I sat down with Nikos Christodoulides, President of Cyprus, to unpack his view of a shifting world order and how a small island nation can lead in a new era.
- Background: Cyprus (~1.5 million people) sits at the junction of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, giving it strategic relevance.
- World order: He sees a return to raw power politics, arguing post‑WWII institutions now favor incumbent powers.
- India’s role: Advocates an India‑centric security architecture modeled on the 1975 OSCE, citing the EU‑India free‑trade agreement as proof of feasibility.
- AI & labour: Proposes nationalising dominant AI firms or implementing UBI if AI displaces large numbers of jobs.
- Governance metrics: Success measured by universal access to education and healthcare, not electoral margins.
- Diplomacy lesson: "understand what the other side needs before raising what you need."