Courtesy: FREEDOM HOUSE2/FLICKR
24 August 2012

Syria: What next?

With the Free Syrian Army being supplied aid by the West and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, the endgame for the Syrian regime has begun. Does Assad's exit guarantee the replacement of autocracy with democracy? What implications will it have on regional politics?

Global Stability Map Courtesy: Gateway House
1 August 2012

Global Stability Map 2012

Gateway House prepared a Global Stability Map, using 20 differing indicators, to analyze the stability of 60 countries around the world. Using criteria that are important to the emerging economies of the world, the map provides an Indian perspective of the world today.

tightrope india us Courtesy: The White House
13 June 2012

Iran tests India’s policy

Apart from bilateral ties, also at play at the India-U.S. Strategic dialogue is the difficult triangulation in India’s relations with the U.S. and Iran. It does not serve India to get enmeshed in the U.S-Iran confrontation. Instead, the relationship must develop on the basis of realpolitik and mutual interest.

ambassador abhyankar interview Courtesy: Gateway House
8 June 2012

“We are not in the business of ‘civilizing’ nations”

Over the past year, there has been a drastic change in the political scenario in Syria, which is now engulfed with violent sectarian conflict. Gateway House speaks to former Indian Ambassador to Syria, Rajendra Abhyankar, about the changing political scenario and the implications of the ongoing conflict in Syria.

IMG_4820 Courtesy: Gateway House
20 April 2012

Deciphering today’s Middle East

What are the implications for India if Iran is attacked? How effective has the response been by gulf nations to their own protests? Ambassador Talmiz Ahmad, India’s former Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, discusses the dynamics of West Asia with Gateway House’s Alisha Pinto and Azadeh Pourzand.

5455843055_b765d48e40 Courtesy: Al Jazeera English/Flickr
24 February 2012

West and Wahabi vs. Shia

The author outlines the partnership between NATO and Wahhabi extremists, and how the West assisted in an armed Sunni movement, which has spread to many countries in West Asia. Consequently, the Shia population suffers from serious discrimination at the hands of Wahabbi.

Maldives: Nasheed outpaced his people Courtesy: notsogoodphotography/Flickr
16 February 2012

Maldives: Nasheed outpaced his people

Despite recent regime changes and agitation in the Middle East, the international community's attention has been diverted from the Indian Ocean - via Maldives. After President Nasheed's forced resignation, the country is now in political turmoil.

r2p Courtesy: UN Photo/Paul Banks
6 December 2011

Reconsidering R2P, post-Libya

After the crass misuse of Responsibility to Protect (R2P) in Libya, the broader question is: where is R2P headed? Do the events in Libya herald a more explicit assertion of this doctrine in other parts of the world? And should India rethink its viewpoint towards this ambiguous doctrine?

monus wahhabi piece Courtesy: White House photo/WikimediaCommons
29 November 2011

NATO vs Shias: A geopolitical miscalculation

The Wahhabis, who now merit NATO backing, continue on their global mission of converting the Muslim Ummah to its relatively harsh and antediluvian ways of thinking and living. For NATO, this is a geopolitical miscalculation that will have tragic security consequences for the alliance within a decade.

sarah chayes article Courtesy: U.S.ArmedForces/WikimediaCommons
13 September 2011

Mafia-nation: State capture by criminal syndicates

Corruption has become a galling global phenomenon: structured, vertically-integrated networks, whose objective is the extraction of resources, are forming in countries around the globe. And strikingly, these structures are masquerading as democratically-elected, seemingly-open governments.