For those seeking to understand the perilous politics of the region today, there is no better place to start than the First Sino-Japanese War, which pitted China’s fading Qing Dynasty against an ascendant Meiji Japan in a contest for regional supremacy. Read Here – National Interest
While the war is over and the Tamil Tigers have been jubilantly crushed by the government forces, the north remains heavily militarized and for many residents, the violence isn’t over. Read Here – The Diplomat
The Chinese Communist Party’s Third Plenum released its plan for reforms, including moving toward the free market in allocating resources, abolishing prison reeducation, easing the one-child restriction for some families and eliminating local control over the judiciary. Despite such guidance on reforms, though, the plan is also designed to strengthen the party’s control, writes journalist […]
So Merkel-Land is looking at stasis, thanks to too much chumminess among the parties. In the next four years, we won’t be seeing any more magazine covers celebrating Angela I as “queen” or “empress” of the Continent. Read Here – Bloomberg
A cartoon portraying a mother asking her daughter what her fiancé does for a living, which was published in an Egyptian newspaper, says it all. “He’s a career revolutionary,” answers the smiling girl. Read Here – Gulf News
Iran is moving to improve relations with Saudi Arabia and end a conflict with the United Arab Emirates over islands in the Persian Gulf after signing an agreement last month to end a deadlock over its nuclear program. Read Here – Bloomberg
Pakistani authorities have long had ties to domestic militant groups that help advance the country’s core foreign policy interests, namely in connection with Afghanistan and India. Read Here – Council On Foreign Relations
In recent years, Bangladeshis have suffered the brutality of security forces and massive environmental destruction. For months now, the news from the world’s seventh-most-populous country has been dominated by the fractiousness of the country’s main leaders, thetrial of men suspected of war crimes during Bangladesh’s war of liberation in 1971, and the slavery-like conditions of the […]
Disquiet in the Gulf over the interim nuclear deal with Iran has added to the anguish about a break in US–Saudi relations. But it is hard to get too worked up about this. In recent years there’s been a lot of anguish about a break. It is true that, unlike most myths of a golden […]
Absent a war with Iran—which seemed increasingly likely absent a deal—the neocons will be deprived of their raison d’etre. Yes, they can rail about China, which is making dangerously provocative moves against Japan this week. But the Middle East is where the real action is for the neocons. Iran has been a crucial enemy, the […]
looking beyond borders 