Conferences and Workshops

India is an active BRICS member also deepening its ties with the West. With its strategy of “multi-alignment,” India claims to be a leader of the Global South. The GIGA’s team of India experts, Sharinee Jagtiani (German Marshall Fund), and Germany’s ambassador to India, Philipp Ackermann, debate the country’s geopolitical sweet spot.

Analysing over 2.8 million “tweets” from Chinese and Russian accounts, we find that Chinese accounts proactively shape narratives to reinforce internal stability, whereas Russian accounts exhibit reactive spikes during critical events, utilising divisive narratives to exacerbate polarisation in Western democracies.

This lecture examines the expanding relations between Iran and Venezuela despite not being natural allies. Dr. Eric Lob argues that the proximity of these relations is predicated on changing presidents, postures, and pressures during different periods. From a policy perspective, these relations are reinforced by the imposition and intensification of US sanctions as the unintended consequence of a coercive wedge strategy.

The panel analyses the characteristics, causes, and consequences of drug trafficking and drug policy in the Middle East, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, and West Africa. The discussion contextualises the challenges of transatlantic drug trafficking, teases out commonalities and differences, and provides comparative insights.