An Extension of “From Economic Bloc to Global Geostrategic Power”
Almost exactly a year ago, I wrote about BRICS as an emerging
geostrategic force; an idea taking shape in the cracks of a weakening liberal
order. At the time, it was a forward-looking argument, built on signals:
expansion, de-dollarization efforts, and a growing dissatisfaction with Western
dominance.
Today, that argument has met reality.
There are moments in history when power sheds its diplomatic language and reveals its underlying structure. The unfolding confrontation between Iran, the United States, and Israel represents such a moment. What began as a regional escalation has evolved into a system-level stress test—one that is exposing the limits of military superiority, the fragility of alliance cohesion, and the growing primacy of leverage over dominance in shaping global outcomes. At the center of this transformation lies a critical shift: Iran is no longer merely resisting pressure; it is systematically converting that pressure into strategic power.
In the world today, the contours of diplomacy are shaped not only by treaties and dialogue, but also by how states wield power. The foreign policy approach associated with Donald Trump — emphasizing coercion, leverage, and transactional dominance — has profoundly influenced global politics. Nowhere