<p>Eurasia is the world&rsquo;s most expansive region. It connects the East to the West, forming a land bridge that borders Europe, the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and South Asia. Forming the borders of this massive tract of land are the Northern European Plain, the Carpathian Mountains, the Southern Caucasus Mountains, the Tien Shan Mountains and Siberia. At the heart of Eurasia is Russia, a country that throughout history has tried, to varying degrees of success, to extend its influence to Eurasia&rsquo;s farthest reaches &mdash; a strategy meant to insulate it from outside powers. But this strategy necessarily creates conflict throughout Russia&rsquo;s borderlands, putting Eurasia a near constant state of instability.</p>

Eurasia connects the East to the West, forming a land bridge that borders Europe, the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and South Asia. 

Eurasia

Armenia

Tajikistan

Turkmenistan

Ukraine

Uzbekistan

Azerbaijan

Georgia

Belarus

Kazakhstan

Kyrgyzstan

Russia

Moldova

The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict

Cyber

The Ukraine Conflict

The Politics of Pipelines

The New Silk Road

Commodities: A Cautionary Tale

A Crude Recovery

The Second Space Race

Echoes of the Cold War

Russia's Internal Struggle

The Fight for Russia’s Borderlands

Moscow Looks to the East

Instability in Central Asia

Assessments

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a meeting with European national security advisors in Kyiv on Jan. 3, 2026. 

Military & Security

Politics

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

The reshuffle seeks to strengthen Zelensky's negotiating position and mitigate the political fallout from a likely unfavorable peace deal amid weakening Western support and Russia's continued battlefield advances.

Ukraine's Government Reshuffle Signals Preparation for a Tough Peace Deal

United States

Greenland

Israel

Palestinian Territories

Vietnam

Denmark

France

Switzerland

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.

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: Davos, Europe Steps Up Greenland Deployments

Snapshots

Romania

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

Nigeria

Colombia

Cuba

Mexico

Venezuela

Iran

China

Taiwan

Europe

Norway

India

Pakistan

Economics

Environment, Science & Technology

Global Trade

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

Media

Forecast Webcast

Energy

Join our analysts for this webcast recording exploring key topics identified in RANE's 2026 Annual Geopolitical Forecast.

2026 Annual Geopolitical Forecast Webcast

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.

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?

Sub-Saharan Africa

Americas

Middle East and North Africa

Asia-Pacific

South Asia

As elections reshape political incentives worldwide, 2026 will see major powers recalibrate diplomacy and conflict, raising the risk of fragile deals, regional instability and sudden escalation.

2026 Annual Geopolitical Forecast: An Excerpt

Saudi Arabia

United Arab Emirates

Yemen

North Korea

South Korea

A U.S. Marine Corps F-35B fighter jet takes off from Jose Aponte de la Torre Airport on December 15, 2025 in Ceiba, Puerto Rico. If U.S. strikes escalate and cause significant casualties, it could make retaliatory measures -- including the arbitrary detention of U.S. citizens in Venezuela or the harassment of energy sector vessels in the region -- more likely.

The Weekly Rundown: South Korea's President Visits Beijing, U.S. Operations in Venezuela

Columns

On Geopolitics

A NASA satellite image shows the city lights of Europe. 

In this scorecard, we take a critical look at our hits and misses in forecasting geopolitical events over the past year.

Grading Our 2025 Annual Forecast

Benin

Burkina Faso

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Madagascar

Mali

Niger

Rwanda

Canada

Paraguay

Egypt

Lebanon

Morocco

Qatar

Syria

Turkey

Australia

Cambodia

Timor-Leste

Indonesia

Japan

Mongolia

Myanmar

Philippines

Thailand

Bulgaria

Afghanistan

Nepal

Flight routes.

As 2026 approaches, we look back at the previous year and consider the top five patterns and trends as measured by geopolitical impact.

2025: A Geopolitical Review

Russian President Vladimir Putin met on Jan. 22 with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Reuters reported on Jan. 23.

Russia, Ukraine, U.S.: Trilateral Track Opens as Moscow Holds Firm on Territory

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said after talks with U.S. President Donald Trump in Davos, Switzerland, that security guarantees for Ukraine as part of a Russia-Ukraine peace agreement have been finalized, but that the war's core territorial issues remain unresolved, Reuters reported on Jan. 22. 

Ukraine, U.S.: Negotiators Agree to Security Guarantees, but Territorial Issue Remains Unresolved

Tengizchevroil declared force majeure on oil exports and cancelled five cargoes totaling up to 700,000 metric tons through February following a power plant fire that had halted production at Tengiz, the country's largest oil field, Reuters reported on Jan. 21.

Kazakhstan: Force Majeure at Tengiz Field Threatens Social Stability

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would skip the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to focus on the domestic energy crisis unless negotiators finalize pending agreements regarding security guarantees, a prosperity plan and additional air defense supplies, Interfax-Ukraine reported on Jan. 20.

Ukraine, U.S.: Zelensky Says He Will Skip Davos Forum as Peace Talks Stall

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced the creation of a constitutional commission to prepare amendments that would abolish the Senate, establish a unicameral Parliament and create a vice presidency, Tengrinews.kz reported on Jan. 20.

Kazakhstan: Tokayev Launches Constitutional Overhaul With Succession Changes

Venezuelan acting President Delcy Rodriguez said in an annual address before the National Assembly that Venezuela is a sovereign nation that has the right to maintain ties with Russia, China, Iran and Cuba, El Pais reported on Jan. 15.

Venezuela: Rodriguez Outlines Challenging Balancing Act in Speech Before National Assembly

U.S. President Donald Trump stated in a Reuters interview on Jan. 14 that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, not Russian President Vladimir Putin, was the primary impediment to finalizing a peace agreement to end the Russia-Ukraine war. 

Ukraine, U.S.: Trump's Rhetoric Signals Renewed Pressure on Kyiv

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met in Washington and released the TRIPP implementation framework outlining plans to grant a U.S.-majority consortium exclusive rights to develop a transit corridor linking Azerbaijan to its Naxcivan exclave through southern Armenia, Bloomberg reported on Jan. 13. 

Armenia, U.S.: TRIPP Framework Puts American Capital at the Heart of South Caucasus Geopolitics

Eurasia

SITUATION REPORTS

Russia, Ukraine, U.S.: Trilateral Track Opens as Moscow Holds Firm on Territory

Ukraine, U.S.: Negotiators Agree to Security Guarantees, but Territorial Issue Remains Unresolved

Kazakhstan: Force Majeure at Tengiz Field Threatens Social Stability

Ukraine, U.S.: Zelensky Says He Will Skip Davos Forum as Peace Talks Stall

Kazakhstan: Tokayev Launches Constitutional Overhaul With Succession Changes

Venezuela: Rodriguez Outlines Challenging Balancing Act in Speech Before National Assembly

Ukraine, U.S.: Trump's Rhetoric Signals Renewed Pressure on Kyiv

Armenia, U.S.: TRIPP Framework Puts American Capital at the Heart of South Caucasus Geopolitics

Forecasts

ANALYSES

SECTIONS

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