October 2011
25 posts
Pakistan US relations: the straw that broke the... →
It behoves both the United States and Pakistan to reappraise the situation, take stock and course correct. World peace, or at the least regional peace, may depend on it.
US relations…
Kenya and Somalia: landscape of tension , Daniel... →
“Kenya doesn’t know war. We know war.” A fractious mix of violence and politics is unsettling the relationship between east African neighbours and putting more pressure on Somalis living in…
The Abkhazian archivist, , Thomas de Waal →
For me the tragic story of Abkhazia’s archive is inseparable from the story of its archivist.
I first met Nikolai Ioannidi in May 1992 in Sukhumi, then capital of the autonomous republic of…
Escapades at sea: sovereignty, legality and... →
The latest episode of the Cyprus conflict - a dispute over the delimitation of the sea between Turkey and Cyprus - highlights the role of political machismo in the politics of sovereignty,…
Revolutionary change in the Arab world: what... →
It may be that the era of Palestinian nationalism as it was born, post-1948, is coming to an end. Instead we may be heading in a new direction of unity and common identity across boundaries;…
A war on Iran: the delusive logic , Paul Rogers →
The arguments for and against an armed attack on Iran by the United States - or Israel - are sharpening. The increasing tension that surrounds the issue could itself precipitate a conflict…
Can Intervention Work? by Rory Stewart and Gerald... →
It is possible to walk the tightrope between the horrors of over-intervention and non-intervention. Mary Kaldor agrees, while insisting on distinguishing between genuine humanitarian…
A hundred years of bombing: what has it done to... →
November 2011 marks the centenary of a world-historic event. An Italian pilot, Guilio Cavotti dropped the first bombs from an aeroplane on to the oasis of Tagiura outside Tripoli. The…
Democracy in revolution: the Mediterranean moment,... →
By showing us the possibility of democracy in revolution, they have ignited a revolution in democracy, one that is redefining the meaning of both terms.
If accounting begins
from the…
EVENT | Afghan Rock Freedom Party in Brooklyn,... →
From the American Century to a cosmopolitan order,... →
The universal constitutional stepping stones of the twentieth century give clues as to what the form and shape of organizations and institutions should be, globally, but they offer no simple…
Talking with Khalil: the subtle violence of... →
On a journey to the West Bank, the author encounters one small instance of the broader machinery that Israel uses to sustain its occupation of Palestine. The days of battle are over. Now the…
Greece’s failed state and Europe’s response, Takis... →
Far more dangerous than the present financial crisis threatening the euro, Greece looks like a failed EU state, which puts at risk the stability of the entire European project.
It is…
Inside Mexico’s maze of mirrors, Carlos Antonio... →
Mexico’s government has led a five-year war against organized crime that has turned parts of the country into sites of atrocious violence, claimed more than 40,000 lives, and generated…
Bound to violence: young lives in Freetown, Elisa... →
Civil war ended a decade ago, but the huge population of young people in the West African state of Sierra Leone must still learn to turn on the tap of aggression if they wish to survive and…
Beyond good versus evil: fighting Somalia’s... →
The country has suffered de facto secessions, appalling destruction and humanitarian disasters – but still both the war and the Somali people march on. Can the international community help…
Liberia: the post-election challenges , Gilles... →
The years of conflict in Liberia have left a heavy legacy and ensured that the return to democracy has been bumpy. This makes both major internal reform and international support for the…
Gaddafi and the Tuareg, the "Lords of the desert",... →
What is the basis of the Tuareg-Gaddafi alliance that is playing itself out in the end-game in Libya? And to what extent is our understanding coloured by how we like to think of this tribe…
Child soldiers, child wives: wounded for life,... →
Working with ex-child soldiers of Charles Taylor’s army, and the girls they have taken as wives, has convinced Nobel Peace Laureate Leymah Gbowee that the abuse women suffer during conflict…
India and Afghanistan conclude strategic... →
India and Afghanistan sign a strategic partnership agreement during Karzai’s visit to New Delhi. Nepal’s new prime minister says constitution to be drafted by November. Pakistan reiterates…
Afghanistan, the regional complex, Paul Rogers →
Afghanistan’s war enters its second decade with the Taliban emboldened and the United States enfeebled. But the power-play between Pakistan, India and China is also now central to an…
The United States and Pakistan – beyond the verbal... →
The United States and Pakistan engage in a war of words. Iraq to strengthen air sovereignty with the acquisition of 18 F-16 jets. Protests continue in Andhra Pradesh as demands increase for…
Syria: a tale of missed opportunity, Carsten... →
The intellectual ground for an Arab democratic revolution was prepared in Syria a decade ago. But Syria’s leadership wasted the chances for a soft transition, says Carsten Wieland.
Syria…
BIG IN THE 'STANS | Episode Thirteen: White City... →
AFGHANISTAN | Directed and produced by Ruth Owen. Starring Ru, Travka, and Andronik of the Kabul-based rock band White City. Motion graphics by James Chaliz and Ruslan Shukurov….
Murdoch and Berlusconi: the fall of two media... →
The simultaneous fall of the Murdoch and Berlusconi media empires – symbolic of an epoch – is not a coincidence but part of a deep global change in which the exponential growth of horizontal…