If Iran is a key player in the Middle East, it is in no small part because of its extensive network of armed militia, which it uses as proxies.

South Korea is a hydrogen (H₂) frontrunner. The world’s first commercial fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) was launched by the South Korean car manufacturer Hyundai (Tucson i×35) in 2013.

POSCO Energy, South Korea’s largest private energy producer, completed the world’s largest fuel cell manufacturing plant in 2015. When President Moon took office in 2018, the new government identified H₂ as a new growth engine, and pledged to turn the country into a H₂ economy.

Middle Eastern geopolitics is currently undergoing structural changes: the regional order is in transition in the aftermath of the Arab Spring that undermined authoritarian governance, and triggered the competition for power against a backdrop of American withdrawal. 

The AfD - Alternative for Germany - was founded in 2013 to protest the Euro rescue policy. Originally conservative-liberal, but to the right of the CDU/CSU, the party presented itself after 2015 as the main opponent to Angela Merkel's migration policy. It subsequently achieved electoral success, including its entry into the Bundestag in 2017.

Although it is still marginal, the market for electric vehicles (EVs) is growing. According to the French Institute of Petroleum and Renewable Energies (IFPEN, Institut Français du Pétrole et des Énergies Renouvelables), EVs accounted for a little more than 2% of the light vehicle market in 2019. This was up by 54% compared to 2018, but EVs still only represent 0.8% of the global car fleet. That said, the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates EVs could make up between 15% and 30% of vehicle sales in 2030. 

Amid the shift in major powers, the Persian Gulf is asserting its position at the heart of the Middle East.

An irreplaceable reservoir of biodiversity and freshwater, the Amazon basin has become extremely important in this age of climate disruption.

The economies of the Persian Gulf are highly dependent on their petrol exports, particularly to Asia.