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This is From the Network, Third Institute's weekly briefing — analysis, reporting, and regional intelligence from contributors across seven regions, written from inside the places they cover.
This week, contributors are well underway and the network is expanding. Expect daily regional digests, weekly briefings and analytical pieces across all our platforms.
Weekly Briefing
Sub-Saharan Africa
AI Investment in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Opportunity for the Region to Reconfigure the Global Playing Field
Following the predictable pattern of recent years, Sub Saharan Africa is now reckoning with the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and foreign interest in the region’s digital economy.
NEW IN ANALYSIS
Sovereign Cooperation: Japan’s Blueprint for Middle‑Power Digital Sovereignty Introduction
By Tyla Casey-Knight
Across the Network
OPPORTUNITIES
Applications remain open for both Network Contributors and Analysis Editors. We are actively building across all seven regions — if you have regional expertise and a perspective worth sharing, we want to hear from you.
EDITORS NOTE
Welcome back to From the Network.
Over seven regions, there was an overarching motif this week, and it’s that security alliances are shifting very quickly with states realigning where and with whom they place their strategic trust. Starting off strong with the Mecca Agreement, the trilateral defence pact binding Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan is spreading through South Asia and MENA’s politics with Iran and Israel on the other hand reading it as directed at them because of the Agreement’s NATO-style Article 5 language. In the Black Sea, Türkiye pushed for a moratorium on ship attacks following its drone strikes hitting two of its commercial vessels; Ankara is now stuck between protecting its trade and keeping its role as a mediator between Moscow and Kyiv.
In East Asia, Taiwan called up thousands of reservists with no set plans, running its largest, least predictable military exercises yet, all to evaluate readiness for a Chinese blockade. In Chad, security ties with France are changing, moving toward narrower terms after a not so great search for alternatives in Russia, Türkiye and the UAE. Elsewhere, Thailand's outreach to Myanmar's junta, described by Contributors as a "calibrated re-engagement", is testing ASEAN unity ahead of the bloc's November 2026 summit in Manila, where members will have to decide if Myanmar comes back to full membership.
Outside of the Institute’s coverage, Colombia was struck by one of its most severe earthquakes in years, a magnitude 7.4 quake centred in Chocó province that was felt across hundreds of miles of the country's west. The disaster has caused significant loss of life and injuries, particularly in Cali, while rescue and recovery efforts go on. Our thoughts are with those affected, and with the communities working through the aftermath.
As always, thank you for reading From the Network.
Saba, MENA Regional Editor
Thank you for reading,
Foreign policy beyond the first take.