In 2001, fearing ethnic strife, the international community pushed for a strong central government in Kabul. But such fears fostered a system of regional and ethnic patronage. To correct matters, the U.S. should de-emphasize Afghanistan’s ethnic fault lines and push for more devolved and inclusive governance.

On May 1998, as India declared itself as a nuclear weapons state, it also committed its nuclear program to the No First Use of nuclear weapons policy. Consequently, the policy has been viewed as a democratic option, but what does this say about India?

The execution of Osama Bin Laden has led to a decline in international military presence in Afghanistan, opening the door for developmental agencies and regional actors to play a more active role. Can India take advantage of this critical juncture and work towards achieving peace in Afghanistan?

Pakistan is unlikely to collapse anytime soon, but the imbalance of power between its civilian and military branches needs to be addressed if it is to become an effective modern state. Washington must stop coddling Pakistan’s military and instead work patiently to support the country’s civilian authorities.

As Pakistan's military dictators are proving to be more prosperous than its “democratically” elected leaders over the past two decades, Harini Calamur explains the history behind the country's capitalist foundation.

There are no easy or cost-free ways to escape the current quagmire in Afghanistan. Although it has problems, a de facto partition of Afghanistan, in which Washington pursues nation building in the north and counter terrorism in the south, offers an acceptable fallback.

Richard Armitage, a former US deputy Secretary of State, believes that the Obama administration should take its partnership with the Afghan and Pakistani government before it proceeds with its proposed troop withdrwal from Afghanistan in July 2011

Pakistan was created as a haven for the Muslims of British India. Rocked by catastrophe after catastrophe, today, it is a state teetering on the brink of collapse

Afghanistan analyst Candace Rondeaux believes that pre-election violence, corrupt candidates and electoral fraud in Afghanistan's parliamentary elections to be held on September 18, 2010 are more a certainty than the outcome of the polls.