Int’l Affairs

Ongoing conflict in the Middle East and mass killings in the United States have made the world an increasingly violent place. That’s not necessarily true: Harvard’s Steven Pinker has shown that the arc of human progress has bent — in fits and starts — toward non-violence over time. But what of violence — and peace — over the past few …

Quo Vadis, Afghanistan? Only days prior to second round of Pakistan-brokered peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government, President of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani, confirmed the death of Mullah Omar. After some vacillation over the issue, Taliban also admitted the death of their reclusive leader. In view of the reports regarding the death of Mullah Omar and the resulting …

As much of the Middle East sinks deeper into division between competing political camps, the terror outfit, Daesh, continues its unhindered march toward a twisted version of a Muslim caliphate. Thousands have lost their lives, some in the most torturous ways. Violence meted out by IS or Daesh is hardly an anomaly, considering that the group was spawned in a …

On July 14, a historic nuclear agreement between Iran and P5+1 (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States; plus Germany) was reached in Vienna, Austria. This deal has raised many questions as to what will be its implications for Obama’s regional strategy, Iran’s own foreign policy orientation, the response from regional partners, the global non-proliferation regime, and …

The original sin of Israel’s birth has scarred it for life and it remains incapable of finding an identity that would meet basic democratic norms. Its neighbourhood in West Asia has had no option but to accept its truculent presence. All international law has to be rewritten, if necessary, to ensure Israel’s state of exceptional nationhood. The United States’ nuclear …

Washington vs China in the 21st Century For even the greatest of empires, geography is often destiny. You wouldn’t know it in Washington, though. America’s political, national security and foreign policy elites continue to ignore the basics of geopolitics that have shaped the fate of world empires for the past 500 years. Consequently, they have missed the significance of the …

Will It Reshape Global Financial System? On July 21, the five BRICS countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — formally launched the New Development Bank (NDB) at its new Shanghai headquarters. The NDB is the second development bank, after the 57-member Asian Infrastructure Development Bank, backed by Beijing that seeks to create alternatives to the existing US-dominated …

It took hundreds of thousands of years for the world population to grow to 1 billion, and in just another 200 years or so it grew seven-fold. In 2011, the global population reached the 7 billion mark, and it is projected to climb to over 9 billion by 2050. This dramatic growth has been driven largely by increasing numbers of …

In a result that should surprise no one, the Greeks voted to reject European demands for additional austerity measures as the price for providing funds to allow Greek banks to operate. There are three reasons why this should have been no surprise. First, the ruling Coalition of the Radical Left, or Syriza party, is ruling because it has an understanding …

What’s next for China’s ‘world bank’? On June 29, 2015, representatives of the 57 prospective founding countries including Pakistan gathered in Beijing for a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People to mark a further step forward in the establishment of a Chinese-led rival to the World Bank and Asian Development Bank to be known as the Asian …