Weekly Highlights – Page 2 – think tanks monitor

A yellow Komatsu excavator clearing rubble from a heavily damaged multi-story residential building.

How the Iran War Became America’s Ukraine

March 30, 2026

The U.S. strategy in Iran has devolved into a grinding war of attrition mirroring Russia’s quagmire in Ukraine, as initial hopes for a swift “decapitation strike” fail against Iran’s geographic leverage. With the Strait of Hormuz blockade triggering the largest energy disruption in history and U.S. precision munition stockpiles depleting at an unsustainable rate, Washington faces a strategic stalemate with no viable ground option and no clear path to a decisive victory.

Joe Biden silhouetted walking in US Capitol Rotunda towards a backlit American flag.

Congress Gave Trump Its Power. Now It Doesn’t Know How to Get It Back

March 26, 2026

Congress’s long‑running surrender of oversight has left it unable to restrain Trump’s Iran war, as lawmakers who ceded power now watch an unauthorized conflict expand, deepen executive dominance, and set precedents future presidents will inherit.

A vast industrial natural gas processing facility under a hazy sky with numerous cranes and storage tanks.

Israel Strikes Iran’s Gas Field, Iran Hits Qatar’s and the Energy War Goes Nuclear

March 19, 2026

The energy war has “gone nuclear” with strikes on the shared South Pars/North Dome field. By crippling Ras Laffan, Iran forced Qatar and the GCC to abandon neutrality. Trump’s threat to obliterate the entire field risks a generational supply shock, welding angry Gulf allies to Washington’s military campaign.

A large oil tanker ship sailing on choppy ocean waters under a hazy sky with other vessels in the distance.

Israel Invades Lebanon as Iran Drone Shuts Down Dubai Airport

March 17, 2026

Israel’s push deeper into Lebanon, Iran’s drone strike that shut Dubai’s airport, and a still‑closed Strait of Hormuz show a war widening on every axis. With Gulf capitals under fire, oil above $100, and sacred sites hit by falling debris, Day 17 underscores a conflict accelerating faster than any effort to contain it.

Donald Trump pointing forward confidently while speaking at a rally with an American flag background.

The Rules-Based Order Is Dead. Trump Just Buried It.

March 15, 2026

Trump’s 78‑day cascade of abductions, assassinations, tariffs, and an unauthorized war has shattered what remained of the post‑1945 rules‑based order. With the UN Charter sidelined and sovereignty treated as optional, the Global South bears the brunt — from tariffs to aid cuts to oil shocks — as a multipolar, power‑driven world accelerates into view.

Protester holding a sign that says "NO MORE WAR CRIMES" with a skull illustration during a street demonstration.

The World War III Has Already Gone Global

March 12, 2026

The assault on Iran is accelerating a broader collapse of the post‑1945 legal order. From Ukraine to Gaza to Tehran, major powers are bypassing the UN system, normalizing unilateral force, and eroding sovereignty norms. As institutions weaken and nuclear incentives rise, the world drifts toward a multipolar landscape defined less by rules than by raw power.

Donald Trump standing under a large waving American flag with construction cranes in the background.

A War Without an Endgame and Americans Know It

March 12, 2026

Public support for Trump’s Iran war is eroding as the administration cycles through shifting justifications with no defined endgame. Polls show most Americans doubt Iran posed an imminent threat, oppose escalation, and don’t trust Trump’s judgment. With objectives unclear and munitions draining, the conflict risks drifting without a political destination.

A digital collage featuring a central portrait of Ali Khamenei surrounded by scattered United States five, ten, and twenty-dollar bills.

Trump’s Iran War May Leave the Dollar’s Reign Damaged

March 11, 2026

Trump’s Iran war has triggered oil shocks, inflation pressure, and market turmoil, briefly lifting the dollar while undermining trust in the system behind it. Supply‑chain hits, Fed turmoil, and sanctions whiplash deepen global doubts. China, Russia, and energy importers are accelerating moves away from dollar dependence — a shift the crisis may harden.

Ali Khamenei pinning a medal onto the chest of Amir Ali Hajizadeh's military uniform, while Mohammad Bagheri and Abdolrahim Mousavi watch from the background.

Iran’s ‘Mosaic Defense’: The Doctrine Built to Outlast Decapitation

March 10, 2026

Iran’s “mosaic defense” is built for decapitation: 31 autonomous IRGC units, layered successors, and dispersed stockpiles keep the system fighting despite leadership losses. As Mojtaba Khamenei takes power, fragmented command creates both resilience and volatility — from rogue strikes to Hormuz disruption — turning time, terrain, and cost asymmetry into Iran’s core weapons.

Container ship crossing between the US and Chinese flags representing global trade tensions.

Global Trade Caught Between American Chaos and Chinese Calm

February 24, 2026

Global trade is being squeezed between U.S. tariff volatility and China’s projection of stability. Trump’s rapid tariff shifts froze the EU’s Turnberry deal and rattled partners from India to ASEAN. Meanwhile, China’s record surplus masks weak domestic demand. For third countries, the real choice is between American policy whiplash and Chinese dependency.

A young boy sitting on a dirt mound in the foreground, looking toward a large grid of open rectangular burial plots made of concrete blocks, where bodies wrapped in white shrouds are being placed by a man wearing a mask and a teal hoodie.

Gaza’s Demilitarization Trap: Why Disarmament Spells Erasure

February 19, 2026

The ceasefire may have paused the bombing, but it has not paused the machinery of dispossession. With more than 71,600 Palestinians killed and a humanitarian system collapsing under blockade, Washington and Tel Aviv have made reconstruction conditional on one thing: disarmament. For Palestinians, this is not a peace plan — it is a demand to surrender the last remaining instrument of political agency.

Gavin Newsom in a blue suit sitting at a white conference table, gesturing while speaking to three other people in a room with warm yellow walls and a large artistic painting of a face.

When Federal Leadership Falters: Subnational Climate Action Fills Global Policy Void

February 14, 2026

As federal climate leadership becomes inconsistent, subnational governments are stepping into the vacuum, building their own diplomatic networks, regulatory frameworks, and climate alliances. This is not a symbolic gesture — it is the construction of a parallel climate governance system that increasingly shapes global policy.

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Category: Weekly Highlights

How the Iran War Became America’s Ukraine

Congress Gave Trump Its Power. Now It Doesn’t Know How to Get It Back

Israel Strikes Iran’s Gas Field, Iran Hits Qatar’s and the Energy War Goes Nuclear

Israel Invades Lebanon as Iran Drone Shuts Down Dubai Airport

The Rules-Based Order Is Dead. Trump Just Buried It.

The World War III Has Already Gone Global

A War Without an Endgame and Americans Know It

Trump’s Iran War May Leave the Dollar’s Reign Damaged

Iran’s ‘Mosaic Defense’: The Doctrine Built to Outlast Decapitation

Global Trade Caught Between American Chaos and Chinese Calm

Gaza’s Demilitarization Trap: Why Disarmament Spells Erasure

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