Geopolitics Sauna

Sudan’s civil war is a regional proxy fight and the West is on the sidelines. Sudan is unraveling. A brutal civil war has plunged the country into an abyss. But this isn’t just an internal power struggle. Regional players are fanning the flames. Egypt has thrown its weight behind the SAF. The United Arab Emirates is widely believed to be supporting the RSF. Saudi Arabia, while officially calling for peace, has its own interests in how this ends. Sudan has become a proxy battleground in a broader contest for influence across the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa. The reality is that influencing the conflict would require putting pressure on U.S. partners like Egypt, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia—an uncomfortable proposition, particularly at a time when relationships with those governments are already strained or strategically sensitive. And then there’s the bigger question: what are the West’s actual interests in Sudan? Beyond humanitarian concern and human rights rhetoric, there’s little clea...

The Master and Margarita by Soviet writer Mikhail Bulkakov has been translated into Finnish as Satan is Coming to Moscow. I have always appreciated translators, because translating emotions, expressions, and cultural phenomena often requires the gifts of a magician.  I wish to  thank the Finnish translator Ulla-Liisa Heino for her oracular foresight. She predicted what I myself began to suspect around 2014 when Crimea was annexed and what I came to know to be true around the end of February 2022.  Satan is not coming to Moscow. Instead the Devil has been lurking there for years already!  I apologize for the melodramatic tone of my writing! The topic is difficult and evokes strong emotions: anger, hate, disappointment and absolute bewilderment. Maybe violence is the natural state of being and peacetime is just a glitch in the Matrix. Picture: Depiction of Ukrainian bicycler from Bucha shot by retreating Russian soldiers in March 2022. Mass killings of civilians and wa...

The conflict in Eastern DRC has its roots in the country's colonial past, the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, and the subsequent influx of refugees and armed groups. The region's rich natural resources, including minerals like coltan, gold, and diamonds, have also contributed to the ongoing violence. As of May 2025, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda are engaged in ongoing peace negotiations aimed at resolving the conflict in Eastern Congo, particularly concerning the M23 rebel group. These talks are being facilitated by the United States and Qatar, with the goal of reaching a formal agreement by mid-June. Talks reflect new geopolitical realities, where sovereignty is violated with impunity by Rwanda, whilst USA is turning inwards and looking for new proxies for its immigration policy to deport people out. How can trust be built between Rwanda and Congo when there is no trust at all between the administrations of Presidents Kagame and Tshisekedi? "Rwanda's securi...

Election of the new Pope has electrified the world’s attention, but what can we learn from this ancient process in this age of election campaigning, 24 hour news cycle, information overload and disinformation campaigning by malicious actors? Catholic Church as Flag Bearer of  Western Civilization and Its Values After the passing of Pope Francis curious and ancient tradition of the Conclave kicks off to select a new Pope. The Catholic Church h as 252 cardinals and not all will be voting, or even participating in the Conclave. As of April 30 the seventh general congregation included 181 cardinals, with 124 of the 133 voting cardinal s present. Francis has personally appointed about 80% of the cardinals who will elect the next pope. Some of them are, however, very conservative or otherwise oppose Francis' reform agenda despite this. Efforts by powerful conservative Catholic groupings were reportedly well underway days before the Conclave commenced. At the start of the procedure al...

Nigerians living abroad have set up a grouping called BRGIE (Biafra Republic Government in Exile), which is “led” by Simon Ekpa. It has low credibility due to its lack of international and domestic recognition, association with violence, and Ekpa’s and his supporters' legal troubles in Finland.  In the case of Ekpa, deportation is out of the question because he is a Finnish citizen.  Its claims of legitimacy, such as referendum votes or international loans, lack verification and are contradicted by credible sources. While it retains some diaspora support, BRGIE is widely seen as a fringe, destabilizing force rather than a legitimate movement, with its actions causing more harm than progress for the separatist cause. Especially leading separatist organization on the ground called IPOB (Indigenous People of Biafra) has declared BRGIE illegitimate. An outside observer often seeks solutions to seemingly difficult conflicts around the world. This analysis is not written from that p...

The West must demand the regime to stop violence against minorities. So far the evidence points to the opposite being true: genocidal incitement is going on whilst a beautiful face is presented to gullible Western decision makers. Fall of Assad breeds this wishful thinking in the West needlessly and behind the smiles is also hope, that migrant flows from the Middle East would cease, so that the extreme right would not grow stronger and defeat the centrist decision makers in Europe. Situation in Syria is Volatile and  Atrocities are Taking Place In December last year the Assad regime finally collapsed and a grouping called HTS ( “Organization for the Liberation of the Levant” or Hayat Tahrir al-Sham), supported by Turkey’s proxies, came to power. Jihadists of HTS are allowed to use deception against infidels as per their interpretation of islam. Showing a beautiful face towards the West is part of this strategy when they try to get rid of Assad-era sanctions.  Minorities ...