Rubrics » Bridging News
The Geopolitics of Indignation and the Paradox of the Taboo Peace
No. 52, Mar.-Apr. 2025 For years, even whispering the word peace in the context of Ukraine was considered an act of geopolitical heresy. To suggest negotiations was to be instantly branded a Putin apologist, a traitor to democracy, a naive dreamer unwilling to confront the world’s harsh realities. The official narrative was simple and rigid: war was not just necessary but morally imperative, a struggle between good and evil that could only be resolved through complete and total victory.And yet, suddenly, everything has changed. The United States, under Donald Trump, has abruptly pivoted towards ending the war, leaving European leaders in a state of ideological havoc. Those who once fetishized war as an existential duty, who derided diplomacy as cowardice, are now scrambling, utterly unprepared to cope with the new geopolitical reality. More
Flat Earth and Rare Earths
No. 52, Mar.-Apr. 2025 The rules-based international order, through which global organizations were conceived for collective problem-solving, for reducing protectionist impulses and for stabilizing the postwar global economy, is a feeble exception to the world’s true “state of nature”: the anarchy of the balance of power. Fetishized by the idealists who naively believe in the vigor of its architecture, this “order” makes, by comparison, the flatness of the Earth seem like a reasonable hypothesis. More
Stuck in the Middle: The “Sale” of Tiran and Sanafir Islands
No. 51, Jan.-Feb. 2025 Egypt and Saudi Arabia, two worlds seemingly separated by the waters of the Red Sea, are bound by a connection that transcends physical borders. On one hand, Egypt, an ancient cradle of civilization, serves as the bridge between Africa and the Middle East, where deeply rooted traditions forge an identity that stands resilient against the winds of change. On the other, Saudi Arabia stretches vast and enigmatic, a land where the desert meets modern dreams, and the interplay of oil wealth and religion creates an economic and geopolitical powerhouse that resonates far beyond its borders. More
The Linguistic Divide: How Philological Decisions Shaped Markets and Economies
No. 51, Jan.-Feb. 2025 In My Russia (Romanian language edition at Curtea Veche, 2024, in translation of Adriana Dănilă), Mikhail Shishkin argues that one of the defining moments in Russian history was the choice of the “Old Church” language for Kievan Rus instead of Latin. This decision, which had major consequences for the cultural, scientific, and geopolitical development of the Russian sphere, cannot be attributed to a single ruler. Rather, it was a long historical process linked to the influence of Byzantium and the Christianization of Kievan Rus. It is true that the seeds were sown by Vladimir I of Kiev (978–1015), who decided to Christianize Kievan Rus in 988, adopting Byzantine Orthodoxy as the official religion. Through this decision, the path of the Slavic liturgical tradition, introduced by Saints Cyril and Methodius, was chosen, making Old Slavonic the liturgical and administrative language of the emerging Russian state. The decision was consolidated during the reigns of Yaroslav the Wise (1019-1054) and Ivan III (1462-1505), the latter’s rule coinciding with the period when, after the fall of Constantinople in 1453, Russia proclaimed itself the heir to the Byzantine Empire, and Moscow began to be regarded as the “Third Rome”. By choosing a language within the Byzantine sphere of influence, Kievan Rus distanced itself from Latin (the language of the Catholic world) in favour of the Orthodox model. The choice belonged to Vladimir I, who had to decide between Orthodoxy, Catholic Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. More
The Caribbean Crossroads of Empires – St. Croix from Spain to the US
No. 51, Jan.-Feb. 2025 St. Croix Island is one of the most interesting places in the Lesser Antilles, and is today part of the US Virgin Islands. In addition to its indigenous history of habitation, the strategically located island has been passed around by almost every major empire of the era before arriving in 1917 under US rule, where it is located today and is part of an unincorporated territory and therefore not part of a US state with Senate representation or electoral votes for president. How it ended up in this situation is a fascinating discussion and its unique blend of cultures, including the Danish culture which otherwise became submerged in the US cultural mainstream in Northern US states. More
București-Ilfov, Leading Region in EU at Work Intensity
No. 51, Jan.-Feb. 2025 The work intensity of a household is the ratio of the total number of months that adult household members have worked during the income reference year and the total number of months the same household members theoretically could have worked in the same period. It is defined in levels, ranging from very low (household working time was equal to or less than 20% of the full potential) to very high (working time was more than 85% of the full potential). Generally, the higher the work intensity within a household (the closer people are to full employment), the lower the probability of being at-risk-of-poverty. More
Nevada’ Bonanza: How this Libertarian Paradise Came to Be
No. 51, Jan.-Feb. 2025 The earliest historical records date back to the 16th century, with the arrival of the first Europeans of Spanish origin in Mexican territory, aiming to conquer new lands for Spain. By 1535, Mexico had already become an integral part of Spain, along with the Nevada region. These were the first beginnings of the area as a component of the Spanish Empire, which also explains the origin of its name. The term “Nevada” has Spanish roots, derived from the expression Sierra Nevada, meaning “snow-covered mountain range” (Behnke, 2016). Thus, the Spanish colonies laid the foundational stones of the state, as they were the ones who associated the term “Nevada” (snow-covered) with the climatic conditions of the region during winter. Later, in 1821, the region became part of Mexico. However, the changes did not stop there, as Nevada was acquired by the United States in 1848, following the Mexican American War. This conflict began on May 13, 1846, after the United States had already annexed Texas a year earlier, paving the way for disputes with Mexico. The issue revolved around the existing border between the U.S. and Mexico, as the latter considered the Nueces River to be the northern boundary of its territory, while the United States claimed the Rio Grande as the official border, which included the Nueces Strip as part of Texan territory (Zeidan, 2024). Additionally, there were disputes regarding the recognition of Texas as American territory, with the United States affirming this claim, while Mexico was entirely opposed. More
Artificial (Un)Intelligence: Beyond Data and Into Human Complexity
No. 51, Jan.-Feb. 2025 The concept of Artificial Intelligence has captivated modern society, offering promises of advances from self-driving cars to digital personal assistants. However, the term “artificial intelligence” carries an inherent contradiction, and is actually an oxymoron. It combines the idea of intelligence—deeply tied to human experience, intuition, creativity, and emotional richness—with the mechanical nature of machine simulation. This contrast invites a deeper exploration of what true intelligence entails. Intelligence is more than the ability to execute tasks or generate outputs; it involves complex faculties like reasoning, self-awareness, and moral judgment, areas that seem beyond the reach of algorithms and data processing. More
California Dreaming: How the West Was Won by the US
No. 51, Jan.-Feb. 2025 The nineteenth century saw the United States aggressively expand its territories, fueled by the Manifest Destiny and the notion that American expansion was a divine purpose. In 1848, this philosophy culminated in the annexation of California, which transformed the American geopolitical landscape and solidified Anglo-American domination. However, California’s annexation was more than just geographical; it also signified a dramatic transformation in which Mexican-Americans were subjugated via systematic exclusion on legal, cultural, and political levels. This heritage informs current challenges of disenfranchisement and cultural repression in Latino communities across the United States, demonstrating how conquest strategies endure in present racial inequities (Perea, 2003; Montejano, 1987). More
The Astonishing Fact Revealed by the Market Economy
No. 51, Jan.-Feb. 2025 The great economist Friedrich Hayek, a Nobel laureate, devoted his entire life to proving that the spontaneous order of the market is superior to the central planning of the economy. In his book entitled The Fatal Conceit: The Errors of Socialism (1988), he states that this is not an opinion, but an “astonishing fact”. More
The Merlion’s Roar: How the Brits Created Singapore, One of the Greatest City-States in the World
No. 51, Jan.-Feb. 2025 Singapore is a symbol of global prosperity, a city-state that dominates world trade with the highest standards of living, being one of the fastest industrializing and economically developing nations in South-East Asia. The modern origins of Singapore can be traced to an acquisition initiated in 1819 and concluded in 1824, when the British purchased the island from the Sultanate of Johor for what would now be considered a trivial amount for such a territory. Long before European colonization, the island had previously hosted the Kingdom of Singapura, or the lion city, while its earlier name, Temasek (possibly Sea Town), later became the name of the country’s sovereign wealth fund. This transaction established the groundwork for Singapore’s prosperity, transforming it from an obscure island into a vital economic centre. More
Between Solidarity and Self-Interest within the European Union: Critical Technologies, Power Struggles, and Backdoor Fragmentation
No. 51, Jan.-Feb. 2025 Industrial Revolutions (IR) have fundamentally revolved around advancements in information and communication technologies (IT&C), facilitating both global integration and connectivity. The power of steam not only moved goods but also transported people and ideas across borders (IR 1.0). This was followed by the rise of electricity, mass production, and the standardization of interchangeable parts (IR 2.0). The subsequent electronic era, marked by the proliferation of microprocessors, set the stage for the widespread diffusion of the internet (IR 3.0). Today, we witness the zenith of these transformations with the emergence of artificial intelligence, biotechnology, cryptocurrencies, and the metaverse (IR 4.0). More
