Great Power Competition - Diplomacy & Politics

Putin Won the War. Xi Won Putin.

Putin went to war for Russian sovereignty. He flew to Beijing this week hoping Xi will finalise a gas pipeline replacing the European market Russia destroyed. The act of independence produced the most comprehensive dependency in Russian history.

By Sunny Peter

/ 21 May 2026

What Washington Called a War, Beijing Called a Bargain

Trump flew to Beijing and left weighing whether to lift sanctions on Chinese companies buying Iranian oil. The country being bombed will fund the relationship being repaired. The Global South paid the price of the war. It will pay the price of the peace.

By Sunny Peter

/ 18 May 2026

What Washington Called a War, Beijing Called a Bargain

The Thucydides Question

Xi asked Trump if they could avoid the Thucydides Trap — the theory that a rising power and an established one are destined for conflict. Trump said China was beautiful. That is not an answer to Xi's question. It is confirmation the question was not understood.

By Sunny Peter

/ 15 May 2026

Eleven Books That Explain the World Watching the Iran War

The Iran war did not arrive without a library. Every development since February 28 — the collapsing ceasefire, the Security Council vetoes, the Global South paying costs it did not vote for — was anticipated by books written long before the first strike.

By Sunny Peter

/ 14 May 2026

Eleven Books That Explain the World Watching the Iran War

Country Builder Comes to Beijing

As Trump's plane touched down in Beijing, Chinese social media was circulating his nickname: Chuan Jianguo — the Country Builder. The implication is sardonic and precise. His policies built China's power more than America's. Now he has come to ask for a favour.

By Sunny Peter

/ 14 May 2026

Pick a Side

Huckabee confirmed Israel deployed Iron Dome batteries and troops to the UAE at a public conference in Tel Aviv. The UAE has Israeli soldiers on its soil and Iranian missiles in its skies. Nobody asked Abu Dhabi. The Abraham Accords were a peace deal. They were a down payment on a military alliance.

By Sunny Peter

/ 13 May 2026

Xi Only Has to Not Lose

Trump flies to Beijing on Thursday carrying a war he cannot finish and a strait he cannot reopen. He is going to ask Xi Jinping for help. Beijing did not need to do anything to earn this moment. Washington created it by starting a war it cannot end without China's assistance.

By Sunny Peter

/ 12 May 2026

Ask China

Bessent called China a funder of terrorism for buying Iranian oil. Then asked China to use those ties to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. In the same interview. Washington built this crisis on the premise that China's relationship with Iran was the problem. Now it needs that relationship to survive.

By Sunny Peter

/ 11 May 2026

Spy Who Came In From the Cold — and Ran for Parliament

Jonathan Pollard served 30 years in an American federal prison for selling the United States' most classified secrets to Israel. Israel granted him citizenship, lobbied for his release and sent Netanyahu when he landed. He announced he is running for the Knesset. Nobody in Washington said a word.

By Sunny Peter

/ 8 May 2026

Spy Who Came In From the Cold — and Ran for Parliament

Alliance by Coercion, Racket by Design

The Trump administration’s approach to alliance management has a consistent logic: pay up or we withdraw. NATO members are being billed. Trade partners are being tariffed. The message is transactional and deliberate. What it is not is an alliance. It is a protection racket.

By Sunny Peter

/ 28 Apr 2026

Semiconductor Chessboard: How the US-China AI Race is Redrawing Global Alliances and Diplomatic Strategy

The US-China rivalry has found its sharpest edge in semiconductors. Washington uses export controls to choke Chinese access to advanced chips. Beijing races to build domestic capacity. Every state in between is being forced to choose sides in a contest they did not start.

By Sunny Peter

/ 12 Nov 2025

Semiconductor Chessboard: How the US-China AI Race is Redrawing Global Alliances and Diplomatic Strategy

The New Scramble for Syria: Turkey, Iran, Russia, and the Gulf States Jockey for Power in Post-Assad Syria

Assad is gone. The scramble has begun. Turkey wants buffer zones. Iran wants its corridor. Russia wants its bases. The Gulf states want influence without commitment. Every outside power has a stake and an agenda. The Syrians are, once again, the last consideration.

By Sunny Peter

/ 8 Nov 2025

The New Scramble for Syria: Turkey, Iran, Russia, and the Gulf States Jockey for Power in Post-Assad Syria