
Today's 'Strongmen' and the Lost Art of Statecraft
In the second decade of the twenty-first century, the world finds itself awash in strongmen—figures who dominate not only their nations’ politics but also the international imagination.
My Substack offers concise, independent analysis of geopolitics, defence, and global power shifts—connecting strategic developments to their real-world political, security, and societal consequences.
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In the second decade of the twenty-first century, the world finds itself awash in strongmen—figures who dominate not only their nations’ politics but also the international imagination.

When Tolerance Becomes Its Own Undoing

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Leadership, Decline, and the Danger of Self-Deception

The conventional wisdom about a potential U.S.–Iran confrontation is that the United States possesses overwhelming military superiority, while Iran’s options are limited.

For a fleeting moment, it seemed the Middle East had stepped back from the brink of conflict—a rare pause in a region long accustomed to turbulence.

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For much of its modern history, Australia has prided itself on being the “lucky country”: a sunburnt continent blessed with abundant resources, stable institutions, and an unspoken compact of egalitarianism.

Today, as the downing of a U.S.