Yesterday marked the 10th anniversary of the overthrow of Saddam Hussain. But the debate about the direction of the US-Iraqi relationship is influenced by a pessimistic view that the US has lost Iraq. Not true. Despite all the problems of the past decade, the overwhelming majority of Iraqis agree that we are better off today […]
Contemporary developments in India’s foreign policy are often based on perceptions and not facts, views divorced from reality and political advocacy based on make-believe. India’s approach to the Sri Lankan issue and the vote in the Human Rights Council (HRC) is a case in point. Variously described as a “new low” in our foreign policy […]
Margaret Thatcher, the “Iron Lady“, was a towering figure in British 20th century politics, a grocer‘s daughter with a steely resolve who was loved and loathed in equal measure as she crushed the unions and privatized large swathes of industry. She died on Monday, aged 87, after suffering a stroke. During her life in politics […]
Attack submarines from the Chinesenavy are becoming increasingly active in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and could pose a “grave threat” to Indian interests there, a report by the Indian defense ministry said last week. Using subsurface contact information reportedly shared by the U.S. military, the report, prepared by the Integrated Defence Staff, said that at least 22 […]
FEW outside Kabul are as powerful as the governor of Balkh, a province in northern Afghanistan. Win an audience with Atta Mohammad Noor and you are left in little doubt of his status. He receives guests from a golden throne at the end of a long hall hung with chandeliers. His word exerts iron control […]
China’s influence in Africa goes so deep that African leaders are starting to shape their own agendas after China’s. In February 2012, South African President Jacob Zuma gave his “state of the nation” speech in Cape Town, but he might as well have been in Beijing. “For the year 2012 and beyond,” he said, “we […]
There are two schools of thought about what lies behind North Korea’s increasingly frenzied posturing. The first goes like this: The rhetoric emanating from Pyongyang, including calls to “break the waists of the crazy enemies [and] totally cut their windpipes”, is no worse than their decades-old ritualistic promises to turn South Korea into a “sea […]
Interestingly, a closer look at Japan’s performance over the past decade suggests little reason for persistent bearish sentiment. Indeed, in terms of growth of output per employed worker, Japan has done quite well since the turn of the century. With a shrinking labor force, the standard estimate for Japan in 2012 – that is, before Abenomics […]
The “Great Triangle” of the Asia-Pacific region formed by the United States, Russia, and China is particularly important in both geopolitical and military-strategic terms. The strategic arsenals and military programs of the two traditional superpowers and the steady buildup of the nuclear and missile capabilities of China, the newly emergent superpower of the twenty-first century, […]
The 2014 deadline for the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan is fast approaching. China has just over a year before Afghanistan fades from the West’s radar and Western attention toward the country shrinks substantially. However, it is not clear that Beijing has properly considered what it is going to do once NATO forces leave and pass […]
