July 2018

A Promising Start or mere eyewash? On May 24, the long wait for full citizenship of Pakistan for the residents of Gilgit-Baltistan finally ended after the local government formally promulgated the Gilgit-Baltistan Order 2018. The piece of legislation, which received presidential assent on June 01, replaces the Gilgit-Baltistan Self-Governance Order 2009. While spelling out the provisions of the Order, the …

On May 29, the outgoing PML-N government unveiled the National Internal Security Policy (NISP) 2018-23 to address terrorism, extremism and other crimes effectively. The new policy, which is the continuation of the NISP 2014-18, has ascertained Daesh as the biggest national security threat to Pakistan by saying that “[t]he emergence of Daesh in close proximity to Pakistan has raised new …

Redefining the National and International Law Introduction Does the law constitute a state or does the state constitute the law? To this query, no binary answer can be proffered. Pakistan as a state, besides being a product of politics, was very much a product of constitutional law. Just days before the end of the constitutional period of the last PML-N-led …

A tool to expand India’s hegemony  Proliferation of military technologies and unremitting arms race between India and Pakistan are the outcomes of the divergent threat perceptions of both countries. These perceptions are based on their respective competitive security narratives and, more importantly, their track record of unending hostility between them. Missile technology is among the major military technologies that eat …

If Iran chooses to ramp up its nuclear capabilities quickly and provocatively, it will increase incentives for others in the region, particularly Saudi Arabia, to try to match them. Robert Einhorn An Introduction Robert Einhorn is a senior fellow in the Arms Control and Non-Proliferation Initiative and the Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence, both housed within the Foreign …

Geopolitical signalling with limits The China-Russia relationship has global significance. Particularly when united, these two countries could pose a severe challenge to the US and to the broader liberal international order, a sentiment that was clearly articulated in President Donald Trump’s National Security Strategy published in December 2017. The two countries have increased and enhanced their political and security cooperation …

A Concert for Russia and the World During the past decade and a half, the Middle East has got an increasingly important position in international relations. Developments taking place in this region at present have greater geopolitical and economic consequences for the rest of the world than in the Cold War era. This is not primarily due to the destabilizing …

Can it counter China? On 29th May, the United States military renamed its Pacific Command to Indo-Pacific Command. Although the plan was already disclosed, the announcement garnered worldwide attention for Washington’s Asia strategy. Analysis focused on the symbolic and real significance of the name change and many media outlets viewed the decision as Washington roping in India to exert more …

It’s Not Just Dictators Anymore It may not be surprising that power in Russia rests with Vladimir Putin or in China with Xi Jinping, the personalization of politics is alarmingly accelerating to Bangladesh, Hungary, the Philippines, Poland, Turkey and elsewhere, potentially including the United States itself.  No sane person would deny that in today’s Russia President Vladimir Putin is omnipotent. …

Are we at the End of Human Morality? Certain forms of modern life lead directly to degeneration … [i]n the poor as well the rich, leisure engenders degeneration. Cinemas, concerts, radios, automobiles and athletics are no substitute for intelligent work. We are far from having solved this momentous problem of idleness created by prosperity, modern machinery or unemployment. By imposing …