As political instability and conflict events continue to drive threats to foreign nationals, travellers and commercial operators, Richard Gardiner interviews Paul Padman, S-RM’s Deputy Head of Crisis Response, to discuss recent trends in evacuations, and best practices for companies navigating high-risk environments and volatile situations.
2025 was a year filled with travel disruptions as a result of a shifting geopolitical landscape, regional conflict, and in some cases, domestic political dynamics. Tamsin Hunt examines some of the security trends that will continue to affect global travel over the coming year.
With 2026 setting the stage for highly contested elections in US, Hungary, Israel and others, Tamsin Hunt explores the implications of potential outcomes for domestic stability and regional dynamics.
In late September, youth-led protests denouncing high government expenditure on international sporting tournaments amid the underfunding of public services took root across the country. Neo Tsotetsi examines the issues driving these demonstrations and the impact they have had on Morocco thus far.
The fall of Bashar Al Assad has substantially reshaped Syria’s security landscape, with knock-on effects for the country’s illicit economy. Richard Gardiner explores how the new status quo is driving a rise in extortion and kidnapping in some areas, entrenching these activities in others, and the implications for prospective foreign investors.
Opposition to Israel’s security policy has increased in recent months, including among some of its closest allies, in response to its actions in Gaza, the West Bank, Qatar and elsewhere. Tamsin Hunt considers how this geopolitical shift might affect Israel’s strategic decisions going forward.
In June 2025, the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran caused extensive turmoil to maritime and aviation operations through the Middle East region. Despite a ceasefire that remains in place, we can expect intermittent disruptions to continue in the coming months, writes Tamsin Hunt.
While Iran has long used proxies to advance its strategic objectives in the Middle East, it has increasingly leveraged relationships with criminal networks to advance its objectives on European soil, allowing for plausible deniability while avoiding a costly military confrontation at home, write Richard Gardiner and Shannon Lorimer.
Between March and May 2025, the US conducted a sustained campaign of airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, while Iran signalled its intention to reduce its support for the group. Despite these developments – including a recent ceasefire agreement with the US – Richard Gardiner argues that the Houthis will continue to pose a threat to both regional…
The arrest of Istanbul’s mayor, and popular leader of the opposition Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi (CHP) party, Ekrem İmamoğlu, triggered mass protests and a subsequent stringent response by police. Tamsin Hunt explores the impact of these latest developments on Turkey’s political stability over the coming year.
Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan’s call for the group to disarm presents a historic opportunity for peace with Turkey. Tamsin Hunt and Saif Islam explore the promises and obstacles on the path toward a lasting resolution.
The ceasefire in the Gaza Strip has coincided with US President Donald Trump introducing a plan for “owning” Gaza, which would entail the displacement of Palestinians to neighbouring countries. Such an event would have far-reaching political, social, and security repercussions for the region, but particularly for Egypt and Jordan, writes Tamsin Hunt.…