COMMENTARIES
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Political Democracy for Tibetans: China’s Rising Dilemma
Srikanth Kondapalli · 25 Apr, 2011 · #3361 · Commentary
Although the Dalai Lama had indicated his decision to devolve the “formal authority to an elected (Tibetan) leader” on several occasions earlier, however his statement on 10 March 2011 caught the Chinese leadership unawares. This sta...
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Iran and Libya: Chasing the Bomb
Ruhee Neog · 22 Apr, 2011 · #3360 · Commentary
A nuclear deliberations impasse between the P5+1 and Iran was reached in January of this year. Iran has made its intentions evident. It will not abandon its nuclear programme, as demonstrated by its recent nuclear agreement with Zimba...
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Sri Lanka’s post-war Foreign Policy Strategy: Europeans out and Chinese in?
J Jeganaathan · 21 Apr, 2011 · #3359 · Commentary
As the US and its allies prepared to exit from Afghanistan after an unsuccessful military mission, Sri Lanka conspicuously etched a military triumph over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) shell-shocking the Tamils around the world. Alt...
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Indonesia as ASEAN Chair: What Priorities?
Panchali Saikia · 21 Apr, 2011 · #3358 · Commentary
The greatest flaw in ASEAN has been its inability to manage internal conflicts. Frequent border clashes, maritime disputes, ethnic tensions, local insurgencies and religious violence and extremism have threatened the legitimacy of the regional org...
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Revisiting the CTBT: the US' Conundrum
Siddharth Ramana · 16 Apr, 2011 · #3357 · Commentary
US President Barack Obama in his historic address in Prague in April 2009 laid down his administration’s nuclear ambitions, including the ideal of an eventual global nuclear disarmament. While he conceded that it may not occur in his own l...
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Maulana Showkat Shah: One More Dead; How Many More To Go?
D Suba Chandran · 15 Apr, 2011 · #3356 · Commentary
Every death in
the Kashmir valley is interpreted in myriad ways
- from murder, assassination, conspiracy, admonition to internal strife, depending
on who is expressing it and from where it is being expressed. Many, including
some of his cr...
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BRICS Summit: A Paradigm Shift?
Swaran Singh · 11 Apr, 2011 · #3355 · Commentary
This week, China is hosting two back-to-back summits of emerging economies. These summits seem pregnant with implications that go far beyond eloquent speeches and photo-opportunities. On a closer look, they promise to provide one more definitive...
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Reading Pakistan-III: Is Military the Only Glue?
D Suba Chandran · 07 Apr, 2011 · #3354 · Commentary
There is a renewed interest in the stability of Pakistan and its future, especially against the backdrop of events in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. Will there be an upheaval? If yes, will it be led by the moderate civil society or by radical groups?...
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Nuclear Safety: The Fukushima Conundrum
Alankrita Sinha · 04 Apr, 2011 · #3353 · Commentary
What we cannot see, nor understand, instigates more violent a response than any other. Adding weight to this hypothesis is the current chaos regarding the need for nuclear energy. Nuclear energy as an optimal alternative for fossil fuel-generate...
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South China Sea Disputes: Flawed Negotiations
Panchali Saikia · 30 Mar, 2011 · #3352 · Commentary
The 2 March 2011 incident when two Chinese patrol boats threatened to ram a Philippine vessel conducting a survey in the Reed Bank of the Spratlys islands in the South China Sea (SCS) is another instance of the growing Chinese military influence...
