Two Paths: Why States Join or Avoid China’s Belt and Road Initiative
October 12th, 2024
Courtesy of Oxford Academic, an interesting new paper examining why countries join or avoid China’s BRI: Abstract Although China’s motives for developing the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) have been well studied, scholars have yet to comprehensively examine why states seek to join the initiative. We fill this gap by examining how and why states […]
Read more »Can China’s Global South Strategy Achieve Its Objectives in Central Asia?
October 12th, 2024
Courtesy of The Diplomat, a report on China’s foreign policy toward Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan which has had contrasting results over the years: The notion of the Global South has been characterized as “an intellectually elusive but emotionally rich term.” The multifaceted term Global South can refer to over 120 countries. It is used to describe regions and nations suffering […]
Read more »Copper: Now and in the Future
October 12th, 2024
Via Geopolitical Futures, an interesting look at the geopolitical challenges in copper mining are significant, particularly in Latin America and Africa: Copper is crucial to the global economy, and its importance is only going up. Historically, copper has been vital in construction, electrical networks and transportation. But now it is also in high demand as […]
Read more »Congo Wants to Pivot Away From China’s Dominance Over Its Mining
October 11th, 2024
Via Bloomberg, an article on the DRC’s desire to pivot away from Chinese dominance over its mining sector: Goverment blocked Chinese bid for Chemaf copper-cobalt firm Country mulls tender to refurbish rail to border with Angola Democratic Republic of Congo’s top mining official said the country is courting new investors for its world-class deposits of […]
Read more »The East-West Battle for Serbia
October 11th, 2024
Via Real Clear Defense, commentary on the global interest in Serbia: Serbia, like Yugoslavia, before it, has long been a major prize in the East-West struggle for ascendancy in Europe. In this East-West rivalry there is no way to stop foreign influences from entering Serbia, at least not in the short-term, especially given its complex […]
Read more »Africa: Two Railroads, One Vision
October 10th, 2024
Via the Center for Strategic and International Studies, commentary on the two new African railway projects: There has been a lot of talk lately about trains in southern Africa. Driven in part by the race for critical minerals, the United States and China are seemingly backing rival railroads to secure access to 70 percent of […]
Read more »Focusing primarily on The New Seven Sisters - the largely state owned petroleum companies from the emerging world that have become key players in the oil & gas industry as identified by Carola Hoyos, Chief Energy Correspondent for The Financial Times - but spanning other nascent opportunities around the globe that may hold potential in the years ahead, Wildcats & Black Sheep is a place for the adventurous to contemplate & evaluate the emerging markets of tomorrow.