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Atlas Limits Research Desk
Atlas Limits’ editorial and analytical desk.
162 published articlesPublished articles
Desalinate to Survive: The New Geopolitics of Water
For thousands of years, the geography of water largely determined the geography of human societies. Cities developed near rivers, agriculture around fertile basins, and states according to the water resources they could capture, transport, or defend. Egypt depends on the Nile, Me
The International Justice System: Who Judges the World?
There are judges capable of ruling against states, prosecutors who can seek the arrest of heads of government, tribunals that can settle maritime boundaries or order reparations after a conflict. There are even legal rules defining the gravest crimes humanity can commit. Yet ther
The Automotive Industry: Two Centuries of Power, Production and Transformation
For more than a century, the automotive industry has been one of the main engines of global industrialization. It has consumed steel, glass, rubber and oil, employed millions of workers, reshaped cities, stimulated road construction, supported the expansion of consumer credit and
Central Banks: The Power Behind Money
They do not vote on budgets, generally do not levy taxes, and do not govern countries. Yet a handful of institutions wield enormous influence over the functioning of modern economies. By changing interest rates, creating or withdrawing liquidity, purchasing trillions in assets, o
Nigeria: Demographics, Oil and the Ambitions of Power
With more than 230 million people, vast hydrocarbon reserves, one of the continent’s largest metropolitan areas and a cultural influence that extends far beyond its borders, Nigeria possesses almost all the attributes of a major African power. Yet since independence in 1960, the
Naval Ravikant: Wealth, Freedom and Power in the Age of Digital Leverage
Naval Ravikant has never built an industrial empire, controlled a global social network or become the public face of a technological conglomerate. His influence is more difficult to measure than market capitalization or political authority. It lies in the circulation of ideas. En
Indonesia: The Quiet Giant of the Indo-Pacific
With more than 285 million people, some 17,000 islands, Southeast Asia’s largest economy and a geographic position at the heart of the maritime routes connecting the Indian and Pacific Oceans, Indonesia possesses nearly all the attributes of a major power. Yet it remains relative
The BIS: the central bank of central banks?
In Basel, an institution largely unknown to the general public regularly brings together those responsible for the world’s major monetary systems. Yet the Bank for International Settlements sets no policy rate, does not lend to governments in crisis and does not command any centr
The Arms Industry: An Engine of Developed Economies?
Long regarded as a peculiar sector — essential to sovereignty but peripheral to the ordinary economy — the defense industry is returning to the center of industrial policy. European rearmament, the war in Ukraine, tensions in Asia and the modernization of military arsenals are tu
Peter Thiel: Power, Technology and the Revolt of Silicon Valley’s Elites
Peter Thiel is difficult to fit into a single category. Entrepreneur, investor, billionaire, libertarian intellectual, political donor, co-founder of PayPal and Palantir, Facebook’s first major outside investor and a central figure at Founders Fund, he simultaneously belongs to t
Spain–Morocco: The Indispensable Relationship
Fourteen kilometres apart at their closest point, Spain and Morocco have long maintained a relationship shaped by geographic proximity, historical mistrust and periodic crises. Yet beneath territorial, migration and diplomatic disputes, a much deeper interdependence has gradually
Brazil: the Power That Refuses to Choose Sides
With more than 210 million people, a near-continental territory, vast natural resources and an economy worth more than $2 trillion, Brazil possesses many of the material attributes of power. But its importance may lie even more in what it refuses to become: a simple satellite of