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Re-Evaluating Europe’s Nuclear Future
By Massimiliano Cintura July 30, 2026 The European Union’s trajectory toward carbon neutrality by 2050 has confronted continental institutions with a complex energy and economics dilemma: reconciling the goal of drastic greenhouse gas emissions reductions with security of supply and cost containment for European households and industries. In recent years, the push toward electrification centered on the integration of non-programmable renewable energy sources (such as solar and wind) into national grids highlighted critical issues related to intermittency and the necessity of securing a reliable baseload power capacity. While the deployment of clean energy proceeds at a steady pace, grid infrastructure restructuring, energy storage systems, and wholesale price volatility have demonstrated that the transition to green energy entails unprecedented and unanticipated financial commitments.
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What Is Iran’s Endgame in the Strait of Hormuz?
GPI hosted a timely discussion on **"What Is Iran's Endgame in the Strait of Hormuz?"** featuring **Ahmad Hashemi** as the speaker and moderated by **Paolo von Schirach**. The conversation examined Iran's strategic objectives in the Strait of Hormuz and the broader implications for regional security, global energy markets, and international geopolitics. Missed the event? Watch the full discussion here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPCZuZf2O3A #Iran #StraitOfHormuz #MiddleEast #Geopolitics #MaritimeSecurity #EnergySecurity #ForeignPolicy #GlobalAffairs #GPI #PolicyAnalysis
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A credible U.S. Africa Strategy must include the Sudan Crisis
by Areig Elhag and Paolo von Schirach July 22,2026 Since February 28, 2026, when direct military confrontation erupted between the United States and Israel on one side and Iran on the other, in what the Pentagon named "Operation Epic Fury," the Red Sea and Gulf regions required a comprehensive threat reassessment. An April 8 ceasefire and the Islamabad negotiations on the 11th of that month failed to produce a final agreement. On April 28, 2026 the Jeddah Gulf consultative summit, chaired by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, placed the Strait of Hormuz and the risks of its closure at the top of the policy agenda.
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What Is Iran’s Endgame in the Strait of Hormuz?
Join us for GPI's upcoming event: "What Is Iran’s Endgame in the Strait of Hormuz?" Speaker: Ahmad Hashemi Moderator: Paolo Von Schirach Join us July,23 2026 12pm EDT on zoom Register here: https://forms.gle/YYCG6EgCMacHF1fPA #Iran #StraitOfHormuz #GlobalAffairs #GPI
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Europe’s facing the China challenge
by Massimiliano Cintura July 21,2026 EU-China trade relations are shaped by China’s domestic imbalances that created chronic industrial overcapacity. The Chinese economy is characterized by a profound imbalance between the enormous capacity of its industrial base and the modest absorption capacity of its domestic market. On the one hand, there is chronic low domestic demand, mostly due to high rates of precautionary savings, fears over the sustainability of the social security system, and the huge losses suffered by middle class Chinese citizens due to the ongoing real estate crisis. On the other hand, Beijing has accelerated a massive influx of public capital, direct subsidies, and state-backed bank loans into advanced industrial sectors
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Will the leadership change in Venezuela restart the energy sector?
By Massimiliano Cintura July 20,2026 The U.S. military intervention in Caracas on January 3, 2026, which culminated in the arrest and rapid extraction of then President Nicolás Maduro, has profoundly altered the political and economic balance In Venezuela and beyond. Today, the country is in the midst of a complex transitional dynamic, administered by an interim executive led by Delcy Rodríguez, Vice President under Maduro. Within this new landscape, divergent forces coexist. On one hand, there is international interest in restoring Venezuelan energy capacity and flows, hopefully accompanied by structural reforms; on the other, we have the urgency of managing a chronic human and infrastructural deficiency in Venezuela, dramatically exposed by the inability to respond to the devastating earthquake that struck the country on June 24, 2026.
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THE FUTURE OF NATO: BETWEEN AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN STRATEGY
By Massimiliano Cintura July 17,2026 NATO was founded in 1949 in the aftermath of the Second World War to preserve peace and security across Western Europe and North America and to safeguard the freedom and security of all its members, against all threats, from all directions. Originally consisting of 12 countries, its membership now encompasses 32 allies. The Alliance’s founding principle of collective defense is “an attack against one is considered an attack against all.”
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From Hormuz to Bab al-Mandab: Tehran’s Levers to Gain the Upper Hand in Negotiations
By Ahmad Hashemi July 16,2026 The 40-day joint U.S. and Israeli military operation against Iran, which began on February 28, 2026, made Iran realize that it has a leverage point as important as, if not more important than, a nuclear bomb: its grip on the Strait of Hormuz. By using this control to exert pressure on global energy flows and other trade, Iran was able to extract concessions from the United States and stop the air war. Now, Iran would like to replicate that success and achieve greater deterrence by expanding its influence over the Bab al-Mandab Strait via its Yemeni proxy force, the Houthis.
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