Diplomacy 101: Undiplomatically Speaking
Where Beliefs Clash and Stories Flash
A Year in Flux: Recap, Realignment, and the Road Ahead
As 2024 draws to a close, the international landscape bears little resemblance to the post-pandemic optimism that marked the decade’s start. This year saw middle powers assert unprecedented influence—from Brazil’s climate brokerage to Türkiye’s energy diplomacy. Conflict hotspots hardened, while multilateralism stumbled forward through climate gridlocks, sanctions, and new economic coalitions.
Russia’s war in Ukraine persists, Israel and Hamas remain in uneasy ceasefire, and Taiwan prepares for elections amid military posturing. Meanwhile, digital sovereignty and energy security now drive alignment decisions once based on ideology or geography.
What comes next will depend not on the declarations of the powerful alone, but on how the crowded, multipolar middle navigates uncertainty. Diplomacy, once the domain of state elites, is now a high-stakes exercise in public signaling, parallel deals, and contested truths. In 2025, we watch, we interpret—and yes, we speak, undiplomatically.