leading the next foundational artificial general intelligence (AGI) paradigm as well under 20 percent. But far from an admission of defeat, this “structural realism” marks the start of a sophisticated asymmetric offensive.