VLADIMIR PUTIN came to power on May 7th 2000 under the banner of economic reform, modernisation and anti- corruption. In a bow to Russian history he ordered that “The Gulag Archipelago”, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s 1973 book about Stalin’s Soviet forced-labour camp system, be made a set text for Russian schoolchildren, a radical move as the book […]
What began in Syria as a revolt against an oppressive regime has evolved into a sectarian civil war and, more recently, into a proxy conflict. In the process, the struggle has become increasingly convoluted, with conflicting agendas among allies, together with deep-seated communal tensions, rendering the situation nearly intractable. Read Here – Project Syndicate
As international attention continues to focus on the nuclear programs in North Korea and Iran, a less-discussed Asian country has quietly emerged as a leader in responsible nuclear development: Kazakhstan. In addition to its much-praised stint hosting last month’s international talks on the Iranian nuclear program, Kazakhstan is now in talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency […]
The first ever ‘blue book’ on India released in China by a prominent official Beijing publisher has portrayed a government in “serious crisis,” but expressed the belief that India would likely emerge as a stronger country by conquering its current obstacles. Chinese think tanks release ‘blue books’ every year on a number of issues. While […]
The German Green Party has introduced a potent idea in the run-up to this year’s federal elections: abolish German citizenship and replace it with a European option. Read Here – The European
The Kurdish region of northern Iraq is a boom zone with considerable economic and military clout; this has changed the alliances and expectations of Kurds in Turkey, Syria and Iran. How far can this go? Read Here – Le Monde Diplomatique
China’s influence in post-Soviet Central Asia has steadily grown for 20 years. Beijing, striving to suppress Uighur separatist movements in and beyond its own Xinjiang province as well as to tap into Central Asian development projects, has backed the neighboring region’s largely unpopular authoritarian regimes. As a result, the populations’ receptiveness to Islamic forms of […]
Americans are unlikely to learn anything from the Iraq War for one simple reason. Rather than subjecting the war to the critical scrutiny it deserves, they are keen to forget it. Read Here – World Affairs
Reports suggesting that India withdrew from a planned naval exercise with the United States last month out of fears it might upset Beijing are only the latest reason to grapple with an increasingly pertinent question: What are the costs these days of hurting the feelings of the Chinese people? Read Here – CNN
The high turnout for the recent general election indicates that the Pakistani public is warming up to democracy. But participation is a double-edged sword: by virtue of having had its voice heard, the public now has heightened expectations of government performance. If Sharif fails to deliver, public disaffection could set in rather quickly and powerfully. […]
