December 2019

Hiccups and Challenges to CPEC How to turn them into opportunities? Hassaan Bin Zubair China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is a US$62 billion project designed to resolve Pakistan’s energy deficit, improve connectivity and establish economic development zones and supporting social infrastructure that lay the foundations for subsequent economic growth. Challenges posed by the geographical environment, terror groups, political instability and the management …

Reaping the Demographics Dividend through Education Maaz A. Minhas Pakistan has a great demographic opportunity for rapid economic progress as its growing population enters adulthood. However, mass illiteracy and issues of undereducation can cripple the vast potential of the nation’s youth. How well the country is able to educate its public will determine its ability to maximize the benefits of …

UK Elections 2019 A Quick Guide On 31st October, the British Parliament, owing to disagreements in the House of Commons about Brexit, passed legislation to make provision for a snap general election. Resultantly, The United Kingdom is going to have a general election on December 12.  These national votes, to choose a government to run the country, are supposed to …

The Unholy Mess of US Middle Eastern Strategy Fear of instability looming large Anatol Lieven  President Donald Trump’s recent surprise acquiescence to a Turkish incursion into northern Syria is being increasingly seen as a betrayal of a loyal partner, and it has made American allies in the region jittery as they are alarmed by his sheer unpredictability. His inconsistent and …

The Spirit of 2019 Another unfinished spring? Protests have erupted around the world over the past few months, with hundreds of thousands of people from the Middle East to Asia, South America and the Caribbean calling for change. On the surface, some protests have appeared to be spontaneous outbursts of anger over seemingly minor concerns. But almost all of this …

Regional Comprehensive Economic programme (RCEP) The world’s biggest trade deal On November 04, fifteen Asian countries agreed to terms for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) that is being termed the world’s biggest trade pact. What began in 2012 as a routine harmonizing of agreements between members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) is now set to turn …

Operation Peace Spring Turkey’s military offence in northern Syria Aftab H. Wahla West-instigated ‘democratization’ of the Middle East, i.e. the Arab Spring, continues to devastate the region with endless, brutal civil wars, foreign interventions, unstable and fragile democratic regimes, instrumentalization of proxy wars, expansionist policies of regional countries, intensification of sectarian and nationalist propensities, mass displacement-led refugee crisis, the emergence …

Israel-Palestine Conflict and IR Theories Is peace between Israelis and Palestinians possible? Peace is sought out and desired by leaders of nations as an alternative to war and conflict. However, defining what peace entails is often challenging. It is easier to recognize what peace is not rather than what it ought to be. For the purposes of this article, this …

Babri Mosque Verdict India’s age of Hindu majoritarianism seems to be in the offing  Few events in the history of modern India have been as polarising as the 1992 destruction of the Babri Masjid in the Hindu holy city of Ayodhya. In an episode of unabashed ugliness, a frenzied mob of thousands of Hindu extremists — including some of the …

Afghanistan after 18 Years of US Occupation Flawed strategies, ambiguous policies and the way forward Mairaj ul Hamid Nasri The United States has completed its 18 years in Afghanistan. On 07th of October 2001, it attacked this country by launching ‘Operation Enduring Freedom’ here under the umbrella of NATO and backed by UN resolution 1368 with an apparent aim to …