States have taken ownership of globalization — and firms are catching up

States have taken ownership of globalization — and firms are catching up

Globalization was treated, for decades, as a corporate efficiency project. Now it is being recast as a contest: states and alliances projecting military, economic, and technological power across decades, not quarters. The old "rules‑based order" still technically exists. It just can't referee anything anymore.

Gobble's Take: The spreadsheet era didn't end with a bang. It got quietly nationalized. Source: Forbes

History keeps showing up to Bangladesh's negotiating table

A commentary on H.E. Dinesh Trivedi suggests he is well placed to read Bangladesh's shifting political landscape — and what it means for renewed bilateral relations with India. The context is long: East Pakistan became an independent state in 1971, along a boundary with India that was itself decided in 1947.

Gobble's Take: Nobody invited 1947 to the meeting. It came anyway. Source: CounterpointBD

Markets, culture, and politics are all telling the same story

A newsletter digest spanning May 18–20, 2026 surveys a world in overlapping crisis — drawing dispatches from Washington, Beijing, Cannes, New York, and Riyadh. US-China trade, the AI revolution's market implications, and the shifting geography of cultural production are all tangled together with deeper anxieties about trust, identity, and belonging.

Gobble's Take: When every domain starts rhyming, you're not watching separate crises. You're already inside one big one. Source: Substack

In Case You Missed It

Yesterday's top stories:

• Africa is no longer on the sidelines
• Pax Silica is turning AI supply chains into geopolitics
• Markets are pricing risk, debt, and an unstable peace at the same time