Weekly Drop: Much Ado about Far Flung Places

After three weeks of geopolitical chaos...here are some of the threads that may have slipped by, and what they indicate

As you’ll have noticed, we didn’t do our weekly drop the past two weeks. Partially this was due to distraction with some of our other projects, but the last fortnight has been ground-shaking in terms of geostrategic implications moving forward. Keeping track of them is – at best – trying¹.

So this week we’re covering the previous three weeks in themes that have stuck with us. Russia and North Korea took actions that seemed relatively quiet on the world stage, but hint at trends that bleak for democracies around the globe. And Trump's proclivity for the headlines seems to be jarring with more astute approaches to America's immediate interests both north and south of the border. And tensions between Taiwan and China ratchet ever higher.

Myanmar & North Korea: Democratic Absences

The military junta of Myanmar has been at war with rebel and resistance groups since 2021. While it has been on the back foot on the ground following its push of Operation 1027, the junta still retains key capabilit…