The generals who now run Egypt are not the first Arab rulers to fear the power of those seeking to use open spaces to demand change — and they know how to stop them. But this time around, the Muslim Brotherhood is prepared. Read Here – Foreign Affairs
As a religion synonymous with compassion and defined by non-violence, Buddhism has always been seen as a gentle way of life. It is for this reason that developments in Burma and Sri Lanka appear all the more mystifying. Read Here – The Diplomat
In a report last year, the Pew Research Center noted a marked increase in legal restrictions on the practice of religion around the world. The report found that “The share of countries with high or very high restrictions on religious beliefs and practices rose from 31% in the year ending in mid-2009 to 37% in the […]
With greater representation to Kuwaiti society, the new parliament brings with it the hope that somehow the resiliency of the political system has finally kicked in and is steering the country in the right direction Read Here – Gulf News
It is not Bosnia at the turn of the 20th century and it will not trigger a global war, but Lebanon is threatening to sink the Middle East into yet another vicious cycle of violence as political divisions and ideological battles fuel regional tensions. Read Here – The National
As NATO forces continue the process of withdrawing from Afghanistan, the People’s Republic of China finds itself in a conundrum. With tensions flaring throughout the Asia-Pacific, in part because of a more aggressive Chinese foreign policy, the last thing Beijing wants is to face a security risk along its western border. Read Here – The DIplomat
Iran‘s growing influence in Iraq since the US invasion in 2003 has been cause for enormous concern for many in the Middle East and beyond. But a growing economic rivalry between Tehran and Baghdad has attracted little attention. Read Here – The National
Arab societies are often regarded as bad places for women and girls. According to many observers, Arabic and Islamic culture can combine to foster attitudes that are inhospitable to gender equality. The results of a survey experiment we are conducting may challenge common assumptions. Women do face special difficulties in Arab lands, which are reflected in […]
This week, the judges of Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal have issued yet more guilty verdicts against leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami party for crimes committed during the country’s war of independence in 1971. Underscoring this energy are new prosecutions against foreign nationals of Bangladeshi origin who are effectively being tried in absentia. As elections are on the horizon for Bangladesh, it […]
In his, Dictionary of Political Thought, the noted political philosopher, Roger Scruton, defines a coup d’etat as “a change in government by force resulting in a change of constitution, and brought about by those who already hold some form of power whether military or political. The institution of a coup thereby transforms the terms on […]
looking beyond borders 