The European Commission has proposed the EU's first five Defence Projects of Common Interest. The distribution of countries across them does not track defence spending, geography or threat exposure in the way the surrounding rhetoric would predict.

Section 219 of the 2027 NDAA — expanding US-Israel defence cooperation — passed the House on July 23 by just four votes. If Democrats retake the House in November, that margin most likely disappears.

Syria's future is not being decided in Damascus alone. It is being shaped in Suwayda, in Ankara, in Tel Aviv, in the northeast, and in Doha and Moscow as much as in Washington.

Egypt entered 2026 with $163.7 billion in external debt and its heaviest repayment schedule in modern history. A decade of IMF programmes stabilised the economy without reducing its dependence on external financing, leaving no buffers when the Iran conflict began.

Ending a war and shaping what comes after are two entirely different undertakings — and the second demands as much strategy as the first.

Greece moved faster than any other European state when the Iran conflict began — deploying frigates, F-16s, and Patriot batteries while maintaining it was not involved. Greek-operated Patriots intercepted Iranian missiles over Saudi Arabia. A US carrier strike group was serviced at Souda Bay. The gap between Athens's stated position and its operational footprint is not accidental.

On 1 April, Bulgaria's caretaker government announced the establishment of a crisis headquarters to coordinate the monitoring and control of commodity and fuel prices, citing the Middle East conflict as the primary driver of price volatility.

Fifty-seven percent of young Europeans say they prefer democracy. Twenty-one percent say they would support an authoritarian government under certain circumstances. Only 6% believe their political system is currently functioning well. These are the results of a survey of 6,703 young people across seven European countries conducted in 2024. The preference for democracy is becoming more conditional, and the electoral consequences are already visible.

Sustained drone attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure are reshaping the economics of modern war. Low-cost systems are being used to pressure high-value assets, exposing vulnerabilities in oil supply, air defence, and global supply chains.

Corruption and political instability are not confined to any one geography, governance structure, or level of development. A look at three very different countries — Bulgaria in Europe, Nigeria in West Africa, and Nepal in South Asia — illustrates this point.

We are pleased to welcome Sarantis George Santas to Levant Foresights as a Political Analyst.

The IRGC was formed during the revolutionary consolidation of power led by Ruhollah Khomeini. Article 150 of Iran’s constitution defines its purpose as safeguarding “the Revolution and its achievements.” From the outset, it was intended not merely as a military body but as the ideological guarantor of the new state.

Levant was a name historically applied to the eastern Mediterranean coastal lands of Asia Minor and Phoenicia (modern-day Turkey, Syria, and Lebanon). In a wider sense, the term can also be used to encompass the entire coastline from Greece to Egypt.

Bulgaria’s political cycle has entered a phase where caretaker governance is no longer exceptional. Since 2021, repeated elections, fractured coalitions, and unresolved corruption disputes have prevented durable parliamentary majorities. With another election scheduled for 19 April 2026, the nomination of Andrey Gyurov as caretaker Prime Minister comes at a moment when institutional fatigue and public distrust define the country’s political equilibrium. The current crisis tra

The debate surrounding Donald Trump’s return to the U.S. presidency has raised a concern in global politics: whether alliances can remain effective when their principal anchor increasingly approaches them as transactional arrangements rather than strategic commitments. For investors, policymakers, and multilateral actors, this is less a question of leadership style than of systemic resilience. Recent remarks by Finnish President Alexander Stubb, in conversation with Foreign A

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani met in Beijing towards the end of 2025. This meeting bears significance to the situation in MENA and Levant Foresights analysed how political stakeholders globally interpreted its geopolitical meaning. Wang Yi pledged that China supports “security and development” in Syria, that it is open to helping with Syria’s reconstruction, and it respects Syria’s independent choices. It became apparent that

Dear Friends of Levant Foresights, 2026 just finished rolling out, just a magic carpet. My Singapore connection, MN, just texted me, after 6 years of limited contacts. The time was 08 and 13 where I live and 15-13 where she and her family are based. She was en route to her fitness after dropping Elisa off at a trampoline site. I rang her to ascertain that we are all healthy and that we care about each other & about the world beyond us. We ticked most key boxes in 9 minutes, i

Стрелбата повиши шансовете на Тръмп, световният ред ще се промени ( 24chasa.bg ) A reprint from 24 Chasa, a 10 million monthly unique users independent media based in Bulgaria. Copyright observed. Levant Foresights believes yesterday's attempt on presidential candidate Trump's life was in the making for several months, as his stance to win elections improved despite all headwinds. A popular American proverb says "It's all about business". You better believe it: he now has rea

Over a century ago, Prussian general and military theorist Carl Von Clausewitz said that war is merely an extension of diplomacy by other means. Though some may find this statement cynical, it does appear to have plenty of empirical grounding, especially when looking at the history of Israeli-Palestinian relations. Before the outbreak of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 1948, Pope Pius XII advocated for a two-state solution and a neutral standing with a legal safeguard of

Flash back to June 2023, first team meeting War, skyrocketing inflation, food insecurity, energy crisis, cost-of-living crisis and a potential recession linger an increasing leaderless "free world" and present most people with weekly challenges of personal choices. We foresee the unexpected: EU members stopping aid to Ukraine, Argentina's chance to reverse a 20-year Peronist limbo in shatters and Moscow recruiting Hezbollah militants. Levant Foresights brings together exper