Greenland is not for sale. That was the message from Denmark and Greenland after the White House summit on the 14th January. Meanwhile, President Trump says the US needs to “own” Greenland for national security, to stop Russia and China in the Arctic. How did an island of 57,0000 people suddenly get flung into the…
Dr. Gabriella Gricius is a Senior Research Associate at the Arctic Institute, Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Konstanz and a Fellow and the Media Coordinator with the North American and Arctic Defence and Security Network (NAADSN). She received her Ph.D. from Colorado State University’s Political Science Department, where her dissertation explored the prevalence of…
The defining feature of today’s international system is not the emergence of a new balance of power, but the absence of a shared framework through which power is exercised. Rather than transition, the system is characterised by fragmentation, uncertainty, and weak consensus over rules, norms, and responsibilities. In a recent episode of The International Risk…
This episode with Dr Bobo Lo explores the breakdown of the post-Cold War rules-based international order and what is emerging in its place. We examine why today’s global system is better understood as a condition of disorder rather than a coherent new order, shaped by diffuse power, weakening institutions, and growing mistrust of Western norms, and how the…
Bobo Lo is an independent international relations analyst and a Non-Resident Fellow at the Lowy Institute, Sydney. He was formerly Head of the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House, and Deputy Head of Mission at the Australian Embassy in Moscow. Past positions and associations have included Director of the China and Russia Programmes at…
How two small Spanish cities on Africa’s coast expose bigger problems in migration, sovereignty, and maritime power Ceuta and Melilla embody anticonformism in the geopolitical order as two beautiful Spanish cities situated on the African continent. Yet they sit at the centre of Europe’s most complicated border politics. In practice, they are more than enclaves:…
Ángeles Jiménez García-Carriazo holds a Ph.D. in Law, specializing in the Law of the Sea and Public International Law, from the Universidad de Jaén, where she defended her dissertation on “The extension of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea – with special reference…
In this episode, Dominic Bowen and Ángeles Jiménez discuss the geopolitical significance of Ceuta and Melilla as Europe’s only land borders with Africa, and why these two Spanish cities have become focal points of sovereignty disputes, migration pressure, and strategic ambiguity between Spain, Morocco, and the European Union. Drawing on legal, historical, and geopolitical perspectives,…
Synthetic biology is increasingly recognised as one of the most consequential technological domains shaping global risk in the coming decade, with major implications highlighted in recent reports by the OECD and other international policy bodies. Advances in biological engineering are already transforming medicine, industrial production, and climate innovation, a trajectory documented in futures‑oriented assessments of…
This episode with Dr Tae Seok Moon explores how synthetic biology is rapidly transforming medicine, climate innovation, and industrial production, while introducing new layers of international risk, ethical tension, and governance challenges. We examine how engineered biology is already being used to fight disease, reduce emissions, and address pollution, alongside growing concerns about dual-use risk, biosecurity, and…
