The arrival in Europe of more than 1 million asylum seekers in 2015 rattled the EU like no crisis before it. The EU’s current institutional and legislative arrangements were clearly not up to dealing with the huge influx of migrants, and the crisis laid bare deep divisions among the member states. Depending on the extent to which the EU can …

Remember that delightful period right after the Cold War, when globalization was the buzzword du jour, democracy was spreading like wildfire, and America’s political and economic system seemed like an attractive model? Academics who should have known better believed realism was headed for the dustbin of history, and lots of smart people thought tyrants, dictators, potentates, and other authoritarians were …

Balochistan figures prominently in the list of major political challenges Pakistan has been dealing with ever since its independence. The nationalistic movement augmented by ethnic grievances including the claims over provincial discrimination and injustices, gave impetus to the problem and it continued to intensify till it spilled over beyond a manageable threshold. Now whether it was intentionally allowed to exacerbate …

The American dream is not a thing in physical terms but an idea that lives or dies with certain beliefs in society. Can it die? Yes it can, if those beliefs are purged from the conscience of society. This is what Jefferson meant by watering the tree of liberty with the blood of patriots from time to time. Many people …

If, as the true believers think, George W. Bush really does have to meet his Maker someday, and if God really is Just and Good, and if the point of the meeting is to decide whether George will spend eternity in Heaven or Hell, then that man should be thanking the divinity every moment of his waking life for making …

The start of 2016 has been anything but calm. Falling equity prices in China have destabilized markets worldwide. Emerging economies seem to have stalled. The price of oil has plunged, pushing petroleum producers into crisis. North Korea is flexing its nuclear muscles. And in Europe, the ongoing refugee crisis is fomenting a toxic tide of nationalism which threatens to tear …

Five years ago, the Arab revolutions, with the massive participation of social network-savvy youth, ousted dictatorial rulers, in what some people called ‘the Facebook revolution’. A wave of unprecedented and well-coordinated protests took place in several countries of the Middle East to manifest the anger of the population, mainly about the youngsters suffering from marginalisation, unemployment and harsh and difficult …

“Turmoil in the Middle East stems from the lack of development, and the ultimate solution depends on development. The use of force offers no solution to problems. Parties to the conflict should focus on advancing the process of political settlement. The international community should respect the will and role of those directly involved, the neighbouring countries and regional organizations, instead …

When it comes to wealth and income, people tend to compare themselves to the people they see around them rather than to those who live on the other side of the world. The average Frenchman, for example, probably does not care how many Chinese exceed his own standard of living, but that Frenchman surely would pay attention if he started …

The contemporary world is going through a global power shift. There are debates all around as to what would be the nature of the next phase of the world order. There’s a wide agreement that a global power transition is underway. Unipolarity — the US dominating the world — is giving way and a new global order is fast emerging. …