Strategic Straits and the Changing Global Economy

In this paper, we discuss:

• How strategic maritime chokepoints such as Hormuz, Bab el-Mandeb, Suez, Panama, and Malacca shape global trade, energy flows, and supply chains;
• Why disruptions in key waterways increasingly generate economic shocks through higher shipping costs, inflationary pressures, and supply chain delays;
• How geopolitical competition among major powers is transforming maritime corridors into arenas of strategic influence, infrastructure rivalry, and security competition;
• The growing importance of chokepoints as sources of fiscal and geopolitical leverage, including emerging debates over the monetization of strategic waterways;
• Why efforts to diversify global trade routes may create new vulnerabilities rather than eliminate dependence on critical maritime bottlenecks.

Download PDF: Straits – June 2026