Online Webinar Recording from March 4, 2026

🎥 The full webinar recording is now available.

The session lasted approximately three hours and provides a comprehensive strategic overview of the geopolitical landscape after February 2026 and the key developments shaping the months ahead.

📄 Slides are not distributed.

To access the recording, you can purchase a ticket here.

THE STRATEGIC ARC OF THE SESSION

I. The War in Iran and the Expanding Regional Conflict

The session begins with the unfolding war involving Iran and its regional ramifications. Following military strikes on Iranian nuclear and military infrastructure by the United States and Israel, the conflict has rapidly expanded across the Middle East through missile, drone, and proxy warfare affecting multiple Gulf states.

This section examines the strategic implications of the conflict: escalation dynamics, the role of the Revolutionary Guard and regional proxies, the risks of maritime disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, and how the war is reshaping the security architecture of the Middle East and global energy markets.

II. The United States–China Strategic Rivalry

An assessment of the central structural rivalry shaping the international system. This section analyses the trajectory of US–China competition through key indicators: military signalling in the Indo-Pacific, technology and trade restrictions, financial decoupling pressures, and diplomatic positioning across Asia and the Global South.

The rivalry increasingly defines the systemic framework within which other regional conflicts and geopolitical developments unfold.

III. Middle Powers and the New Geometry of Alignment

How influential middle powers — including actors in Europe, India, Turkey, and the Gulf — are navigating the intensifying rivalry between major powers.

This section explores how these states are exercising agency through hedging strategies, diversified trade partnerships, and selective alignment, reshaping the balance of influence in the emerging multipolar order.

IV. Strategic Flashpoints and the Geography of Leverage

A review of the geographic arenas where great-power competition translates into tangible security risks.

From the Arctic and the Nordic region to the evolving strategic dynamics of the war in Ukraine, this section examines how geography itself is increasingly weaponised as a tool of leverage in the emerging global order.

V. Forward Scenarios for 2026

The session concludes with a structured set of geopolitical scenarios for the year ahead.

Key political, economic, and military signposts are mapped to assess whether global dynamics in 2026 are likely to evolve toward managed strategic competition, regional escalation, or systemic disruption.

WHO THIS BRIEFING IS FOR

This session is designed for professionals and organisations operating in environments where geopolitical dynamics translate directly into strategic and operational decisions.

The briefing is particularly relevant for:

• executives and board members

• investors and asset managers

• policymakers and government advisors

• professionals in energy, infrastructure, and defence-adjacent sectors

• risk, compliance, and strategic planning teams

• trade, supply-chain, and public affairs specialists

• diplomatic and international policy professionals

No prior expertise in international relations is required. The analysis is structured for a senior, cross-functional audience and delivered at a strategic — not academic — level.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Velina Tchakarova is one of Europe’s leading geopolitical strategists, widely known for her analytical framework on Cold War 2.0 dynamics and the strategic alignment she describes as the DragonBear axis between Russia and China.

She is the founder of FACE (For A Conscious Experience) and heads the Geopolitical Policy Lab at the London School of Economics, where she supervises policy research on sanctions architecture, NATO interoperability, EU enlargement, and energy security.

She writes for leading European policy publications, advises institutions and companies on systemic risk and strategic foresight, and regularly provides geopolitical analysis for international media.