Current History

Current History Current events at the intersection of history, foreign affairs, and emerging technology. Substack: https://current-history.com

04/28/2026

Three reasons why Iran War shipping delays haven't hit your pocketbook (yet).

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04/28/2026

Energy security also means securing supply chains. Renewables have their own chokepoints, but in this case its minerals rather than oil.

Subscribe for weekly analysis on foreign policy, energy, and the forces shaping the world. Hit the bell so you don't miss new posts. If you want to support this work directly, Current History is also on Substack. Every essay and podcast delivered to your inbox. Free to start, with a Founding Member plan that guarantees lifetime access without a paywall.

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04/27/2026

The Iran War has shown the vulnerability from relying heavily on fossil fuels produced in some of the most volatile parts of the world. This will only reinforce the trend toward more investment in renewable energy.

Subscribe for analysis on foreign policy, energy, and the forces shaping the world. If you want to support this work directly, Current History is also on Substack. Every essay and podcast delivered to your inbox. Free to start, with a Founding Member plan that guarantees lifetime access without a paywall.

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04/27/2026

The Iran War has had a major impact on shipping lanes. Traffic that went through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea is now going the long way around the southern tip of Africa, adding thousands of miles.

Subscribe for analysis on foreign policy, energy, and the forces shaping the world. If you want to support this work directly, Current History is also on Substack. Every essay and podcast delivered to your inbox. Free to start, with a Founding Member plan that guarantees lifetime access without a paywall.

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🚨New post on the energy and Iran (link in comments)🚨The Iran war accelerated the push toward renewables. The minerals re...
04/24/2026

🚨New post on the energy and Iran (link in comments)🚨

The Iran war accelerated the push toward renewables. The minerals required to build them are refined overwhelmingly in China.

The Iran war shut down one of the world's most critical energy corridors. The response from policymakers was immediate: accelerate the renewable transition. Solar and wind can't be blockaded. The security case and the economic case now point in the same direction. But solar panels, wind turbines, and batteries are manufactured from minerals. China refines 19 of 20 critical minerals at an average market share of 70%.

There is currently no heavy rare-earth separation capacity in the United States at meaningful scale. China has already demonstrated willingness to weaponize that position through escalating export controls.

The dependencies are not equivalent. Oil gets consumed. Every barrel burned requires a new one through the same routes indefinitely. Minerals go into infrastructure that runs for decades and can be partially recovered through recycling. The mineral problem has a ceiling. Oil dependency does not.

The transition does not eliminate strategic exposure. It relocates it.

Latest post is on how Pakistan brokered a ceasefire between Iran and the US and what this says about “middle powers” nav...
04/22/2026

Latest post is on how Pakistan brokered a ceasefire between Iran and the US and what this says about “middle powers” navigating a multipolar world. Link in comments.

04/22/2026

Why was Pakistan able to broker a ceasefire between Iran and the United States? I talk about this in my latest video blog.

The analysis was heavily based on research from the Middle Powers project at the

04/22/2026

Explaining Iran’s incentives to negotiate in my latest quick take (link in comments).

02/17/2026

A short clip from my most recent podcast with Dr. Rolandas Simkevicius, Ph.D. focusing on the U.S. alliance system and why allies are even important in an increasingly world.

You can listen to the full podcast on Substack here: https://lnkd.in/g3_Jh3QD

The latest Current History Substack piece (link in comments) talks about a world seeking to de-center the United States....
01/22/2026

The latest Current History Substack piece (link in comments) talks about a world seeking to de-center the United States. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s remarkable speech at Davos was the first explicit statement of this from a world leader.

As the negotiated multiple trade deals, and Canada agrees to tariff reductions with China, a truly world is beginning to emerge. And it’s poorly suited to a transactional, bullying style of .

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