🌍 The geopolitics of citizenship
Plus: Radioactive rhinos
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Today’s briefing: |
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Good morning Intriguer. Here’s a fun true tale shared by an anonymous foreign service officer from the front lines of diplomacy. Enjoy!
Years ago I was serving in a remote part of the world and attended a local festival — one of those ‘must attend’ things for any new arrival hoping to get to know this beautiful place and its people (fun fact: the venue also doubled as the airport three times a week).
Anyway, the local trade minister appeared on stage and, after a rousing speech, announced it was now time for… the annual goat race. But before I could ponder if I’d him heard correctly, I realised the minister was pointing directly at the only foreigner in the crowd: me.
Not wanting to make a scene, and hoping to impress on my first posting, I shuffled forwards, was handed a goat on a rope, and before I could even catch the little guy’s name (Rocket), we were off across the race-course / airport in front of thousands of cheering locals.
Rocket and I came dead last (I ended up running next to him). But days later, the embassy was surprised when an invite came through to meet the trade minister at his office. The invite wasn’t addressed to my ambassador boss or even the deputy, but rather to the embassy’s newly arrived young ‘Rocketman’. And that, dear Intriguers, is how ‘Rocketman’ managed to convince this small state to re-engage on a big trade deal.
Anyway, today’s briefing features an important update on… popstar Dua Lipa (seriously).
Number of the day
547,000
That’s the daily oil barrel output increase announced by eight core OPEC+ members on Sunday (Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman), as the cartel continues unwinding its earlier output cuts in a bid to regain market share.
One kiss stamp is all it takes
The president of Kosovo just announced via Insta that she's granted citizenship to UK-based popstar Dua Lipa, so you know what that means, dear Intriguer. Yes, we're going to need a quick look at the geopolitics of citizenship, with three examples, starting in…
i. 🇽🇰 Kosovo
Why'd President Osmani do this? Sure, Dua Lipa was born to Kosovan-Albanian parents, and lived there for a few years after Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008. And sure, she already got Albanian citizenship back in 2022. But why’d world leaders blast this out via Insta rather than the generic notification the rest of us might get?
First, for two of Europe's poorest countries, drawing links to an international recording artist is an easy way to burnish your brand, not only in hopes of encouraging more trade and investment (including via their big diasporas), but also more tourism: Dua Lipa has an annual Sunny Hill music festival in Kosovo, for example.
Second, that kind of branding (success, creativity) also helps Albania's ongoing EU bid.
But third, it's also just good for Kosovo's security: it's not only asserting Kosovar culture, but also… even having the world aware of your existence might a) discourage an invasion from Serbia (which still claims all of Kosovo), and/or b) foster more international help if things do get hot again. Speaking of which…
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🇷🇺 Russia
The Kremlin occasionally grants citizenship to Westerners critical of the West, whether Steven Seagal (2016) or Gérard Depardieu (2013). Both had already fallen ass-backwards off the A-list via tax and #metoo allegations (Depardieu also famously relieved himself in first class), but that hasn’t stopped the Kremlin using both for propaganda purposes, framing their switch as examples of Western celebrities preferring Moscow's model.
Putin also imposes mass citizenship to ratify his periodic invasions, decreeing it for 3.2 million locals after taking Ukraine's Crimea in 2014, then another 400,000 when seizing parts of Donetsk and Luhansk soon after. He’s now issued some 3.5 million more Russian passports across occupied Ukraine since 2022 (a top European court has found in part that folks are just too scared to refuse). But then there’s…
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🇧🇯 Benin
The French-speaking West African nation passed a 'My Afro-Origins Law' last year, building on its own earlier apology for its predecessor kingdoms of Whydah / Dahomey selling fellow African people to transatlantic slave-traders. The idea is to grant citizenship to descendants of slaves, with R&B star Ciara nabbing her Beninese papers at a ceremony in Cotonou last week (film-maker duo Spike and Tonya Lewis Lee were also in town to formalise their appointment as Benin’s cultural ambassadors in the US).
But what's in it for Benin? The government has framed it all as a way to a) make amends for its past, and b) turn that dark history into economic opportunity, including by encouraging more memorial and heritage tourism.
It's also an example of what the African Union bloc might’ve had in mind when it declared the continent’s vast diaspora as Africa’s official ‘Sixth Region’ in 2005: it’s about figuring how to tap the skills, capital, and networks of those 200 million folks all around the world.
But whatever the specifics, each of the above three examples is a reminder that a passport isn't just paperwork anymore: it's also strategy, symbolism, and even soft power.
Intrigue’s Take
We're barely scratching the surface here, of course. There's also…
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Budapest's fast-tracking of citizenship for ethnic Hungarians
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Israel's law of return for Jewish people worldwide
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Italy's citizenship for Argentina's President Milei
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The UAE's rare citizenship offers for top scientists and creatives, and
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China's rejection of dual citizenship (on loyalty and complexity grounds — unless of course you're an Olympic medallist!).
But what does any of this teach us about our world?
First, citizenship is no longer (if it ever was) just a legal status: it's also a geopolitical signal, projecting the type of country you are or want to be, whether it's creative Kosovo, benevolent Benin, or resurgent Russia.
Second, as our world de-globalises, capitals are redefining who belongs (and who doesn't) in pursuit of specific goals, whether demographic, economic, or strategic.
And third for individuals, it's a reminder that in a fragmented world, identity can be up for grabs too: whether it's taxes, family history, or just a new start (particularly if you've got that sweet sweet PhD in AI or semiconductors), your options are rapidly evolving.
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Meanwhile, elsewhere…
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🇨🇳 CHINA – No minerals for you! Comment: The reporting also contains an intriguing story of a US-bound shipment of Australian antimony getting detained during transit via China, and only released on promises it’d not reach the US. These stories make real what was already implicit in China’s supply chain dominance, and they fit with rumours that the Pentagon might actually ramp up its funding for alternative sources (one of which we wrote about here). |
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🇮🇱 ISRAEL – Proof of life. |
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🇨🇳 CHINA – Don’t leave me. Comment: These expanding measures kill a few birds at once: imposing ideological discipline, reducing perceived corruption, and curbing espionage risks abroad (it’s much easier to recruit a source outside the gaze of China’s 24/7 surveillance). |
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🇺🇦 UKRAINE – Corruption unveiled. Comment: Meanwhile, Russia has its own anti-corruption drive, with Putin pursuing more political aims including to a) hype individual cases to obscure a worsening trend, and b) quench any thirst for war accountability, while deflecting blame for his war’s failings onto to corrupt officials. Speaking of which… |
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🇮🇳 INDIA – The gloves are off. Comment: Delhi sources are briefing outlets that Trump’s threats won’t stop India buying Putin’s discounted oil — ie, not without actual US secondary sanctions, an escalation DC no doubt hopes to avoid while it’s courting India against China. Still, these words from a top Trump aide are the second reminder in a week (beyond calling India’s economy “dead”) that the famous Modi-Trump bromance has its limits. |
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🇨🇱 CHILE – Mining disaster. |
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🇿🇦 SOUTH AFRICA – Radioactive horns. Comment: Rhino horn smuggling is still one of the top illegal wildlife trades by value. |
Extra Intrigue
🤣 Your weekly roundup of the world’s lighter news
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A US energy drink company is recalling its products after a supplier mistakenly filled its cans with vodka.
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A dog in Argentina has become a media sensation after interrupting an international tennis match with a reminder that pups just really love a loose ball.
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Scientists have used peacock feathers to emit laser beams.
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“Finally! I can drive my Mercedes-Benz while taking a Teams call”, said nobody ever, but the German carmaker is adding the feature anyway.
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And a truck has spilled its load of hot dogs onto a Pennsylvania highway, with local firefighters declaring it’s the wurst incident they’ve seen.
Photo of the day
Courtesy of the event organisers
We’re sure all our readers are cool. But not as cool as the above pooches joining the weekend’s 2025 World Dog Surfing Championships in Pacifica, California.
Is there a clever diplomatic angle here? A niche geopolitical insight? Absolutely not. But this is our briefing and we write about what we want and today it’s surfing pups.
Today’s poll
What would you prioritise if seeking a second citizenship? |
Yesterday’s poll: What do you think will make the most difference?
🇵🇸 Recognition of a Palestinian state (42%)
🌍 Regional calls for Hamas to disarm (56%)
✍️ Other (write in!) (2%)
Your two cents:
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🌍 S.P.G: “There can be no lasting peace with Hamas armed.”
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🇵🇸 H.A: “There's no moving towards peace without acknowledging Palestine's aspiration to be treated as a state, equal in status to Israel.”
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✍️ D.S: “Sanctions against Israel by its closer allies.”
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✍️ M.B: “An independently mediated two state solution for Israel and Palestine in which no one gets everything they want and no one comes away empty handed. Harsh, internationally enforced penalties should either party violate the agreement above and/or the sovereignty of the other.”