360 Articles
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360° Analysis / Arab Spring / Bhutto / Bilal Ahmed / Democracy / Imran Khan / Islamabad / Nawaz Sharif / Pakistan / Pakistan Elections 2013 / Pakistan Spring / Pervez Musharraf / Politics / Rawalpindi / AsiaBy Bilal AhmedBilal Ahmed argues that the discourse surrounding democracy in Pakistan is flawed, and that its liberal republican articulations will come to provoke additional mobilization in future years. It was the end of January. Tahir ul-Qadri's Long March had just ended in Islamabad. There were inspirational images of tens of thousands cheering on his fiery speeches, but we were all aware of what was happening. Qadri had strong links to General Pervez Musharraf. His populist stance against Pakistani political dysfunctions meant that the entire event was likely a performance to strengthen military influence on the civilian government. Many Pakistanis read the Long March along these lines,...
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360° Analysis / Bhutto / Education / illteracy / Imran Khan / Ishtiaq Ahmed / Islamabad / Karachi / Pakistan / Pakistan Elections 2013 / Pervez Musharraf / Politics / Taliban / AsiaNo state can tolerate a challenge to its monopoly of power from within; in other words, a state within a state is a contradiction in terms of state sovereignty Hopefully by the time this article is published, Pakistan would, despite the reign of terror let loose by the Taliban on the very idea of democracy, and especially on some parties, have completed the election process, and the results would be at our hands. Whosoever wins a majority or most seats and on that basis forms a coalition government, would have to have some concrete and practical measures to address a number of egregious problems, which if not tackled quickly and effectively can render Pakistan a failed state....
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2011 Constitution / 360° Analysis / Casablanca / Economic Reform / IT / Jean AbiNader / Justice and Development Party / Labor Market / Morocco / Rabat / Subsidy / Youth Unemployment / Finance & Economics / Middle EastJean AbiNader reflects on Morocco's challenge of reforming the labor market and realigning government subsidies. After a year away, I returned to Morocco today for ten days. I am sure that I will find the visit both challenging and satisfying. My central interest is to better understand the tangible governance issues facing the PJD (Justice and Development Party)-led government. It continues to struggle with advancing its agenda through parliament and achieving a consensus among its coalition partners on policies that effectively attack unemployment, the budget deficit, corruption, and social reforms. Most organic laws required to enable reforms promised in the 2011 constitution are...
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360° Analysis / Awakening Movement / Ba'athism / BBC Media Action Brief / Iraq / Media Freedom / Nationalism / Nouri Al-Maliki / Politics / Protest / Saddam Hussein / Sectarianism / Shia / Sunni / Syria / Turkey / UN Mission to Iraq / Yasmeen Alamiri / Middle East / Global SecurityIn the midst of growing unrest in the Middle East, Iraq is yet again ablaze, fueled by sectarian strife. Sunni protests, pushing against a Shia leadership, have led international spectators to already call a civil war in the country. Iraq, a country embroiled in sectarian warfare, must now rise above it. Ten years ago, on May 1, 2003, then-US President George W. Bush boarded the USS Abraham Lincoln and infamously declared “Mission Accomplished,” regarding the fledgling war in Iraq. A decade later, talk of a civil war fueled squarely by sectarian rifts, has once again resurfaced. The United Nations mission to Iraq last week said that more people were killed in attacks in the...
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360° Analysis / Economic growth / Economic Policy / Electricity Exports / EU / Foreign Investment / Inflation / Iran / Mahmoud Ahmadinejad / Nikolay Kozhanov / Oil Industry / Sanctions / Unemployment / United States / Finance & Economics / Middle EastThe international sanctions against Iran have been effective. However, they also made the Iranian elite more practical and cynical by teaching it how to survive under external economic pressure. This is the first of a two part series. International reports on the economic and political situation in Iran prepared by different respected analytical institutes and consultancies, state that sanctions adopted against Tehran by the US, EU and their partners in 2010-12, not only appear to be very effective but will inevitably put the Islamic Republic on the fringe of economic collapse. Meanwhile, diplomats and businessmen often travelling to the country draw a different picture: They describe Iran...
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360° Analysis / AIPAC / Congress / DEFENSE GUIDANCE PLAN / Ehud Barak / George W. Bush / Iraq / Iraq War / Israel / Israel Lobby / Neoconservatives / Politics / Saddam Hussein / Stephen Zunes / terrorism / United States / US Imperialism / WMD / Middle East / Global SecurityStephen Zunes argues that the blame for the Iraq War should not be put on the Israel lobby but the Bush administration and US imperialism. This is the last of a two part series. Read part 1 here. “Pro-Israel Jewish neoconservatives like Paul Wolfowitz, Douglas Feith, Richard Perle, and other neo-cons behind the Project for a New American Century (PNAC) were among the key architects of the policy of ‘preventative war' and were the strongest advocates for a US invasion of Iraq.” While it is true that a disproportionate number of neoconservative Jews were among the policymakers who pushed for a US invasion of Iraq, it is also true that a...
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360° Analysis / Asia-Pacific / Beijing / BRICS / Brinksmanship / DPRK / Fair Observer / North Korea / obama / Pyongyang / Seoul / South Korea / Wilson Chew / BRIC / Global Security / AsiaBy Wilson ChewChina’s cooperation in dealing with North Korea will likely be temporary and prudential. If North Korea is the hysterical child that Western news media — aided by the north’s own apocalyptic rhetoric — portrays it to be, then China is often cast as the doting grandparent, indulgent to a fault. In 2013, however, this indulgence appears to have come to an abrupt end. After North Korea proceeded with a nuclear test in February, despite China's pleas for restraint, the Chinese approved the UN-imposed sanctions passed in March, even helping to draft the resolution. Where this remarkable change in tack has been noted, it has been with optimism; though the basis for...
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360° Analysis / Beijing / China / Depsang / India / India-China Border Dispute / Ladakh / Manmohan Singh / Mumbai / New Delhi / Nitin A. Gokhale / Politics / BRIC / Global Security / AsiaThe recent incursion by Chinese troops in Ladakh's Depsang area should serve as a timely reminder to India that timelines for infrastructure development along the Chinese frontier and plans to boost military capability, do not have the luxury of slippages. Almost exactly four years ago, the outgoing UPA-I government's Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) was meeting for the last time before the results of the 2009 general elections were to be announced. The sole item on the agenda: enhancing India's military preparedness against China. According to insiders present at that meeting, some of the members of the CCS wanted to leave the decision to the next government. But...
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360° Analysis / Carbon Emissions / Energy Descent Action Plan / Rob Hopkins / Serena Carta / Symbio Cities / transition movement / Europe / Global Change / Environment & SustainabilityBy Serena CartaFounded seven years ago in Ireland, and now spread throughout the world, the Transition Movement aims for the creation of an alternative system based on resilience and happiness as a response to current environmental and economic instability. To switch from a world based on oil resources and disposable objects to a new society built on the philosophy of degrowth, awareness, respect, and value of relations between humans and nature. This is the idea upon which the Transition Movement is based. Also known as “Transition Towns,” it consists of a social and cultural movement founded in 2005 in the town of Kinsale, Ireland with the purpose to support the society, in order to create...