Int’l Affairs

The mayhem continues. Ceasefire appears to be a forlorn dream. Russia and Turkey might have done their part, but thanks to Mr Trump, the situation in Syria seems set for a topsy-turvy ride, again. The grandeur effect of the Tomahawks didn’t subside yet, and the US decided to strike again. On May 18, Trump launched strikes against the pro-Assad forces. …

China is working to revive the ancient Silk Road trade routes from Asia to Europe under its transnational megaproject called the Belt and Road initiative. With a monumental US$900bn worth of planned investments to build railways, ports and other infrastructure in 65 countries along the routes, the OBOR is historically the biggest foreign investment strategy by any single country in …

President Xi Jinping’s “Belt & Road Forum”, the highest profile Chinese diplomatic event of 2017, concluded on May 15 in Beijing. It attracted 29 foreign heads of state and government and representatives from more than 130 countries and 70 international organizations. What did we learn? Firstly, though Xi is taking personal credit for the initiative, it is, in fact, a …

After a difficult campaign, President Hassan Rouhani won a crucial second term in Iran’s presidential elections held on May 19. A high turnout of 73% helped him score a convincing victory over his principal challenger Ebrahim Raisi, a conservative cleric, in the first round itself, winning 57% of the votes compared to Raisi’s 38.5%. In resounding victory of the moderate …

The Islamic Republic of Iran is a constitutional, theocratic republic in which Shia Muslim clergy and political leaders vetted by the clergy dominate the key power structures. Government legitimacy is based on the twin pillars of popular sovereignty and the rule of the supreme leader of the Islamic Revolution. The Iranian constitution outlines and defines the political, economic, and social …

The constitution of October 4, 1958 provides the institutional basis for the Fifth Republic (France’s current political system). The President functions as the head of the state and is elected for five years under universal suffrage. As the head of state, the President controls foreign policy and defence, and appoints a prime minister with the approval of the parliament. The …

Emmanuel Macron’s resounding victory in the French presidential election has elicited a sigh of relief not just in France, but also in other countries. Macron not only stopped his country from sliding into the hands of far-right but also showed that the anti-establishment momentum that powered the victories of the Brexit camp in the UK and Donald Trump in the …

After Brexit and Donald Trump’s election as the US president, the world has been anxiously awaiting European elections where populist have been resurgent. In countries, like the Netherlands and France, populist leaders and their political parties have seen an unprecedented surge so much so that France, for the first time in its history, has witnessed the second round of the …

With a $12 trillion economy still growing at about 6.5 percent annually and $3 trillion in foreign exchange reserves, China is moving very rapidly to become a true global power. In recent years, the country has expanded its global and regional economic footprint especially through new institutions, such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the ‘One Belt, One …

“Brexit, Erdogan, Putin and now Trump. Something is rotten in the state of democracy. The stink first became unmistakable in India in May 2014, when Narendra Modi, a member of an alt-right Hindu organization inspired by fascists and Nazis, was elected prime minister. Like Donald Trump, Mr. Modi rose to power demonizing ethnic-religious minorities, immigrants and the establishment media, and …