COMMENTARIES
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Spotlight West Asia
Islamic State: The Efficacy of Counter-strategies
Ranjit Gupta · 04 Nov, 2014 · #4727 · Commentary · Column
The efficacy of the US strategy to defeat the Islamic State (IS) can only be meaningfully evaluated in the context of the current regional and international geopolitical configurations. It should be self-evident that there is no possibility at a...
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Dateline Colombo
Connecting Sri Lanka: Train to Jaffna
Asanga Abeyagoonasekera · 04 Nov, 2014 · #4726 · Commentary · Column
On 09 November, the world will remember the fall of the Iron Curtain. Twenty five years from this date the Berlin Wall was dismantled; this iconic moment triggered the end of the Cold War. One may wonder what journey a contemporary super power s...
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Himalayan Frontier
The Future of SAARC is Now
Pramod Jaiswal · 04 Nov, 2014 · #4725 · Commentary · Column
The 18th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit is taking place in Kathmandu at the historic moment when South Asia is going through massive transformation. India elected Narendra Modi as its prime minister with an overw...
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Maritime Matters
Indian Ocean and the IORA: Search and Rescue Operations
Vijay Sakhuja · 03 Nov, 2014 · #4724 · Commentary · Column
The international efforts to locate the wreckage of Malaysian Airlines flight MH 370 which went missing over the southern Indian Ocean nearly seven months ago have continued unabated. Till such time the debris and the black box is located, the c...
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East Asia Compass
South Korea's Foreign Policy: More Rhetoric, Less Content?
Dr Sandip Kumar Mishra · 03 Nov, 2014 · #4723 · Commentary · Column
South Korea’s foreign relations especially in East Asia are in a state of impasse under the current President Park Geun-hye. During the last President Lee Myung-bak, it was clear that South Korea gave priority to its alliance with the US a...
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Muslims in Sri Lanka: Four Reasons for their Marginalisation
Roomana Hukil · 31 Oct, 2014 · #4722 · Commentary
With the defeat of the Tamil Tigers after 26 years in 2009 in Sri Lanka, it was hoped that the Sri Lankan political space would see a new opening for a peaceful co-existence, and attempts were made to address the long standing grievances between...
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Rouhani and Iran’s Foreign Policy: Charting the Change
Majid Izadpanahi · 31 Oct, 2014 · #4721 · Commentary
After the presidential elections of 14 June 2013, Iran’s Hassan Rouhani has proved that he is introducing changes in the country’s foreign policy based on cooperation and moderation as he did when he was nuclear negotiator. Iranians ...
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Myanmar: Violence in Rakhine State and a Way Forward
Aparupa Bhattacherjee · 31 Oct, 2014 · #4720 · Commentary
The International Crisis Group (ICG) published a comprehensive report on the ongoing ethno-political and communal violence in the Rakhine state of Myanmar in October 2014, titled, “Myanmar: The Politics of Rakhine State.”
There a...
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China and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank: A New Regional Order?
Teshu Singh · 31 Oct, 2014 · #4719 · Commentary
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) was recently launched in Beijing and will be operational by 2015. China’s proactive role in the matter has alarmed other world powers, begging the question: what are China’s objectives ...
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“Britain Belongs to Allah”: Anjem Choudary and His Supporters
Tuva Julie Engebrethsen Smith · 31 Oct, 2014 · #4718 · Commentary
“We don’t abide by British rule.” “Sharia is the law of God, and should be implemented in the whole world.” “The ‘flag of Sharia’ will eventually fly over Downing Street.” These are statement...
