We have a diverse array of insights this week. China is on the forefront of IT and AI, benefitting from impressive scale-up advantages. But it still needs to deal with silos and bureaucratic fragmentation. In other tech news, the commentary around the Facebook Papers has revealed a significant divide between how the US and the EU perceive content regulation. As Olaf Sholz slowly tries to overcome the hurdles to the chancellery, we decided to break down who he is and what he stands for.

In Glasgow, world leaders have been making pledges for climate, decarbonization and deforestation, some more hopeful than others. This week we take a close look at how some of the world’s climate heavyweights have been preparing (or not) for COP26, what the domestic implications of their climate commitments are and how diplomacy and the current geopolitical order play into that mix. In other news, we’ve also examined Japan’s most recent elections and their impact on the country’s foreign policy plans.

We open this week’s analysis with Latin America, who finds itself in dangerous waters between stagnant economies and ongoing protests against dysfunctional democracies. Speaking of which, we also explore how and when democracy becomes illiberal. Across the planet, China has finally begun the gargantuan task of energy transition.

France’s got talent! Entrepreneurs and students eager to jump into the start-up dream that is. Our latest report looks into whether France will know how to properly prepare and support them in becoming true innovation leaders.

This week we dive into the recent history of French foreign policy and how Macron has developed a doctrine that has been shaped by a number of tumults over his 4.5 year presidency.

The AUKUS dust has not settled yet, but it’s time for France to pick itself up and revisit its foreign policy. The landscape may be different, but new strategic paths await. In the meantime, this week we dive into the realm of ideas and information.

The weakening of the West is an issue to be reckoned with, as China’s power expands and Xi Jinping’s control grows. However, we’re far from authoritarian supremacy, perhaps quite the contrary. Geopolitics continues to revolve around China as we discuss how Australia is positioning itself in the region.

Xi Jinping is speeding through his quest to absolute power. When a Chinese leader seems to be setting off an avalanche of socio-cultural change, we know there will be consequences. While we keep a watchful eye on him, we look at the legacy of someone else who once had a particular vision of the world: Bin Laden. More specifically, his (unexpected) legacy 20 years after 9/11. We also hear directly from the German State Secretary about democracy in the post-Merkel transition.

We’ve come to the end of Weapons of Mass Debate, in which we’ve heard from 7 European countries about where they each stand on the issue of nuclear deterrence and on Emmanuel Macron’s initiative to spearhead a common European dialogue. Scroll below to read the two final articles! Before we sign off for the summer holidays, we’d like to leave you with some food for thought on how France is encouraging the creation of smart cities, how the Balkans are navigating an engaged US but an almost negligent EU, and what prospects are opening up in Afghanistan as US troops withdraw.

We are happy to announce that the 9th edition of China Trends, our quarterly publication, is out! This time we delve into the decarbonization of the Chinese economy and its challenges. As we continue exploring the history of health crises, we analyze the role and impact of migration and mobility, as well as how outbreaks have propelled public health policies forward. Weapons of Mass Debate carries on this week with Germany and Greece, the former uncomfortable about being too outspoken on nuclear deterrence, the latter potentially having other internal priorities.