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The US-Iran deal advances China’s Middle East strategy for energy security, discounted oil supplies, and BRI-driven infrastructure. It supports Xi’s multipolar vision by easing sanctions, reducing dollar dependence, and diminishing exclusive US influence, positioning Beijing as a key beneficiary despite new regional risks.

The US and Iran peace deal to end the military conflict in the Middle-East is a welcome development for the Gulf States. But they remain cautious and are eager to diversify their security alliance beyond America.

This exclusive commentary explains the role that intelligence agencies, philanthropic foundations and state power have played historically in the creation of academic knowledge, especially during the Cold War period. Based on author’s remarkable research on CIA funding networks, it discusses the connection between anthropology and military/intelligence projects, while also highlighting the concept of soft power, dual use social sciences and current threats to academic freedom.

Images shape international events and our understandings of them. Photographs, cinema and television influence how we view and approach phenomena as diverse as war, humanitarian disasters, protest movements, financial crises and election campaigns. The dynamics of visual politics go well beyond traditional media outlets. Digital media, from Twitter to Instagram, play an increasingly important role across the political spectrum, from terrorist recruitment drives to social justice campaigns.