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The Factory, the Office and the West: Reading the Sino-Indian Rivalry Back to Economic Reality
No. 60, Jul.-Aug. 2026 This essay looks again at the Chinese and Indian “economic miracles”, not as events that cannot be explained, but as the results of institutional reform. It then asks where the rivalry between the two Asian giants is being fought today. The main argument is that the United States and the European Union are not the main actors in this story, but external arenas in which the competition between China and India is expressed and measured. By looking at the American side (tariffs and “de-risking”) and the European side (regulation, connectivity and trade agreements), the essay shows how China and India turn Western policy into strategic decisions aimed, in the end, at each other. The conclusion is that globalisation today has not removed the rivalry between states, but only moved it to a new place and that the result will depend on the quality of institutions rather than on the idea of a “miracle”. More
Romania 2030: Integration, Resilience, and Reform Momentum
No. 60, Jul.-Aug. 2026 Romania approaches 2030 at a moment when fiscal consolidation, pension sustainability, energy transition, governance reform, security pressures, and EU‑funding absorption increasingly converge into a single strategic challenge. This article synthesises insights from the previous six parts of the series to outline how Romania’s structural vulnerabilities – ranging from demographic decline to administrative fragmentation – interact with its substantial advantages in energy, NATO positioning, and European integration. The central argument is that Romania’s trajectory will depend less on isolated policy interventions and more on coherent, sequenced, and sustained reforms capable of strengthening resilience and long‑term competitiveness. The 2030 horizon presents risks, but also an exceptional window for transformation anchored in EU, NATO, and OECD frameworks. More
The Concert of Terra: History Does Not Repeat Itself, but It Rhymes
No. 59, May-Jun. 2026 In May 2026, Beijing held two summits with Washington and Moscow six days apart, in this order and not by chance: Donald Trump on May 14 and Vladimir Putin on May 20. The immediate comments focused, predictably, on trade deals, gas pipelines and the rhetoric of summit diplomacy. This is the level at which the 24-hour media cycle operates. But there is a deeper level to these visits, which does not appear in the joint communiqués and which deserves patient analysis: Beijing did not react to world events, but orchestrated a deliberate sequence through which it positioned itself as the indispensable pivot of a multipolar system in search of stabilization. More
Making Sense of Speed and Turmoil in the Age of AI – China, the Middle East and the Rest
No. 59, May-Jun. 2026 At the beginning of May I was invited to participate in an international conference in Budapest jointly organized by the Center for International Economy at Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC) and the China-CEE Institute. The theme of the conference was “Geopolitical Stress Test: The Middle East Crisis and Europe’s China Dilemma”. It was a good opportunity to catch up with researchers that I have met before, to revisit the MCC Campus and to prepare for an exchange of ideas on one of the hottest topics of today’s political scene. More
Why Do We Love Football?
No. 59, May-Jun. 2026 Football (or soccer, as it is called in English-speaking ex-colonial zones; the term “soccer” was coined by English university students, deriving from “Association (Football)”, and was intended to distinguish the code of 11’s football from that of 15’s football, or rugby, or “rugger”) is almost omnipresent on the planet. This sport is a magnet for the masses, and its popularity constantly increases, according to statistics and worldwide reach. For sure, there are so many other sports games that are also very attractive, but somehow football stands out at the top of the list. However, did you ever wonder why this phenomenon is happening? More
When Chaos Becomes a Playing System
No. 59, May-Jun. 2026 Tactical systems in football are a thing at least since the Scots put the ball on the grass and developed the passing game at the expense of the “kick-and-rush”. If kick-and-rush can hardly be called a tactical system (there was / is nothing systemic about it), the passing game gave rise to the WM formation, later tweaked by Hungarian coaches such as Márton Bukovi and Gusztáv Sebes. And even with the WM, a distinction must be made between a playing formation (which it more closely resembled) and a tactical system (which it was not yet). But it became one, at least from the moment of Helenio Herrera’s Catenaccio, followed by Cruijff’s Totaalvoetbal, and more recently, Spanish tiki-taka. More
Technocracy and the Economy
No. 59, May-Jun. 2026 The words “technocrat” and “technocracy” have recently returned to public discourse in Romania. It appears that they were coined in 1919 by the American engineer W. H. Smith to designate a mode of economic organisation inspired by the rational principles of the natural sciences. The appeal of this current of thought was amplified by the disastrous effects of the Great Depression of the 1930s. Today, governments composed of technocrats are often regarded as viable solutions in times of crisis or when political leaders prove timid, indecisive, or discredited. More
When Consensus Becomes Systemic Risk: Mark Twain and the Failure of Experts
No. 59, May-Jun. 2026 Financial crises are often explained as failures of markets, regulation, or monetary policy. More often than not, however, they begin as failures of judgment. That may sound obvious. Yet modern societies continue to place extraordinary faith in expert opinion, particularly when uncertainty is high. Investors seek forecasts. Governments seek guidance. Central banks seek credibility. The assumption is that more expertise leads to better decisions. More
One Fifth of Young Romanian People Neither in Employment nor in Education or Training
No. 59, May-Jun. 2026 Last year, almost one fifth of young Romanian people were neither in employment nor in education or training (NEET), according to data compiled and published by Eurostat. It is the largest proportion among all EU member states, well above the European average, and the situation has improved very little over the last ten years, in contrast to the progress recorded in neighbouring countries. More
Positional Power Plays between the USA, China and Russia: The Case of Iran and Venezuela
No. 59, May-Jun. 2026 In recent decades, particularly in the aftermath of the Second World War, Western Europe has sought to withdraw from the logic of realist geopolitics, still bearing the scars of the many wars that have shaped European history, seeking peace through interdependence, integration and intergovernmental leadership. Although most EU member states are NATO members with the exception of Malta, Cyprus, Austria and Ireland, and armed forces from Western European states have participated in conflicts abroad (e. g. Iraq, Afghanistan), the memory of war and the brutality of realism-driven politics is largely a relic best locked away, an ever-present ghost the EU guards against, confined to the borders of faraway lands – other continents, other countries outside the EU’s borders – that is, until Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine forced Western Europe to acknowledge the reality of war as an ever-present possibility right near its doorstep. The United States, in turn, underwent several shifts, from its ideological and geopolitical Cold War to a unipolar world order that eventually turned multipolar, seeking to maintain its international presence in a world where its dominance following the crash of the USSR began to face the emergence of new poles of power. The United States’ military (through NATO) and diplomatic intervention in the Yugoslav Wars, most notably in Serbia and Kosovo, mirrored its concern for global security in an increasingly globalized environment, a mindset which was further cemented in the US National Security Strategy of 2000. The 9/11 attacks and the ensuing war on terror redefined the US security strategy, further amplifying its focus on global security. In hindsight, the absence of an unclassified national security strategy in 2003 makes sense given the US-led invasion of Iraq. The United States’ approach has always been marked by a need to maintain its competitiveness while also focusing on cooperation with its allies with a focus on global peace. Yet the most recent document the White House Administration published in November 2025 marks a shift in tone as per its own admission. The United States’ National Security Strategy, is unapologetic in its realist approach, its realpolitik tone evident even as it declares itself “realistic without being realist”. More
Energy Security and the Green Transition in Central Europe: Between Necessity and Resistance
No. 59, May-Jun. 2026 Romania’s energy security and green transition have become increasingly interdependent, shaped by both regional geopolitical pressures and the obligations of EU climate policy. While Romania benefits from low energy-import dependency and a structurally resilient electricity mix dominated by natural gas, nuclear, and hydropower, its progress in renewable energy deployment has been slow. Drawing on Eurostat, ENTSO-E, EC Climate Monitoring Reports, and national energy-planning documents, this article blends security analysis with transition governance to evaluate Romania’s energy system between 2015 and 2025. The findings show a country well-positioned for resilience, but institutionally slow to transition, with grid constraints, weak permitting systems, and regulatory inconsistency acting as major barriers. The discussion interprets these dynamics through regional comparisons and EU conditionality, proposing strategic pathways for Romania’s 2030 energy future. More
Gambling with God
No. 59, May-Jun. 2026 This year, I spent Orthodox Easter several thousand kilometres away from home, in a corner of the world where the Christian calendar leaves barely a faint imprint on the public rhythm of life. My stay in Malaysia, at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, through an Erasmus+ mobility program – interrupted by a brief foray into Singapore, coinciding with the Easter Vigil in the Holy Night, when, instead of the candles of home, I found myself gazing at the surreal illuminations of Gardens by the Bay –, placed me in a world that seemed, at first glance, radically other. More
