Indonesia Potentially Set to Take on China and Claim Leadership of ‘Moderate’ Islam

Indonesia Potentially Set to Take on China and Claim Leadership of ‘Moderate’ Islam

President Joko Widodo’s recent cabinetreshuffle suggests that Indonesia may adopt a more critical attitudetowards China and reinforce government support for efforts by Nahdlatul Ulama(NU), the world’s largest Muslim movement, to reform Islam and position theSoutheast Asian state as a key player in a battlewith Middle Eastern rivals for the soul of Islam. Mr. Widodo signaled…

Turkey Pivots to the Center of the New Great Game

Turkey Pivots to the Center of the New Great Game

When it comes to sowing – and profiting – from division, Erdogan’s Turkey is quite the superstar. Under the delightfully named Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), the Trump administration duly slapped sanctions on Ankara for daring to buy Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile defence systems. The sanctions focused on Turkey’s defence procurement agency, the…

Europe Embraces Multipolar World With Nord Stream 2 and China Investment Deal

Europe Embraces Multipolar World With Nord Stream 2 and China Investment Deal

Material need usually wins out against ideological creed. Necessity over dogma. Twice this week, the European Union demonstrated that maxim in practice when it rebuffed Washington over the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline with Russia; and then again over a major investment pact with China. Germany’s Foreign Minister Heiko Maas pointedly stated this week that…

Eurasian Economic Union Enjoying Broader Cooperation

Eurasian Economic Union Enjoying Broader Cooperation

Noteworthy events to do with increased integration within the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) took place in the first half of December 2020. On December 7, representatives of the EAEU and China met during the special negotiation session called “Towards a bigger Eurasia via the integration of nations, businesses and people”, which was organized by the…

China’s Belt and Road Is the Way for Europe and Asia to Cut Colonial Western Ties and Prosper

China’s Belt and Road Is the Way for Europe and Asia to Cut Colonial Western Ties and Prosper

The Belt and Road Initiative, China’s superproject to create a New Silk Road across the entire Eurasian continent, could become a bridge to the future for everyone along the road, bringing both economic and political liberation. In October 2008 a special train arrived at the port of Hamburg – Germany’s biggest port in the country’s…