In January 2026, the diplomatic rift between the United States and the Kingdom of Denmark has escalated into a full-blown security crisis. The catalyst for this friction was the January 3rd capture of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela (Operation Absolute Resolve), which emboldened the Trump administration to pivot its “transactional realism” toward the Arctic.
As we enter the first week of January 2026, the global landscape is defined by the fallout from the U.S. military operation in Venezuela and a critical “election-year” posture from Washington. The year ahead suggests a shift from the post-war multilateral order toward a more transactional, high-stakes era of “sovereignty-first” politics.
As of January 5, 2026, the aftermath of Operation Absolute Resolve has left Venezuela in a state of strategic confusion. While President Trump celebrated the “capture” of Nicolás Maduro as a historic law enforcement success, the administration’s stated plan to “run” the country has met with significant domestic and international skepticism.
In January 2026, the Abraham Accords are entering their most critical phase, as the pragmatic “outside-in” strategy for regional peace faces the dual pressures of Iranian proxy escalation and the internal institutionalization of political Islam.
In 2025, China successfully positioned itself as a “stability leader” by exploiting Donald Trump’s transactional foreign policy. While Washington disrupted alliances and institutional norms, Beijing unveiled its Global Governance Initiative, offering the Global South a pluralistic, non-liberal alternative to a fragmenting Western order.
In 2025, the “America First” foreign policy yielded a contradictory scorecard of five successes and five failures. While the administration successfully pivoted toward a more realistic National Security Strategy and engaged in pragmatic diplomacy with Russia, Belarus, and the Houthis, it simultaneously stumbled into escalatory patterns in Iran, Venezuela, and Syria.
In 2025, Palestinian citizens of Israel faced a historic turning point marked by systemic exclusion and record-breaking violence. As the Gaza conflict entered its second year, the Israeli state intensified structural shifts that transformed Palestinian citizens from a marginalized minority into a population facing existential political challenges.
Trump’s 2025 National Security Strategy prioritizes economic competition over ideological warfare, reframing China as a commercial rival rather than a systemic threat. By reviving the Monroe Doctrine and demanding allies triple defense spending, the administration seeks “low-cost hegemony” while shifting America’s strategic center of gravity toward the Pacific Rim.
Israel’s landmark recognition of Somaliland in 2025 has ignited a geopolitical firestorm in the Horn of Africa. This strategic move directly challenges Turkey’s massive regional investments and energy projects, turning the Red Sea corridor into a high-stakes arena for great power competition and maritime control.
In a major shift toward “business-oriented diplomacy,” President Trump has appointed Detroit entrepreneur Mark Savaya as the U.S. Special Envoy to Iraq. A Chaldean-American with deep regional ties but no traditional diplomatic background, Savaya is tasked with stabilizing Iraq’s economy and curbing Iranian influence. His mission—focused on disarming militias and opening Iraqi oil and energy markets—signals a pragmatic, deal-driven era for U.S.-Iraq relations that prioritizes economic sovereignty over conventional foreign policy.
The competition between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi has shifted from healthy rivalry to a high-stakes struggle for regional gravity. As Saudi Arabia lures 675 global headquarters with tax incentives, it directly challenges the UAE’s hub model. This economic friction, mirrored in political clashes over Sudan and Yemen, threatens to destabilize Gulf integration and overall regional security.
President Trump has officially designated fentanyl a “Weapon of Mass Destruction,” equating cartels with terrorists to justify extrajudicial military strikes. Mirroring the Iraq War’s rhetoric, this strategy bypasses Congress and international coalitions, raising fears of domestic military deployment and imminent regime change efforts in Venezuela.
