An analytical assessment, with a Pakistani strategic counterpoint (By Khalid Masood) I. The Thesis: Multialignment Under Stress India enters the final quarter of 2026 practising a doctrine its diplomats call multi-alignment — a deliberate evolution from Cold War non-alignment into something more muscular: deep, simultaneous, issue-based partnerships across every major power bloc, with no permanent…
(By Khalid Masood) Statecraft is not a spectator sport, yet the modern media landscape often treats it as one. In an era defined by 280-character geopolitical analysis, algorithmic outrage, and the relentless 24-hour news cycle, the signal is routinely drowned out by the noise. Mainstream coverage frequently prioritizes speed and sensationalism over context, leaving the…
(By Khalid Masood) Introduction In the autumn of 2001, the United States discovered that counterterrorism was the most convertible currency in international politics. Within weeks of the September 11 attacks, Washington had assembled what senior State Department officials described as “a coalition against terrorism unlike any other”: more than ninety nations arrested or detained over…
Explainer: How counterterrorism evolved from a purely military doctrine into a multidimensional instrument of foreign policy — and why 2026 exposed the limits of that transformation. (By Khalid Masood) On May 6, 2026, the White House released its new Counterterrorism Strategy, promising a “return to common sense.” Four months earlier, on January 7, presidential memoranda…
(By Khalid Masood) Introduction: The Most Allied Ally — and the Most Distrusted Partner No bilateral relationship in modern diplomatic history has been described in such contradictory terms as the Pakistan-US alliance. Pakistan has been called America’s “most allied ally” — yet it has also been labelled its “most sanctioned ally.” Washington has poured more…
(By Khalid Masood) Introduction Few countries occupy as consequential a geopolitical position as Pakistan. The world’s fifth-most-populous nation, the only Muslim-majority nuclear power, and a state situated at the crossroads of South Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, and the Arabian Sea, Pakistan is simultaneously a frontline state, a trading corridor, a nuclear power, and…
(By Khalid Masood) For decades, Washington described its relationship with Islamabad as one of its “most complicated.” Today, it may be the fastest-warming relationship in American foreign policy. Within eighteen months, Pakistan’s Army Chief has been a guest at the White House three times in as many months, Islamabad has brokered direct talks between the…
(By Khalid Masood) Introduction: When Counterterrorism Becomes Statecraft In the twenty-first century, the struggle against terrorism is no longer confined to battlefields, intelligence operations, border controls or law-enforcement agencies. It is also fought in conference rooms, diplomatic missions, international organizations and the increasingly contested arena of strategic narratives. Counterterrorism has consequently become an important instrument…
(By Khalid Masood) During his recent whirlwind 24-hour visit to Delhi for the BRICS summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a strategic message that extended far beyond the confines of a standard bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. While the immediate optics of the summit naturally focused on the direct dynamics between the two…
(By Khalid Masood) Few nations occupy a position in the emerging international order as fascinating—or as increasingly uncomfortable—as India. On any given week, New Delhi might be deepening intelligence-sharing agreements with Washington, purchasing discounted crude oil from Moscow, exchanging diplomatic pleasantries with Beijing at a BRICS summit, and conducting joint naval exercises with Japan and…
