Recent security incidents affecting commercial shipping have once again highlighted the vulnerability of global maritime routes. Strategic chokepoints such as the Red Sea, the Strait of Hormuz and the Suez Canal remain critical to the functioning of global trade.

Economic instruments have become central to the exercise of geopolitical power. Governments are increasingly using sanctions, export controls, investment restrictions and financial regulation not only as policy tools, but as strategic mechanisms to influence global behaviour.

Global supply chains have long been optimised for efficiency, cost reduction and speed. However, recent geopolitical tensions, trade disputes and regional conflicts have exposed the vulnerabilities inherent in highly interconnected systems.

The recent escalation of hostilities in the Middle East has triggered one of the most significant systemic disruptions to energy markets in recent years, with immediate and far-reaching consequences for global supply chains.

Global supply chains have long been optimised for efficiency, cost reduction and speed. However, recent geopolitical tensions, trade disputes and regional conflicts have exposed the vulnerabilities inherent in highly interconnected systems.

Strategic Risk Snapshot provides focused insights into emerging geopolitical, regulatory and security developments shaping today’s global risk landscape.

Sanctions regimes have become one of the most powerful tools of modern geopolitics. Once largely confined to traditional diplomatic disputes, sanctions now form part of a broader strategy of economic pressure, regulatory enforcement and political signalling.

Legal, regulatory and multilateral bodies in a fragmented world Institutions tasked with maintaining order and accountability are operating in increasingly politicised environments.

How distant conflicts create local exposure Geopolitical events increasingly generate indirect consequences for actors far removed from the original conflict.

One in five barrels of oil traded globally moves through the Strait of Hormuz. Escalation there is legally more complex than it first appears.