WORLD ROUNDUPBRICS Is Sliding Towards Irrelevance | Iran’s Collapse Could Cause a Nuclear Security Nightmare | The Real Trouble with Americas Flip-Flop on Ukrainian Weapons, and more

BRICS Is Sliding Towards Irrelevance –the Rio Summit Made That Clear  (Amalendu Misra, The Conversation)
The Brics group of nations has just concluded its 17th annual summit in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro. But, despite member states adopting a long list of commitments covering global governance, finance, health, AI and climate change, the summit was a lacklustre affair.

Coups in West Africa Have Five Things in Common: Knowing What They Are Is Key to Defending Democracy  (Salah Ben Hammou, The Conversation)
August 2025 makes it five years since Malian soldiers ousted President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta in a coup d’état. While the event reshaped Mali’s domestic politics, it also marked the beginning of a broader wave of military takeovers that swept parts of Africa between 2020 and 2023.
Soldiers have toppled governments in Niger, Burkina Faso (twice), Sudan, Chad, Guinea and Gabon.
The return of military coups shocked many observers. Once thought to be relics of the cold war, an “extinct” form of regime change, coups appeared to be making a comeback.
No new coups have taken place since Gabon’s in 2023, but the ripple effects are far from over. Gabon’s coup leader, Gen. Brice Oligui Nguema, formally assumed the presidency in May 2025. In doing so he broke promises that the military would step aside from politics. In Mali, the ruling junta dissolved all political parties to tighten its grip on power.
Across the affected countries, military rulers remain entrenched. Sudan, for its part, has descended into a devastating civil war following its coup in 2021.
Analysts often cite weak institutions, rising insecurity, and popular frustration with civilian governments to explain coups. While these factors play a role, they don’t capture the patterns we have observed.

Iran’s Collapse Could Cause a Nuclear Security Nightmare  (Eric Brewer and Scott Roecker, Foreign Policy)
Washington would struggle to secure dangerous materials, technologies, and expertise.

The Philippines May Turn Its Back on the U.S. Again  (Derek Grossman,Foreign Policy)
Presidential rival Sara Duterte could step into her father’s foreign policy footsteps.

The Real Trouble with Americas Flip-Flop on Ukrainian Weapons  (Nancy A. Youssef, The Atlantic)
The Trump administration has deprived Kyiv of one thing it desperately needs: predictable support.