khameini Courtesy: Dragonfire and Georgethewriter/WikimediaCommons
29 November 2012

Iran-Egypt: old foes, new competitors

Rivals Iran and Egypt have become the two most important powers in today’s West Asia. Yet, Iran is looking for neither a smooth victory nor a quick failure for Egypt’s rise. Tehran will remain the key regional player, while it’s too early to tell if Cairo is capable of overcoming Iran’s influence.

Courtesy: Secretary of Defense
28 November 2012

What China learned from Russia

The Chinese have learned from Russia’s past mistakes at reforming state-owned enterprises (SOE), and some well-connected politicians have reaped the economic benefits that followed. Will the new administration in Beijing reform China’s SOEs or maintain the large role of government in industry?

obama second term_0 Courtesy: U.S. Navy
10 November 2012

The second term

U.S. President Barack Obama will certainly have the benefit of continuity in his second term, but he has a range of impending crises to address immediately - be it to avert the so-called fiscal cliff before the end of the year when automatic cuts kick in or plan for the military drawdown from Afghanistan.

Courtesy: WikimediaCommons
2 November 2012

China: New leaders, old policy

The new President and Premier of China will be formally elected at the 18th Party Congress of the Communist Party of China on November 8. Given the ongoing socio-economic issues and an increasingly independent army, will the new leadership bring about a change in China’s foreign policy?

afghanistan route 606 Courtesy: Isafmedia/Flickr
25 October 2012

Afghanistan: Strategic depth to strategic peace

As the NATO troops prepare to pull out of Afghanistan in 2014, India is already positioned to take on a larger, pro-active role, which can radically alter the balance of power in South Asia. However, what will determine the future of security in the region, is how India and Afghanistan deal with Pakistan.

obama romney_0 Courtesy: VOA/WikimediaCommons
23 October 2012

U.S. Presidential debates: Posture vs. reality

Domestic issues like jobs and the housing market were front-and-centre during the third round of the U.S. presidential debates. Though the positions taken bears limited resemblance to what will happen in the real, post-election world, the outcome of the elections is bound to affect the world in big and small ways.

ob rom Courtesy: WikimediaCommons
19 October 2012

Obama vs. Romney: The focus is foreign policy

The ability of the slowly recovering U.S. economy to get people employed is more important to American voters than anything else. However, surprisingly, terrorism and the direction of American foreign policy have become a much larger factor in the U.S. Presidential debates.