While there is considerable room for debate over the future extent of Sino-Russian relations (a formal alliance looks far from likely), it is worth considering the potential geopolitical implications of a growing entente between the two Great Powers. In no short measure, close alignment between Beijing and Moscow would accelerate the decline of U.S. relative power […]
In the 1930s travellers returned from Mussolini’s Italy, Stalin’s Russia, and Hitler’s Germany praising the hearty sense of common purpose they saw there, compared to which their own democracies seemed weak, inefficient, and pusillanimous. Democracies today are in the middle of a similar period of envy and despondency. Authoritarian competitors are aglow with arrogant confidence. […]
China will realize that its presence in the region will cost more than planned and regularly ensnare it in conflict. Read Here – The Diplomat
The arrival of Hamid Karzai, on the heels of the U.S. invasion in 2001, promised Afghans a break from the recent bloody past. Karzai’s lack of involvement in the long, brutal civil war that followed the Soviet retreat in 1989 raised the possibility of a unified country after a decade of battling fiefs. Read Here […]
It’s time to view aid as an investment rather than an act of charity so that in the long term it could lead to more effective aid and possibly more assistance overall. Read Here – Businessweek
Iraq’s poorly led but far larger and more heavily armed government forces may eventually roll back the Sunni advance. For now they man a ragged defensive arc around the northern and western approaches to Baghdad that is 60-90km deep, writes The Economist
The United States’ new rivals and enemies all lack the element that made the Soviet-American struggle so consequential during the Cold War. Read Here – Tabletmag
Ten years after the fall of Saddam Hussein, Iraq still suffers from the damage wrought in the overthrow of a dictator and the chaos that followed. Watch Here – Aljazeera
Brent crude was projected by Wall Street analysts to average as much as $116 a barrel by the end of the year. Now, with violence escalating in Iraq, how far the price will rise has become anyone’s guess. Read Here – Bloomberg
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured Bhutan of India’s support during his first trip abroad, a move seen by many as an attempt to assert his country’s influence in South Asia where China has steadily made inroads. Read Here – Reuters Read More – Hindustan Times
looking beyond borders 