Analyses
-
Afghanistan / India / Islamabad / Manmohan Singh / Mumbai / New Delhi / Pakistan / Politics / Prakhar Shama / South Asia / The Economist / Focus Article / BRIC / AsiaIndia needs to make structural, ideological and strategic transformations to assume a greater role in the world. Any astute observer of India’s strategy in South Asia would infer that the country is not only passive in its approach, but it also continues to punch below its weight. The sight of a regional power resigning to the unfortunate turn of events rather than taking charge in its own backyard is somewhat baffling. This dichotomy – between increased economic profile and global stature, and a disconcerting reluctance to understand and exert its power – is apparent most notably in Afghanistan. Despite having invested 2 billion dollars and being the sixth largest...
-
Join our fast growing community and help us inform, educate and inspire citizens from around the world. We focus on analysis and not news — we seek to answer the ‘why’ and not the ‘what’ when it comes to issues, events or trends in the world. We believe that anyone can provide us valuable insights. If your work meets our editorial guidelines, we will publish you. Just send your article, photo feature, presentation, cartoon or illustration to submissions@fairobserver.com and we will get back to you. OUR MISSION Fair Observer aims to provide a plurality of perspectives across borders, disciplines and ideologies. We offer a home to narratives and...
-
Best of the Month / Egypt / European Union / Glenn Carle / India / North Korea / Politics / Sarah Eltantawi / United States / Europe / Focus Article / BRIC / Middle East / Americas / Africa / AsiaFair Observer's five best articles of April. It is already the end of April and 2013 is speeding up fast. Boston has suffered the tragedy of a bombing, Italy finally has a government, New Zealand and France have legalized gay marriage, Syria continues to implode, and the North Korean drama seems to be simmering down. Obama's budget continues to upset many people and the battle for gun control rages on in the US. Margaret Thatcher, an iconic British leader, died at the age of 87. The Economist called her a freedom fighter because she championed free markets when her Big Bang unleashed the City of London to emerge as a rival to Wall Street. Yet, the August 1843 publication...
-
Arab Human Development / Arab World / economy / Foreign Direct Investment / Jean AbiNader / Private Sector / Unemployment / World Bank / WTO / Finance & Economics / Focus Article / Middle East / AfricaJean AbiNader analyzes the newest World Bank report on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The World Bank has issued its fourth volume in the series Jobs for Shared Prosperity – Time for Action in the Middle East and North Africa. Well over 300 pages, the study provides its five main messages separately for those who need a super condensed summary. Reading through the messages, I noticed how clear it is that very few results can be achieved without strategies that integrate the resources and talents of the public and private sectors. Drawing on my experiences across the MENA region, there is much to be gained from cross-border sharing of best practices regardless...
-
Alexei Navalny / Amnesty International / Foreign Agents / Friedrich Ebert Foundation / Hans-Henning Schröder / Judiciary / Konrad Adenauer Foundation / Memorial / NGO / Patriotism / Politics / Putin / Europe / Focus ArticleBy Hans-Henning Schröder Actions against Russian non-governmental organizations and other opposition figures are the result of a shift in national policy towards promoting patriotism. However, this path, chosen to stabilise the regime, has become more and more of a problem for the leadership itself, argues Hans-Henning Schröder. Since the beginning of February, prosecutors, the ministry of justice, and the tax authority have paid visits to Russian non-governmental organisations, demanding comprehensive access to financial documents, personnel files, and program documents. All over Russia, reportedly close to a hundred of these revisions have taken place. During the second...
-
361 security / China / insurgency / international security / Kuala Lumpur / malaysia / Nicholas A. Heras / Philippines / RAS / United States / Focus Article / Global Security / AsiaIncreased insurgency in Sabah would present the Filipino government with the difficult choice of participating militarily in an election year, or doing nothing and risking the ire of Malaysia. Malaysian security forces have been battling a militant Filipino organization called the “Royal Army of Sulu” (RAS) in Malaysia’s Sabah State, in the northeastern region of the Borneo island. RAS fighters, the majority of whom are ethnic Tausug from the Philippine islands of the Sulu Archipelago that border Sabah, claim fealty to the Manila-based Sultan Jamalul Kiram III. Sultan Jamalul III is one of nine competing descendants of the historical Sultanate of Sulu who claim control...
-
Argentina / Buenos Aires / Joseph Knobel Freud / Julián Chappa / Psychoanalysis / Psychologist / Sigmund Freud / Focus Article / Arts & Culture / AmericasJulián Chappa talks to the great nephew of Sigmund Freud. A glimpse at the Freud family and its legacy. This is the last of a two-part series. Read part one here. Julián Chappa: You have three relatives in Buenos Aires who share the surname Freud. Could you please tell us a litlle bit more about them? Joseph Knobel Freud:I have many more relatives who have the surname Freud in Buenos Aires. Those three are the ones who are directly related to me. In fact, my mother Clara Freud had a sister who had two children that currently live in Buenos Aires. It is fair to say that I don't have a very strong relationship with them, but they are my cousins nonetheless. My mom also...
-
Anti-Semitism / Cairo / Egypt / El-Khamissy / Israel / Jacob Goldberg / Morsi / Palestine / Politics / President Muhammad Morsi / Semitic People / Tel Aviv / Focus Article / Middle EastAnti-Semitism is still the greatest threat to the Jewish people, but the threat comes from within the Jewish state, argues Jacob Goldberg. I was dismayed to read the news a few weeks ago about the new Egyptian government’s cancellation of a screening of a documentary film called “Jews of Egypt.” The film, produced by Haytham El-Khamissy, highlights the life of what was until the 1950s a sizeable and vibrant Jewish community in Egypt. When the screening was cancelled by Egyptian security authorities the day before it was due to take place, El-Khamissy reported on Facebook that no reason for the cancellation was given. In the aftermath of what seems to be a...
-
Buffett Rule / Deficit Reduction / President Obama / United States / Finance & Economics / Focus ArticleDonald Marron, Director of the Tax Policy Center who served as a member of the President's Council of Economic Advisors between 2002-2009, discusses President Obama's deficit reduction proposal. President Obama’s budget identifies a group of policies as a $1.8 trillion deficit reduction proposal. I found the budget presentation of this proposal somewhat confusing; in particular, it is difficult to see how much deficit reduction the president wants to do through spending cuts versus revenue increases. After some digging into the weeds, I pulled together the following summary to answer that question: The proposal would increase revenue by $750 billion over the next decade. Much...