<p>To the west of Eurasia lays Europe, a region predisposed to division. It is surrounded on nearly all sides by islands and peninsulas that make it difficult for Europe to cohere. The northern half of the continent, moreover, sits on a plain whose short, meandering rivers tend to empower countries without forcing them to work with others. The southern half is situated on more mountainous terrain that has historically impeded the creation of strong, unified economies. As a result, Europe is a continent riven by pockets of distinct cultures whose differences are all too often irreconcilable.</p>

Europe is a continent riven by pockets of distinct cultures whose differences are all too often irreconcilable.

Europe

Belize

Andorra

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Holy See

Latvia

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Malta

North Macedonia

San Marino

Sweden

United Kingdom

Bulgaria

Portugal

Serbia

Croatia

Poland

Romania

Cyprus

Norway

Austria

Slovakia

Albania

Slovenia

Netherlands

Switzerland

Spain

Montenegro

Monaco

Italy

Ireland

Iceland

Hungary

Kosovo

Beyond Quantitative Easing

The Ukraine Conflict

The Politics of Pipelines

EU: Regional Blocs

Divided EU Foreign Policies

Brexit

The Fate of the Eurozone

Banking

Crossing Borders

Globalization

European Disintegration

Echoes of the Cold War

The Fight for Russia’s Borderlands

Columns

On Geopolitics

The flags of NATO, the EU and Poland are seen next to each other. 

Military & Security

Politics

Despite achieving strategic indispensability and significant military power, Poland's political influence in the EU and NATO has lagged, creating a paradox in which it is critical to executing Western strategies but peripheral to decision-making.

Has Poland Missed Its Shot at Becoming a Major EU Power?

Assessments

Israel

Palestinian Territories

China

Japan

South Korea

India

Egyptian trucks and heavy machinery on Oct. 26, 2025, on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip.

Israel-Hamas Conflict

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: A Gaza Border Reopening, EU Leaders Visit India

United States

Greenland

The HDMS Knud Rasmussen ship of the Danish Navy patrols the waters off of Nuuk, Greenland, on Jan. 20, 2026. 

Economics

Global Trade

Trump's threatened tariffs over his bid to acquire Greenland have turned the U.S.-EU trade dispute into a high-stakes geopolitical confrontation, raising the risk of a sustained trade war that would severely strain transatlantic economic ties and NATO cohesion.

Trump's Greenland Tariff Threat Escalates Transatlantic Tensions

U.S. protectionism has dramatically weakened the rules-based, multilateral trade regime established after World War II, driving governments to increasingly view trade through a national security lens rather than purely an economic one.

The Geopolitics of Trade: Conclusion

Vietnam

Ukraine

Russia

A sniper police officer on the Congress hotel during the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum on Jan. 24, 2025, in the Alpine resort of Davos, Switzerland.

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

The Weekly Rundown: Davos, Europe Steps Up Greenland Deployments

Snapshots

Moldova

Moldovan President Maia Sandu (R) and Romanian President Nicusor Dan on June 10, 2025, in Chisinau, Moldova. Sandu's backing of a hypothetical union signals that joining Romania could eventually emerge as an alternative strategy to Moldova's current plan to join the European Union as an independent state.

Maia Sandu's backing of a hypothetical union signals that joining Romania could eventually emerge as an alternative strategy to Moldova's current plan to join the European Union as an independent state.

Romanian-Moldovan Unification Remains Unlikely, Despite Moldovan President's Endorsement

The flag of Greenland, known locally as "Erfalasorput," flies next to the Church of Our Saviour on March 30, 2025, in Nuuk, Greenland. 

The United States' aim to acquire Greenland risks triggering a NATO crisis if U.S. and European negotiators fail to reach a settlement.

Europe Weighs Responses to U.S. Pressure Over Greenland

Nigeria

Colombia

Cuba

Mexico

Venezuela

Iran

Taiwan

Pakistan

Cyber

Environment, Science & Technology

Social Issues

RANE's Top 10 Risks for 2026 highlights high-impact, low-probability risks and trends from the annual forecast presented in more extreme terms.

RANE's Top 10 Risks for 2026

U.S.-China Relations

U.S.-Iran Relations

Benin

Uganda

Canada

The Greenlandic flag on Jan. 8, 2026, on the roof of Tivoli Castle in Copenhagen, Denmark. Ukraine security talks and a Gaza peace plan will be in the spotlight at Davos.

The Weekly Rundown: Elections in Uganda and Benin, Canada's Carney Goes to China

The Danish-flagged DMS Lauge Koch, an offshore Royal Danish Navy patrol vessel, docks at the Port of Nuuk on March 12, 2025, in Nuuk, Greenland.

Energy

Scenarios for the coming year range from unilateral military action by the United States to a U.S.-Denmark agreement to expand Washington's capabilities on the island.


How Could the U.S. Seek To 'Take' Greenland?

The leaders of the Netherlands' centrist-liberal Democrats 66 and the center-right Christian Democratic Appeal and People's Party for Freedom and Democracy agreed to form a minority coalition government after months of negotiations, Reuters reported on Jan. 27.

Netherlands: Dutch Center-Right Parties Agree To Form Minority Coalition Government

The European Union and India finalized a free trade agreement after nearly two decades of talks, Reuters reported on Jan. 27.

EU, India: FTA Finalized, On Track To Enter Into Force in Early 2027

The United Kingdom's Prime Minister Keir Starmer is travelling to China for a three-day visit starting Jan. 27, marking the first such trip by a British leader since 2018, Reuters reported the same day.

U.K., China: Starmer To Visit Beijing Amid Revival of High-Level Economic Engagement

Researchers from Slovakia-based cybersecurity company ESET assessed with medium confidence that Russian advanced persistent threat, or APT, Sandworm was behind a failed cyberattack targeting Poland's power grid in late December 2025, according to new research published by ESET on Jan. 23.

Russia, Poland: Researchers Attribute Attempted Data Wiper Attack to Russian APT Sandworm

The European Commission is launching a new formal investigation into X (formerly Twitter) related to purported violations of the bloc's Digital Services Act, The New York Times reported on Jan. 26. 

EU: Commission Launches Formal Investigation Into X Over DSA Violations

EU energy ministers formally approved legislation to phase out imports of Russian pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas by the end of 2027, the European Council said in a press release on Jan. 26.

EU, Russia: EU Adopts Binding Ban on Russian Gas Imports by 2027

European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will co-chair an India-EU summit during their visit to India from Jan. 25 to 28 and meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Reuters reported on Jan. 23.

India, EU: High-Ranking EU Officials To Visit India as FTA Negotiations Conclude

France's minority government survived two consecutive no-confidence votes in the National Assembly on Jan. 23 after Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu used Article 49.3 of the Constitution to push through the revenue section of the 2026 budget without a parliamentary vote, Le Figaro reported the same day.

France: Government Survives No-Confidence Votes, Set To Pass Full 2026 Budget

Europe

SITUATION REPORTS

Netherlands: Dutch Center-Right Parties Agree To Form Minority Coalition Government

EU, India: FTA Finalized, On Track To Enter Into Force in Early 2027

U.K., China: Starmer To Visit Beijing Amid Revival of High-Level Economic Engagement

Russia, Poland: Researchers Attribute Attempted Data Wiper Attack to Russian APT Sandworm

EU: Commission Launches Formal Investigation Into X Over DSA Violations

EU, Russia: EU Adopts Binding Ban on Russian Gas Imports by 2027

India, EU: High-Ranking EU Officials To Visit India as FTA Negotiations Conclude

France: Government Survives No-Confidence Votes, Set To Pass Full 2026 Budget

Forecasts

ANALYSES

SECTIONS

Explore

Subscribe

Help & Support