On August 7, Pakistan, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia signed a joint defense agreement stipulating that an armed attack against one member will be regarded as an attack against all. The agreement, known as the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, is significant because it brings together three powerful Sunni-majority states under a collective-defense framework at a time…

ContextPresident Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met this week in Beijing, a summit originally scheduled for April and was stalled due to the ongoing US-Iran war. What was expected to be a reset moment for US-China relations was overshadowed by the Middle East conflict, which carries significant implications for the global economy. Conflict…

Trump, MBS, And The Remaking Of U.S.–Saudi Relations When Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in New Delhi in December last year to attend the 23rd annual India-Russia summit, expectations were ripe for breakthrough agreements in energy and defense. Yet, despite the two countries agreeing to expand economic cooperation and reaffirming their “special and privileged strategic…