November 2013

In the past decade, Brazil achieved sustainable economic growth, became the sixth largest economy in the world, and was also able to significantly reduce income inequality. Hence, the country was able to lift 40 million people out of the poverty and now have more than 50% of the population in the middle class. One of the sectors that has benefited …

International Law of Trade or Disarmament? Introduction Is the international law evolving itself or is it defying the very basic principles of law? Quintessentially, it’s a product of agreements between the states and of the consistent conduct, which constitute the customary law. The list of its new subjects, however, is increasingly growing and is including non-state actors and multinational companies …

The tiny Persian Gulf state of Qatar is an oasis of peace and prosperity in the volatile Middle East. While neighbouring Bahrain convulsed with social unrest and a brutal government crackdown, Qatar ‘a gleaming, wealthy sovereign nation’ has been largely untouched by the revolutions sweeping across the Arab world. Fuelled principally by large liquefied gas/energy projects and high oil prices, …

Netanyahu’s speech at the UN General Assembly was a political impudence. He showed the world that he has not understood the signs of times. He seemed out of place with diplomacy and still caught up in aggressive rhetoric. He threatened Iran with an attack. President Obama should be forewarned that the US would not help Israel in a war of …

While Nato and the US forces are preparing to withdraw from Afghanistan, the Afghanistan government is increasingly interested in boosting its relations with regional powers such as Russia and China. Conversely, both Moscow and Beijing are concerned about the future of Afghanistan after US withdrawal. Mr Karzai’s visit to China speaks volumes about Afghanistan’s efforts to strengthening its relations with …

Two decades of rapid economic growth and surging international trade gave India the economic and strategic heft to go with its world-wide vision and voice. The current slump threatens to bring back the lowest economic numbers in twenty years. The sagging Indian economy shall burden both India’s domestic politics and its global strategic goals. Manmohan’s recent visit to Washington may …

The budding rapprochement between the United States and Iran has stirred a debate among the Arab intelligentsia, especially in the Gulf region, mainly due to its geographical proximity with Iran and host of other issues. Their concerns stem primarily from the longstanding Western geopolitical interests in the Middle East and the timings of the initiation of this political flirtation between …

The month of September every year comes and goes without changing anything in our turbulent world, but for world’s leaders, it brings the season of a ‘global carnival’ that takes place with a lot of fete and frolic in the ‘capital’ of the world, New York, with almost the entire leadership from across the globe descending on this already crowded …

Given that the US retains a significant military advantage over China, America could support such a partnership without incurring significant security risks. Has the world entered a new era of chaos? America’s vacillating policy toward Syria certainly suggests so. Indeed, the bitter legacy of the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, followed by the 2008 financial crisis, has made the United …

America is going through an identity crisis, unsure whether to embrace high taxes and a bigger state, and reluctant to play the role of world policeman On 30th September, the federal government of the United States of America closed for business. Congressional Republicans refused to fund its activities so long as they include the provision of ‘Obamacare’, the President’s signature …