Stratfor

Many people try to understand the world affairs through various sources such an news, newspapers, gossip and conspiracy theories. This normally leads to more conspiracy theories. People end up having either no understanding of the reasons for things happening around the world or they develop a foggy view of affairs at best. This lack of objective development of opinions can be further obscured by cultural conditioning. For instance, many people in the Muslim world would presume that the U.S. has a hand in the recent chemical attacks in Syria, while being oblivious of the ideological humanitarian struggle that has refrained the former from going to war or attacking the latter in response to the chemical attacks. Although, at least apparently, the two phenomena are quite orthogonal. Indeed, the way things are understood can be painful and ridiculous. It is a pity! Similarly, one may wonder what, for instance, the Europeans actually think about the role Russians have played in averting any possible air, or whatever, strikes. Indeed, there could be many misunderstandings.

Startfor addresses such misconceptions and misunderstandings very effectively through its weekly geopolitical analysis reports. Stratfor, as the name suggests, is a syncronym for strategic forecast. It is a Washington based think tank. It covers almost any situation in the world that may have any significant impact on the geopolitics of the world. Irrespective of whether it is an economic situation arising in Europe, a military situation raising its head in Afghanistan, a hurricane that may affect American trade or a political handshake in China that may affect the export of toys elsewhere and its consequence on global economy, Stratfor tries to explain that through its own vantage point of objectivity. Overall stratfor is quite objective in its treatment of various issues it picks. Stratfor can also be quite blunt and surprising in the way it explains a situation. It appears that the major objective of Stratfor is to talk about ulterior motives of nations.

The most noteworthy thing about Stratfor is the way its CEO, George Friedman, writes about any geopolitical situation. Apart from the content about the matter, the articles are interesting to read in their own right. That means that apart from his choice of topics, the way he writes is quite inspiring. Usually he starts off with a random phrase or a thought and then slowly builds his argument in the light of examples, limitations and lessons from history. The choice of words and the structure and flow of article keep the reader engaged till the end of the read. And the most fascinating thing is the way he ends his discourse.