Most people open a crisis headline, feel stupid, and close the tab. You do not need a degree. You need three questions.

1. Who has power here?

Not who is loud. Who can fight, sanction, shut off energy, or block a shipping lane. A protest in a country with no energy, no army, and no chokepoint is a local story. The same protest next to Hormuz is not.

2. What system is this?

State (the country), government (this year’s officials), or regime (the rules that outlive them). A new prime minister in a democracy is not the same event as a coup in a military regime. If you mix those words, every story feels the same size.

3. What cluster does this belong to?

Almost nothing is a new story. It is US–China, Russia–NATO, Middle East energy, India’s rise, or resources and routes in Africa. Name the cluster and the headline stops being random.

Then follow fuel, money, and chokepoints. Ideology is real. Geography and energy are usually louder.

That is the whole method. Practice it on whatever is on the front page tonight.