Latin America Update, September 2013
In 'Latin America Update' Gateway House lists some of the important events in Latin America over the past month
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Courtesy: UK Ministry of Defence/Flickr
A war on terror or an assault on liberal values?
The war on terror and the global financial crisis have tilted the balance of authority on the side of the state, which the liberating forces of cyber space have only partially counteracted. Can the forces of liberalisation prevail over the forces of incipient oppression?
Courtesy: Zeinab Mohamed/Flickr
Time to back the anti-Wahabbi tide
Today, the role Wahabbism plays in geopolitics poses a severe security risk not just to the West but also to the Muslim world. The West needs to rethink its strategy of promoting Wahabbi International, and realise that Wahabbism cannot be a moderated geopolitical asset
Courtesy: Asitimes/ Flickr
A new blueprint for China
Indian and Chinese companies routinely bid against each other in their quest to secure oilfields and other resource pools resulting in rising prices. However, a preferable recourse would be for the nations, along with ASEAN, to collaborate as there is enough for all
Courtesy: Ministry of External Affairs
India’s torpor, U.S.’ frustration
Policy-making in India remains haphazard, and in the name of ‘strategic autonomy’ New Delhi is scuttling its own rise. Biden’s visit underlines India’s importance in the U.S.’ strategic calculus. India must now decide what role it sees for the U.S. in its foreign policy matrix and for itself in the global order
Courtesy: Ministry of External Affairs, India
Biden’s political skills will be tested in India
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to India this week comes at a time when the India-U.S. bilateral relationship has gone seemingly adrift. Can this visit, which comes just months ahead of the Indian general elections, rejuvenate the relationship which is rooted in long-term common strategic interests?
Courtesy: oxfamnovib/Flickr
Protests in democracies – patterns and problems
Elections are meant to be a suitable recourse in democracies if citizens feel that the government does not represent them. However, the recent protests in Brazil, Turkey and India show that people feel political classes are too far removed from their every day realities to address their grievances
Courtesy: Chandraguptamaurya/ Wikimedia Commons
India-U.S.: Credibility lost
In the face of a sagging rupee and FDI flight from the country, three top ministers recently visited the U.S. to retell the growth story of India and its potential. However, American political and business leaders seem largely unimpressed by the pitch and want more from the India-U.S. equation
Courtesy: 2winTradez/Flickr
What the Abbottabad report reveals
How did the Pakistani military fail to detect the raid in Abbottabad or the presence of Osama bin Laden? A report by a judicial commission in Pakistan, leaked by a TV channel on Monday, reveals the extent of the incompetence of civilian and military institutions, and the army’s complicity with the U.S.
Courtesy: Jacques Delarue/Wikimedia Commons
Seeking dignity and direct democracy
The leaderless protests are upending traditional definitions of leadership and forms of hierarchy. Instead, the protestors are seeking some form of direct democracy and dignity.