Jan. 6, 2026 /Mpelembe Media/ —The term petrodollar refers to the global system where crude oil is priced and traded exclusively in U.S. dollars. This system has been a cornerstone of American economic and geopolitical power for over 50 years. As of early 2026, the petrodollar system is facing its most significant challenges since its inception, with major shifts in Venezuela and the Middle East reshaping the global energy landscape. Continue reading
Stefan Wolff, University of Birmingham and Tetyana Malyarenko, National University Odesa Law Academy
Blink and you could have missed it. Within 36 hours, the challenge mounted against the Kremlin by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the mercenary private military company the Wagner Group, was over. On Friday June 23 2023, Prigozhin ordered 25,000 of his troops on to a “march for justice”, which duly set out to confront the Russian president in Moscow. The following afternoon he called it off.
Matthew Sussex, Australian National University
Among the many questions asked about Russia’s disastrous war against Ukraine, one of them is posed only very rarely: can Russia survive what seems increasingly likely to be a humiliating defeat at the hands of its smaller neighbour?
Andrew Firmin is editor-in-chief at CIVICUS, the global civil society alliance, and one of the lead authors of the 2022 State of Civil Society Report.
For the past couple of weeks, mass protests have brought the South American nation of Ecuador to a standstill.
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