The international system is today undergoing changes that are characterised by a growing Great Power rivalry and by a fragmentation of regions, all the while economic and technological instruments are increasingly being utilised as instruments of statecraft. The unipolar period of post-Cold War international relations has come to an end, and a new multipolar system, marked by a number of great powers, has begun to take shape. Several strategic points that are of critical importance to the world’s commerce and energy needs have thus become focal points of power and of strategic competition. Furthermore, the recent agreement reached between the United States and Iran on their bilateral conflict is an example of the kind of tactical de-escalation that can be utilised in order to ease tensions in the short-term, without in any way dealing with the root causes of conflict in today’s world.

Competition at the global level is currently concentrated on the U.S.–China axis. The United States is attempting to preserve its position as the global leader and maintain the current rules of the game. China, on the other hand, is seeking to change these rules to create a new international order in the Indo-Pacific. Other countries, including Russia, are trying to challenge the West in a number of regions, including Eurasia and the Middle East. How they do this includes energy exports, military pressure and coordination with China. As a result of this, the international system has become increasingly fragmented. As a result, cooperation is selective and is largely based on transactional terms.

Strategic regions that are critical to global trade, including key energy suppliers, are becoming Geostrategic Flashpoints – i.e. locations around strategic chokepoints. If these are interrupted in some way for any length of time, there will be an immediate impact globally in terms of both security and markets. Given........

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