Global Risk Profile by Tamuz Itai

Why Kazakhstan Matters More Than You Think

Kazakhstan is Central Asia's quiet chokepoint of geopolitics — the place where Russia’s insecurity meets China’s ambitions, and where the United States is suddenly trying to build new supply chains and strategic corridors.
This episode examines Kazakhstan from the inside out: its history of famine and nuclear trauma, its cautious balancing between Moscow and Beijing, its growing Western-educated elite, and the strategic logic that shapes every decision its leaders make.
We explore:
🔹 Why Russia sees Kazakhstan as part of its “strategic depth”
🔹 How China’s Belt and Road turned Kazakhstan into the keystone of Eurasian logistics
🔹 The legacy of Soviet nuclear tests and the parallels with Lop Nur in Xinjiang
🔹 Kazakhstan’s multi-vector strategy
🔹 The C5+1 summit and America’s new interest in minerals and supply chains
🔹 How Astana itself views the choices it faces
🔹 What the U.S. can do to help Kazakhstan stay sovereign without forcing it to “choose sides” This is the story of a country trying to remain Kazakhstan — not a satellite of Moscow, not a dependency of Beijing, and not a project of Washington.
Content: 00:00 Introduction 02:07 History and Context 05:50 A Country Built to Balance 09:30 Russia - The Former Ruler That Never Goes Away 11:44 China - The Economic Gravity and Quiet Rival of Russia 15:54 The United States - Stepping Up 20:12 Why US Engagement is Attractive to Kazakhstan 21:26 Kazakhstan's Choices: Walking the Ridge Line
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Overreach - How the Gaza War Started, and How it is Ending

This week on Global Risk Profile, we explore how the Gaza war began with Hamas’s overreach, may be ending with Israel’s. A strike on Hamas leaders in Doha may have crossed a line, turning allies into critics and pushing Washington to force a deal.
Then we take a look at more examples from recent history. From Macron’s failed snap election, to Brexit, to South Korea’s martial law miscalculation, to Putin’s misjudged war in Ukraine — we trace the anatomy of hubris and nemesis in modern geopolitics.
🔍 What separates audacity from recklessness?
⚖️ When does strategic risk become strategic error?
📜 And how can leaders know if history is with them — or about to correct them?
Join us for a hard look at the cost of overreach, and what it means for the world ahead. 
⏱️ Chapters 00:00 – Gaza War: Hamas’s attack 02:44 – Israel’s Doha strike 05:39 – France's 2024 Snap Election Spiral 07:14 – The Brexit Referendum Gamble 08:14 – Martial Law Declaration in South Korea 09:28 – Ukraine War "Double" Overreach 10:52 – Closing Reflections.
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#Geopolitics #GazaWar #ChinaTrade #Overreach #GlobalRiskProfile #Macron #Brexit #Putin #CCP #Hamas #Israel #Ukraine #Hubris #Nemesis

Is the United Nations Failing or Adapting? (Part 2)

When Donald Trump stood at the United Nations General Assembly podium and asked, “What is the purpose of the United Nations?” the world heard provocation. But the question itself deserves a serious answer.
In this episode, Part 2 of a series, we explore the UN's actual role in today’s fractured multipolar world.
We ask:
* Which of its functions are indispensable — and which are symbolic, hollow, or obsolete?
* Why do such institutions persist, despite their flaws?
* And what universal needs do they reveal about how humans organize the world? This is an investigation, not an indictment.
Timestamps and Chapters: 00:00 – Opening and Recap of Part 1 00:56 – The UN Today: A Multipolar Puzzle 03:40 – Bureaucracy and Accountability 05:39 – Symbolism: Power or Placebo? 06:29 – Cost-Benefit: Is It Worth It? 07:38 – Closing Reflection
#GlobalRiskProfile #UN #Geopolitics #History #InternationalRelations #LeagueOfNations #UnitedNations #China #Trump #Diplomacy #WorldOrder #ColdWar #Peacekeeping #HumanRights

Is the United Nations Still Needed Today? (Part 1)

When Donald Trump stood at the United Nations General Assembly podium and asked, “What is the purpose of the United Nations?” the world heard provocation. But the question itself deserves a serious answer.
In this episode, Part 1 of a 2-part series, we trace the UN’s story — from the ashes of two world wars to the Cold War stalemate, the unipolar “lost decade,” the War on Terror, and today’s fractured multipolar world.
We ask:
* What was the UN meant to be, and what has it actually become? Which of its functions are indispensable — and which are symbolic, hollow, or obsolete?
* Why do such institutions persist, despite their flaws? And what universal needs do they reveal about how humans organize the world?
From the League of Nations to the rise of the CCP inside the UN system, from peacekeeping and humanitarian work to bureaucracy and symbolism — this is an investigation, not an indictment.
Timestamps and Chapters: 00:00 – Opening: Trump’s question 01:11 – Roots and precursors to the League 02:29 – The League of Nations 03:19 – Lessons of 1945 and the birth of the UN 04:39 – Cold War paralysis and peacekeeping 05:49 – The unipolar “lost decade” 06:49 – The War on Terror and China’s rise inside the system 07:47 – Conclusion and intro to Part 2
#GlobalRiskProfile #UN #Geopolitics #History #InternationalRelations #LeagueOfNations #UnitedNations #China #Trump #Diplomacy #WorldOrder #ColdWar #Peacekeeping #HumanRights

What's China REALLY Doing While The West Is Distracted?

When the West is most distracted, does China seize the moment?
From the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis to Nine Eleven, from the Iraq War to pandemics, from Crimea to the Gaza war — again and again, Beijing’s biggest foreign policy and domestic policy moves seem to land when Western attention is elsewhere.
In this episode of Global Risk Profile, we:
* Lay out the facts — a 30-year timeline of Western shocks and China’s actions.
* Extract the geopolitics patterns — nine recurring dynamics, from distraction windows to domestic consolidation.
* Offer an interpretation — why this rhythm matters today, and what to watch for next.
We also acknowledge the limits: not every example fits. Some were coincidence, some reactive, some defensive. But the repetition is striking.
The question is whether we’ll recognize the rhyme in time to prepare.
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Content: 00:00 Introduction 00:58 The Facts 06:42 Patterns We Observe 11:24 Not Everything Fits 12:09 Interpretation 15:07 Closing
#GlobalRiskProfile #China #Geopolitics #Patterns #History

The Pacific’s Bargains: Small Islands, Big Power Plays

The Pacific may look like a map of tiny islands, but in strategy, the ocean is the story. These island nations command vast exclusive economic zones and sit on critical stepping stones across half the globe. For decades, U.S. dominance rested on Hawaiʻi, Guam, and Okinawa. Now Beijing is quietly trying to build anchors of its own — through loans, ports, security pacts, and soft phrases like “win-win cooperation” and “South-South partnership.”
Pacific leaders aren’t naïve. They face rising seas, fragile economies, and urgent needs. Their choices — telecom loans, road projects, police agreements — are pragmatic bids for survival. But as a Chinese proverb warns: “Inviting a deity is easy; sending one away is hard.” What begins as development can end as dependency.
In this episode, we explore:
* The dual use of climate rhetoric: both survival and bargaining chip. * The real deals on the table: Huawei towers, U.S. compacts, Australia’s aid.
* Why not all partners are the same, and how dependency creeps in. * Beijing’s own words — and the translation illusion behind them. * How Pacific leaders show agency and resistance, from Tuvalu to Malaita.
* The geography of power: why Hawaiʻi, Guam, and Okinawa matter — and what China hopes to replicate.
👉 The Pacific is not anyone’s backyard. But its choices today may shape the balance of power for decades to come.
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Content: 00:00 Introduction 00:50 The Neutral Bargainers 03:26 The Deals on the Table 05:55 The Trap of Unequal Partners 09:31 The CCP's Own Words: The Translation Illusion 13:25 Agency and Resistance 15:50 Why the CCP Cares: Strategy and Geography 19:07 Closing Reflection

Did Outside Powers Create Modern Terror Groups?

The story of terror groups from the Middle East is often explained as religious — but the real story is far deeper.
In this episode of Global Risk Profile, we uncover how the Soviet Union and its allies helped design the playbook of modern terror groups: training, propaganda, disinformation, and the very tactics later adopted by groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.
We trace how this playbook — built on three pillars: lies and deception, cruelty and disregard for human life, and endless struggle — began in communist revolutions under Lenin, Mao, and Kim Il-sung, and was exported into the Middle East through KGB and Warsaw Pact operations.
We then look at Hamas today: how its leaders exploit a Cold War playbook, how many of its fighters and supporters are also victims of deception, and how Iran and other authoritarian powers keep the system alive.
Finally, we close with a surprising source of hope — the example of millions in China quietly renouncing their ties to the CCP, proving that even in the darkest systems, people can reclaim their conscience.
This is not a story about religion. It is a story about systems of power that hijack people’s faith, dignity, and future — and about why understanding this history matters for how we see the world today.

India's DIPLOMATIC TIGHTROPE: US, China, Russia, Israel and Iran

India is a rising power with global ambitions—but where does it stand in today’s fractured world?
In this episode, we look at India’s strategy of "strategic autonomy"—its effort to balance ties with the United States, Russia, China, Israel, Iran and others - all at once. From Washington’s new tariffs and threats of sanctions, to Moscow’s oil lifeline, Beijing’s mega-dam on the Brahmaputra, and the short India–Pakistan clash earlier this year, we explore how Delhi is navigating immense pressures on every front.
The question is bigger than geopolitics. Is India’s middle road sustainable?
Join us as we trace India’s choices from Nehru’s non-alignment, through the Cold War, to the SCO summit in Tianjin—where Prime Minister Modi met Xi and Putin even as U.S. pressure mounted. The outcome will shape not only India’s future, but the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific, and beyond.

This Movie Predicted a Real Life Nightmare

A hot mic at Beijing’s military parade caught Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin in a startling exchange about using transplants to extend human life — even joking about living to 150.
But what sounded like a dystopian movie script has a darker echo in real-world investigations and tribunals. For nearly two decades, independent reports, congressional testimonies, and European resolutions have raised urgent questions.
In this episode of Global Risk Profile, we follow the thread from a casual off-camera remark… to a 2005 Hollywood thriller… to evidence presented in Washington, Brussels, and London. Along the way, we ask: what happens when science, power, and disregard for human dignity converge — and will societies act before fiction becomes reality?

Why Israel's Internal Struggles Matter in the Gaza War

At first glance, the Gaza war looks like a military campaign between Israel and Hamas. But beneath the headlines lies another story: how Israeli domestic politics — coalition pressures, judicial reform battles, ultra-Orthodox exemptions, and leadership struggles — have shaped the war’s trajectory from the beginning.
In this episode of Global Risk Profile, we explore:
* Why Israel went through five elections in four years before the war.
*How judicial reform protests exposed deep fractures inside Israeli society.
* The role of coalition politics and ultra-Orthodox exemptions in sustaining or undermining unity.
* Why the war has dragged on, despite calls for a swift, decisive victory.
* What outside voices — from U.S. leaders to Israeli commentators across the spectrum — reveal about the dilemmas facing Israel today.
* And the broader lesson: how domestic politics everywhere shapes foreign policy, for better or worse.
This is not about heroes or villains. It’s about the hard reality of leadership under pressure — and the choices that will be judged by history.