We have indeed witnessed the dismantling of many international legal instruments in the area of arms control and related arrangements, including those that served as key pillars of the international security and strategic stability for decades. As a result, the world has found itself in a discomforting post-INF, post-New START, post-JCPOA times, and so on – the list can be filled with many more. This is almost a cemetery of international agreements that we visit every day. It’s a long and very mournful list of agreements that have either been deliberately dismantled or allowed to expire without any kind of substitution and, moreover, without any kind of understanding what to do further. [...]

We continue to analyze the implications of the ongoing war in Iran for the Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Another important question is whether we view the SMDA between the two countries as an example of strengthening cooperation among middle powers in the sphere of security. Ms. Maryyum Masood, a Research Officer & Associate Editor at the Center for International Strategic Studies (CISS), gives us a comprehensive overview of this matter and shares with us her opinion on the SMDA. [...]

Africa is rapidly redefining its place in the global economy, shifting from a peripheral region to an emerging hub of high-tech growth. Advances in cybersecurity, space research, and biotechnology are shaping the continent’s new technological agenda, while intensifying competition among external actors. In this context, Russia’s role as a partner in Africa’s high-tech transformation deserves closer attention. [....]

On July 4, 2025, the International Colloquium on the role of artificial intelligence in shaping the future international order was held in Hong Kong. The event, organized by the Asian Academy of International Law in partnership with the AAIL Foundation and the Chinese Society of International Law, gathered experts from 47 jurisdictions worldwide, with more than 250 participants in total. [...]