COMMENTARIES
  • The Maldives-EU
    Should Europe Impose Sanctions on the Maldives?
    Richard Howitt    ·   17 Feb, 2016    ·    #4989    ·    Commentary    
    One key test of democracy in countries where it has only recently emerged is based on how far the rights of the political opposition are fully respected. There is a temptation for governments to dismantle the tools that enabled them to be electe...
  • Red Affairs
    Forecast 2016: Shrinking Space for Left-wing Extremism
    Bibhu Prasad Routray    ·   17 Feb, 2016    ·    #4988    ·    Commentary    ·   Column
    Left-wing extremism (LWE) in India has more or less ceased to be a national problem. Over the past two years, there has been a significant drop in the extremists' ability to orchestrate violence, and consequently, extremism-related deaths ha...
  • Forecast 2016: China’s Rectifications and ‘New Normals’
    Bhim Bahadur Subba    ·   10 Feb, 2016    ·    #4987    ·    Commentary    
    Externally, China’s ever growing power has been felt significantly, even more than it previously was. With the Renminbi’s inclusion in the Special Drawing Rights (SDR) basket under the IMF basket of currencies, the influence of Beiji...
  • Forecast 2016: Monumental Challenges for Taiwan’s New President
    You-te Howard Liao    ·   09 Feb, 2016    ·    #4986    ·    Commentary    
    Dr Tsai Ing-wen won Taiwan’s presidential election on 16 January 2016 - her pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) defeated the ruling Nationalist Party/Kuomintang (KMT) and captured the majority in the legislative body for th...
  • Forecast 2016: Jammu and Kashmir Politics and Security
    Ashok Bhan    ·   08 Feb, 2016    ·    #4985    ·    Commentary    
    The sudden passing away of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has created a serious political uncertainty in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). Governor’s rule had to be re-imposed within a little over 10 months of coming into existence of a Jammu and Kashmi...
  • Spotlight West Asia
    Forecast 2016: West Asia
    Ranjit Gupta    ·   08 Feb, 2016    ·    #4984    ·    Commentary    ·   Column
    Insofar as existing flashpoints are concerned, West Asia continued to present a bleak picture in 2015. The major change in 2015 from the end of 2014 was that the Islamic State (IS) lost ground in terms of the total territory it controls, and mor...
  • Afghan Peace Process: Headed Down a Blind Alley?
    Monish Gulati    ·   06 Feb, 2016    ·    #4983    ·    Commentary    
    The second meeting of the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) of Afghanistan, Pakistan, the US and China on the Afghan peace and reconciliation process was held in Kabul, Afghanistan, on January 18, 2016, a week after the first round of discu...
  • Dateline Islamabad
    Forecast 2016: Pakistan
    Salma Malik    ·   04 Feb, 2016    ·    #4982    ·    Commentary    ·   Column
    The tragic overhang of the army school massacre was the inheritance 2015 carried from the previous year. However, the silver lining to this dark macabre cloud was not only the collective resolve of the Pakistani nation to not bow to the terroris...
  • Politics of Caste in India: Challenges and Opportunities
    Ashok Bharti    ·   03 Feb, 2016    ·    #4981    ·    Commentary    
    Teachers have resumed teaching at Hyderabad Central University (HCU). However, a handful of students continue to sit in at the make-shift space created by Rohith Chakravarthy Vemula and his four expelled colleagues. Rohith Vemula was not the fir...
  • India and the IS: Lessons from Telangana’s LWE Experience
    Husanjot Chahal    ·   01 Feb, 2016    ·    #4980    ·    Commentary    
    Given the Islamic State’s (IS) interest in expanding into South Asia, and the worrisome interest generated in sections of the Indian citizenry, the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs has rightly termed this threat as a significant “long...
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