This piece marks the resumption of this column after more than a 10-week unannounced break necessitated by travels and other distracting schedules too successive to accommodate writing a newspaper article. It has been the longest break since the launch of this column more than 10 years ago, though it was only titled Rainbow last year.
I appreciate the understanding of those who, all through, looked forward to my humble thoughts on some interesting developments on the global stage. Many reached out wondering about my prolonged inactivity in both print and electronic media. My appreciation also goes to Daily Trust’s Editor-in-Chief and others who checked on me.
Though, writing and, of course, maintaining a regular newspaper column, more so weekly, is fulfilling, it’s equally demanding. It’s fulfilling in the sense that one derives the fulfillment of literally relieving one’s mind of some nagging thoughts over some developments, events or issues one addresses regardless of who agrees or disagrees with one. Once one feels strongly about something, a persistently nagging urge to write it sets in especially when one observes the need for an alternative perspective.
That’s also particularly demanding when one is expected to write on a regular basis to maintain a column. It’s even more demanding when one isn’t in a particularly enabling field e.g. journalism, for, in this case, one has to always struggle to meet the deadline for sending in one’s piece while still constantly obsessed with what to write about next amid other unrelated schedules. At this juncture, I must appreciate the editor for bearing with me as I mostly manage to send in my piece quite late.
Yet, maintaining the column has been fulfilling anyway; the associated pressure, being self-induced, has been exciting. That’s what happens when one is driven by a sheer passion to do things voluntarily. The like-minded would certainly relate more.
Now, though a lot of interesting developments especially on the international scene have occurred over the break, I would, God willing, revisit the most relevant of them in due course to highlight their underlying politics, geopolitical, economic and strategic implications.
The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war along with its attendant US-led NATO and Russia geopolitical power struggle and its economic and political implications on the global stage would remain of particular interest to this column. After all, my last piece was at the height of the tensions between the two countries a few days before it escalated into a full-scale war.
In a broader context, Rainbow would equally be addressing instances of Russia’s assertive pursuit of global political influence that suggests its determination to grow influential enough to rival the US.
Rainbow would similarly be looking at instances of China’s resolve to equally grow strong enough militarily to rival the US having already risen to become the world’s second-largest economy after the US, and is, in fact, expected to overtake it.
Also, as the world consequently and steadily transforms from unipolar, where the US has practically enjoyed unrivalled global influence since the collapse of the former USSR in 1991, into a multipolar world, Rainbow would be examining the multifaceted implications of that transformation in international politics.
Rainbow would also be looking at the lingering negotiations between some major western powers and Iran over the latter’s nuclear programme to examine the dilemma behind President Biden’s failure to revive the deal, which was rendered effectively ineffective by his predecessor Donald Trump following his withdrawal from it.
Another interesting development that Rainbow would be examining is Turkish President Erdoğan’s persistent entreaties to pacify and restore normal ties with the countries he fell out with, in the Middle East e.g. the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Egypt and even Israel.
Equally interesting is the unprecedented deterioration in the almost eighty-year-old US-Saudi alliance under the current administration in Washington and reigning reign in Riyadh. Rainbow would be addressing the development by tracing its genesis and highlighting the interests involved and its geopolitical implications in the region and economic impacts beyond.
Of course, the decades-old Palestinian-Israel conflict and its complex impacts in the Middle East and indeed international politics would always remain a matter of major interest to Rainbow, for, after all, it’s the “mother” of all crises in the region.
As usual, Rainbow would also be analysing other global and geopolitical issues to identify the underlying interests of the countries involved and look at how each country plays its politics in pursuit of its interests.
