Twenty-five years after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Central Asia is a region of relative stability. There are, of course, security, economic, and social challenges, which give local leaders sleepless nights; however, the narrative shift – from a troublesome region to an area of opportunity – is producing some surprising results. Read Here – […]
China’s widespread theft of information in cyberspace probably has done more to poison the well of U.S.-China relations than almost anything else. The possibility of any meaningful fallout from such operations seems remote from the concerns of Chinese leaders, even as Washington considers more aggressive responses to cyber intrusions. Read Here – The National Interest
The last time we saw such an extensive shift in the global situation was probably between 1989 and 1992, when the Narasimha Rao government came to power and India adjusted her policies considerably. Today the global economic balance has already shifted, and local balances of power are shifting rapidly, even if the overall global military balance is […]
There are few concepts as important yet as misunderstood and unaccounted for in explaining international affairs as dignity. Explaining what is happening in Vienna right now in the nuclear talks between Iran and the permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany is virtually impossible unless this critical variable is taken into account. Read […]
Since its announcement in early April 2015, the interim agreement on the Iranian nuclear program has yielded some $7 billion in sanctions relief for Iran, even though core U.S. and EU sanctions blocking Iranian imports remain in place. Although U.S. President Barack Obama faces tough opposition on the deal from Congress, his EU partners are […]
Since the onset of the current phase of globalization which more or less coincided with the end of the Cold War, democracy all over the world has registered significant progress. But this has been mainly horizontal in the sense that it has extended to more countries in different regions. In terms of quality, democracy has, […]
In spite of the internal stability in Salman’s reign, and despite the absence of an internal rival or opposition to the rule of Al Saud so far, the fourth Saudi state does not seem good for the grandchildren. The security and military crises on the northern and southern borders and the fiscal deficit in the general budget […]
Nuclear crises, propaganda and espionage, a clash of ideologies – the Korean peninsula is the only place in the world where the Cold War lingers. This persistence is the result of the 1953 Armistice Agreement and the apparent neorealist policies employed by North Korea. Read Here – The Diplomat
ASEAN’s leaders are worried about what history tells them about the future of Southeast Asia. The fears about the lessons of history are a discordant note as ASEAN steps up to a great moment in its history—the creation of an economic, political-security and social Community in December 2015. Read Here – The National Interest
Afghanistan was once the good war. Seeking righteous vengeance for 9/11, nearly 90 percent of the American public initially backed a crusade to topple the Taliban regime in Kabul and purge the country of al-Qaeda. For years, Barack Obama described Afghanistan as the center of gravity in the struggle against international terrorism. In 2009, Obama […]
looking beyond borders 