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Programme pillars

The research programmes

The pillars divide the corridor into questions that can actually be researched. They are not departments: a single report often draws on three of them.

Five pillars · one corridor

Programme 01Security & Strategic AffairsRegional and maritime security: what threatens the corridor, who is militarily present in it, and what states can do about both.Maritime and regional security4 focus areas · 3 outputsRead the programme
Programme 02Geopolitics & DiplomacyThe political dynamics of the corridor: alliances, rivalry, recognition, and the diplomacy that runs between them.Alliances, recognition and mediation4 focus areas · 3 outputsRead the programme
Programme 03Trade, Ports & Blue EconomyTrade, maritime infrastructure and economic development across the corridor and the ports that serve it.Shipping, infrastructure and the sea4 focus areas · 3 outputsRead the programme
Programme 04Governance, Law & PolicyGovernance frameworks, maritime law, and the institutional capacity a region needs in order to apply them.Maritime law and institutions4 focus areas · 3 outputsRead the programme
Programme 05Data, Intelligence & Strategic ForesightOpen-source data, risk mapping and scenario work, used to anticipate what the corridor does next.OSINT, scenarios and early warning4 focus areas · 3 outputsRead the programme

A question about a port is rarely only about trade. It is also about who controls the approach to it, which legal framework governs it, which alliance it belongs to, and what the data says about the risk of using it. The pillars exist so each of those questions is answered by someone who works on it full time, so the answers arrive in one document instead of five.

02Research agenda

What we are working on

The agenda evolves with the region’s priorities. These are the standing themes.

  • Maritime security and piracy

    Trends in Red Sea piracy, naval deployments and chokepoint security.

  • Geopolitical competition

    Great-power rivalry in the Red Sea corridor, including the United States, China, Russia and the Gulf states.

  • Regional integration

    Economic corridors, port development and trade facilitation.

  • Conflict and peace

    Conflict dynamics in Yemen, Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan, and the mediation strategies applied to them.

  • Governance and law

    Maritime law compliance, state recognition and regional governance reform.

  • Energy and infrastructure

    Oil, gas, pipelines and undersea cable security.

  • Climate and blue economy

    Environmental challenges, fisheries sustainability and maritime resource management.

  • Strategic forecasting

    Scenario planning, early-warning alerts and risk mapping for regional stability.