https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/authors/vikas Vikas is the founder and editor of The Geopolitical Economist. He established the publication in 2023 and has built it into a title with some 35,000 followers on Medium and contributors writing from Europe, Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. His own work examines how states use trade, energy, finance and technology as instruments of power, with particular attention to the European Union, China and the Indo-Pacific, Russia, the United States and its alliances, and Iran and the Middle East. As editor he commissions, edits and independently verifies every article the publication carries, and writes its weekly newsletter. en https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/assets/brand/icon-512.pnghttps://geopoliticaleconomist.com/authors/vikas https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/what-indians-protest-about-exams-not-prices https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/what-indians-protest-about-exams-not-prices Sat, 03 Oct 2026 06:00:00 +0000 Vikas Part 2 of The Protest Question. The grievance behind India's record protest count is the state's failing examination and hiring machine, not the cost of living. The data shows where the pain is, when it erupts, and what companies operating in India should read into it. South Asia https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/are-indians-protesting-more https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/are-indians-protesting-more Fri, 02 Oct 2026 06:00:00 +0000 Vikas Every count of protests that exists for India points the same way. The ACLED event record shows demonstrations up by half since 2016 and at a record in 2024 to 2026. The police's own count of agitations was rising before that. A catalogue of 217 major protests since 2000 shows the rate doubling since the late 2010s. The protests are also more peaceful than a decade ago. What has fallen is rioting, which is a different thing. South Asia https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/why-china-will-get-what-it-wants-from-trump https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/why-china-will-get-what-it-wants-from-trump Tue, 22 Sep 2026 06:00:00 +0000 Vikas Xi arrives in Washington with rare earths, cheap energy, and leverage. Trump arrives with $6 diesel and a war he can't afford. Americas Indo-Pacific https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/trump-asks-ukraine-to-spare-russias-refineries https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/trump-asks-ukraine-to-spare-russias-refineries Mon, 14 Sep 2026 06:00:00 +0000 Vikas American diesel passed $6 a gallon on Friday. On Sunday the President asked Ukraine to stop destroying the refineries of the country he is sanctioning. The two facts are the same fact. Russia & Eurasia Americas Europe https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/the-last-way-around-hormuz-is-closed https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/the-last-way-around-hormuz-is-closed Mon, 14 Sep 2026 06:00:00 +0000 Vikas Drones launched from Iraq shut the pipeline that carried five million barrels a day past the strait. Brent is above $107, the ten-year Treasury is at 4.97%, and the Federal Reserve meets on Wednesday. Middle East & North Africa Americas https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/why-india-and-china-secretly-want-the-dollar-to-survive https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/why-india-and-china-secretly-want-the-dollar-to-survive Fri, 11 Sep 2026 06:00:00 +0000 Vikas The bloc's two biggest economies hold trillions in dollar assets, and their rivalry makes a shared alternative even less likely. Indo-Pacific South Asia Americas https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/why-trump-cant-end-the-iran-war-after-the-midterms https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/why-trump-cant-end-the-iran-war-after-the-midterms Fri, 11 Sep 2026 06:00:00 +0000 Vikas The Vice President says by January 2029. The theory of how wars end says neither of them controls the date. Middle East & North Africa Americas https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/america-is-bombing-its-own-bond-market https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/america-is-bombing-its-own-bond-market Thu, 10 Sep 2026 06:00:00 +0000 Vikas Five Iranian tankers are burning, oil has crossed $100, and the U.S. Treasury is paying more than $1 trillion a year in interest. These three facts are one story. Middle East & North Africa Americas https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/europe-is-becoming-a-chinese-colony https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/europe-is-becoming-a-chinese-colony Tue, 08 Sep 2026 06:00:00 +0000 Vikas How Europe’s trade imbalance with China is becoming a vulnerability for jobs, manufacturing, and security. Europe Indo-Pacific https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/china-wont-invade-taiwan https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/china-wont-invade-taiwan Mon, 07 Sep 2026 06:00:00 +0000 Vikas A blockade is an act of war. A quarantine is paperwork Indo-Pacific https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/trump-wants-their-soldiers https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/trump-wants-their-soldiers Sat, 05 Sep 2026 06:00:00 +0000 Vikas South Korea pay the price of the US security guaranty Americas Indo-Pacific https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/us-imported-iranian-oil https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/us-imported-iranian-oil Wed, 02 Sep 2026 06:00:00 +0000 Vikas For one month, a quiet Treasury licence made Iranian crude legal in American ports Middle East & North Africa Americas https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/chinas-water-bomb-nepal https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/chinas-water-bomb-nepal Tue, 01 Sep 2026 06:00:00 +0000 Vikas Climate change broke the mountain, but China’s upstream secrecy and the world’s silence turned disaster into catastrophe. South Asia Indo-Pacific https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/russia-is-frustrated https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/russia-is-frustrated Sat, 29 Aug 2026 06:00:00 +0000 Vikas Britain crosses Moscow’s red lines, and NATO’s defences run dangerously low. Russia & Eurasia Europe https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/food-crisis-russia-last-resort https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/food-crisis-russia-last-resort Wed, 26 Aug 2026 06:00:00 +0000 Vikas War, fertiliser shortages, export restrictions and El Niño are breaking the global food chain Russia & Eurasia https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/biggest-el-nino-since-1877 https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/biggest-el-nino-since-1877 Mon, 24 Aug 2026 06:00:00 +0000 Vikas This time, we have 18 months’ warning — and still no plan. https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/americas-economic-doomsday https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/americas-economic-doomsday Fri, 21 Aug 2026 06:00:00 +0000 Vikas There are five things that have to happen first — and two of them happened this week. Americas https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/iran-waiting-for-midterms https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/iran-waiting-for-midterms Fri, 21 Aug 2026 06:00:00 +0000 Vikas In 1980, It Waited for the American Election, and It Is Waiting Again. Middle East & North Africa Americas https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/how-far-can-europe-go-for-ukraine https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/how-far-can-europe-go-for-ukraine Sat, 27 Jun 2026 06:00:00 +0000 Vikas Europe has become Ukraine’s biggest financial backer. The real question is whether Europe’s own economy can survive the cost. Europe Russia & Eurasia https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/biggest-hypocrisy-of-the-western-media https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/biggest-hypocrisy-of-the-western-media Mon, 25 May 2026 06:00:00 +0000 Vikas Where Terrorism Depends on Who’s Attacked https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/end-of-the-liberal-international-order-interregnum https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/end-of-the-liberal-international-order-interregnum Fri, 15 May 2026 06:00:00 +0000 Vikas The liberal international order is widely held to be breaking apart, yet scholars disagree about what is breaking, when the breakdown began, and what will take its place. Americas Indo-Pacific https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/the-crash-will-begin-in-america https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/the-crash-will-begin-in-america Sat, 31 Jan 2026 06:00:00 +0000 Vikas Much Worse Than 1929, 2000, and 2008 Americas https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/two-tier-system-of-the-eu https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/two-tier-system-of-the-eu Sun, 25 Jan 2026 06:00:00 +0000 Vikas Why Fast-Tracking Ukraine Could Reshape EU Membership Forever Europe https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/why-greenland-is-not-worth-it https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/why-greenland-is-not-worth-it Thu, 15 Jan 2026 06:00:00 +0000 Vikas Natural resources, power politics, and the high price of coercion Americas Europe https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/russias-war-economy-breaking-apart https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/russias-war-economy-breaking-apart Sun, 26 Oct 2025 06:00:00 +0000 Vikas The Illusion of Strength Is Fading Russia & Eurasia https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/the-collapse-of-europe https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/the-collapse-of-europe Tue, 15 Jul 2025 06:00:00 +0000 Vikas Crime, Migration, and Social Division Europe https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/londons-great-wealth-exodus https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/londons-great-wealth-exodus Wed, 25 Jun 2025 06:00:00 +0000 Vikas Why London’s Millionaires Are Fleeing And Where They’re Heading Europe https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/india-pakistan-the-next-major-war https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/india-pakistan-the-next-major-war Fri, 25 Apr 2025 06:00:00 +0000 Vikas 5 ways India can respond to the terrorist attack by Pakistan South Asia https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/russias-next-targets-after-ukraine https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/russias-next-targets-after-ukraine Sun, 30 Mar 2025 06:00:00 +0000 Vikas Putin’s Expansionist Ambitions Russia & Eurasia Europe https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/join-the-conversation https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/join-the-conversation Sun, 02 Feb 2025 06:00:00 +0000 Vikas The Long way is waiting for you https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/the-expansion-of-gpe https://geopoliticaleconomist.com/articles/the-expansion-of-gpe Fri, 13 Sep 2024 06:00:00 +0000 Vikas Exploring New Frontiers