The State of the World

The State of the World

15 January 2026

Since the extraction of Maduro on 3 January in Caracas, there has been little calm. For many people, the situation has become difficult to interpret. What comes next? Will Chavismo remain in power? Will oil companies invest again? And can Curaçao benefit?

Meanwhile, attention appears to be shifting toward Greenland. Pietro held a constructive conversation with Trump. Claudia Sheinbaum, too, must remain on her guard. All of this is unfolding within our region. In Ukraine, the situation seems to have settled into a status quo.

What connects these seemingly disparate developments is that, in multiple places at once, existing power relations are coming under pressure and the international order is visibly losing coherence.

Yet that is not the whole picture. We scarcely come to Iran, a country of some 90 million inhabitants. There, a mass popular uprising is currently underway, seriously threatening the survival of the existing regime. The situation is marked by intense protests, a ruthless response by the authorities, and rising international tension. Trump says he is closely monitoring developments and threatens to intervene should the regime continue to use violence against its own population. The former crown prince in exile is also actively involved in the matter.

Many expect the regime to come to an end. One thing seems certain: it will take a long time before any sense of balance returns to the world.

Miguel Goede