Defence and International Security

On October 21, 2025, Sanae Takaichi, a conservative politician representing the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), became the new Prime Minister of Japan. The new prime minister faces a number of challenges related to the country’s political and economic situation, as well as the stabilization of her own party.

Following the publication of U.S. and Ukraine-Europe’s proposed frameworks for resolving the Russia–Ukraine conflict in April 2025, and under pressure from Washington on both Kyiv and Moscow, the two sides agreed to launch direct negotiations in Istanbul on 15 May.

In late August 2025, US President Donald Trump held a summit in the White House Oval Office with the Republic of Korea (ROK) President, Lee Jae Myung. The encounter was not just an ordinary, regular meeting between the heads of state of the US and the ROK, the country being a long-time valued and stalwart US ally. It was seen by many as a crucial interaction for the recently elected South Korean leader.

In the final year of World War I, The Supreme Allied Commander was the French Marshal Ferdinand Foch, who is generally considered as the military leader most responsible for the Allied victory in the conflict. He was a disciple of the Napoleon school of military thought, was sometimes compared to the famous French military genius and upon his death was buried next to Napoleon himself at Les Invalides in Paris.

After more than two and a half years of war, Putin’s military had been consuming artillery rounds and other materiel at a rate that was well above the normal production tempo of Russia’s domestic ammunition suppliers.

In a surprise decision, LOT Polish Airlines have shunned their long-time supplier, Brazil’s Embraer, and have instead signed a massive order for the Airbus A220 to fill the company’s regional jet fleet requirement. 

The report presents a forward-looking framework for combining strategic procurement with industrial renewal. It shows how, through targeted collaboration with experienced international partners, Poland can not only field a modern submarine fleet but also cultivate an innovation-driven maritime ecosystem—strengthening long-term economic resilience and national autonomy.

The ORKA program, along with other technical modernization efforts, should not be viewed merely as an initiative to acquire modern submarines for the Polish Navy. It also represents a unique opportunity to revitalize Poland’s industrial base. This paper—the concluding entry in a series of analyses examining the ORKA program—shifts focus from hardware specifications and strategic imperatives to the institutional and technological implications for domestic shipbuilding.

Given Poland's fundamental role in the defense of NATO's eastern flank, the new submarines will help secure key trade and communication routes, as well as Poland's strategic interests in the Baltic Sea.

The fall of al-Assad's rule and the takeover of control over most of Syria by Sunni extremists hostile to Iran is therefore an irreversible end to Iran's flagship geopolitical project.

In this context, there is great potential in Polish-French cooperation, which on one hand can strengthen the capabilities of both countries, and on the other, inject energy into European cooperation in the field of defence.

The summit's communiqué emphasized the significant threats posed by Russia and China, underscoring NATO's focus on both Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific security challenges in response to global geopolitical shifts.

The Russian-Ukrainian war should instigate the change processes not only in the area of acquiring equipment and building integrated command systems but also in a faster implementation of the MC philosophy, using the Ukrainian experience, but also the Western, where the MC is implemented for two decades.

The aim of the project Norway and Poland as actors in a changing security landscape (NORPOLFACTOR) is to develop enhanced knowledge of the security-related challenges, risks and threats Poland and Norway face in their strategic environment in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The only durable solution for stability in the region is a political resolution to both Palestinian and Yemeni conflicts.

The most likely scenario in cross-strait relations after the elections is the maintenance of the status quo with varying degrees of pressure on the island, depending on the final result. However, the possibility of Beijing using the elections as a pretext for escalation to force the Taipei government into reunification talks cannot be ruled out.