Courtesy: Flickr
Eastern Europe has seen tensions rise, increasing violence and a hardening of stands. Only the softening of the stark “either/or” choice currently being demanded by western powers as well as Russia will put an end to the precarious tightrope walking of east European governments and prevent their citizens from becoming victims of increased regional instability
Courtesy: Staff Sgt. Christopher Allison/Wikimedia Commons
The presidential election is vital not only for Afghanistan’s future but also for the stability of the region. The ensuing race has thrown up candidates from various ethnicities and they face an uphill task with a resurgent Taliban and a former President who still hopes to be a force in the political arena
Courtesy: GOV.UK/Flickr
A slumped arms industry and the U.S. shale gas sector will gain from NATO’s threat of stricter sanctions and suspension of Russia from the G8. BRICS has protested, but unless we consolidate alternate international financial structures, even other big economies like India can eventually be the targets of sanctions
Courtesy: mac_ivan/Flickr
Crimea will hold a referendum this weekend on secession from Ukraine. The current crisis has brought to the fore Cold War era hostilities. However, an unstable Ukraine is in no one’s interest as it has implications for the region and the EU-Russia trade relationship
Neelam Deo, Director, Gateway House, talks about the ongoing crisis in Ukraine and its possible outcomes. In this interview, she also discusses the issues at stake for Russia and the West, the credibility of assertions made by both sides, the EU’s interests in the region, and how India should respond
Courtesy: Sameer Patil/Gateway House
The Halifax International Security Forum, which began in 2009, hosted its fifth annual event on November 22. Gateway House’s Associate Fellow Sameer Patil, who is participating in the Forum, blogs about his impressions of the discussions, dialogues and sentiments of the participants at the event.
Courtesy: Freedom House/Flickr
Despite rising international opposition, U.S. President Barack Obama is ready to penalise the Syrian regime for an alleged chemical attack in Ghouta, Syria, last month. The justifications given by the U.S. for an armed attack are questionable, and such retaliatory action will destabilise the entire region
Courtesy: Asitimes/ Flickr
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: Matanya/WikimediaCommons
Since 2002, a large amount of U.S. funds flowing into Afghanistan has been diverted to the Taliban by local strongmen, resulting in a continued presence of the militia. The challenge post-2014 will be to reverse the West’s top-down strategy, creating a grassroots-driven incentive for peace and development.
Courtesy: U.S. Navy
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.
