Analyses
-
Best of the Month / Britain / Israel / Jordan / Mali / obama / Politics / United States / Europe / Focus Article / BRIC / Middle East / Americas / Africa / Asia / OceaniaFair Observer's five best articles for January. Apparently the world didn't come to an end. On the contrary, the new year is in full-swing. Barack Obama has been inaugurated for his second term in office, Israel and Jordan have held their parliamentary elections, David Cameron has spoken of a referendum over Britain's EU membership, and Mali has seen a French military intervention. As political unrest in the Arab world enters its third year, January has seen excerpts from our first book, The Arab Uprisings: An Introduction. To celebrate the end of the month, we share with you a selection of our best articles, and invite you to tell us what you think. From all of us at Fair...
-
dreams / Friedrich Ebert Foundation / Politics / Putin / Russia / sociology / Europe / Focus ArticleA new study entitled "What Russians Dream About" found that only 19% wish for a regime change. Vladimir Ryzhkov wonders how long this complacency will last, in view of deteriorating living standards, particularly among the working classes. The latest in-depth research into modern Russian society was conducted by the Russian Academy of Science's Sociology Institute in cooperation with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation of the Social Democratic Party of Germany. This time, the sociologists decided to examine Russian society through the lens of its collective dreams, and the report is aptly named: "What Russians Dream About." The findings are based on a national...
-
1994 / amia / argentine / attack / Iran / Politics / terrorism / Focus Article / Middle East / Americas / Global SecurityOne cannot help but ask why, after 18 years of mishandled investigations, corruption charges, and cover-ups, are Iran and Argentina discussing the 1994 AMIA Terrorist Attack. The Iranian and Argentine governments recently signed a bilateral memorandum of understanding, establishing a "truth commission" to investigate the 1994 terrorist attack on the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires. The announcement came as a shock to the victims’ families, since the Argentine government had previously officially accused Iran of orchestrating the attack; a charge Iranians have repeatedly denied. One cannot help but ask why, after 18 years of mishandled investigations, corruption...
-
Arab / Jack Shaheen / movie / role model / Sheikh / United States / Focus Article / Arts & Culture / Middle EastDr. Jack Shaheen has been shattering Arab stereotypes in American popular culture since 1975. “When I watch a movie and the bad guy’s not an Arab, I’m relieved,” Dr. Jack Shaheen admitted to his audience at Los Angeles’ Levantine Cultural Center during a talk in late December. He grinned, and the audience chuckled a bit, but sadly, his sentiment was sincere. For over 40 years, Dr. Shaheen has studied the image of Arabs in American media. In 2001, he completed a review of more than a thousand films dating from 1896 to 2000 that had Arab or Muslim characters and found that over 90 percent portrayed the characters in a negative light. Based on his study...
-
United States / Europe / Focus Article / BRIC / Middle East / Americas / Africa / Asia / Oceania / Environment & SustainabilityIn the past few years, the political map of Antarctica, a region rich in mineral-fuel resources, has changed immensely. How can the ongoing geopolitical polarization in this region have unfavourable global effects in the long run? Even after 50 years of peaceful multilateral research initiatives, various nations would still like to seize Antarctica. Although annexation of the continent is now difficult, ongoing geopolitics might disable the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) after it expires in 2048, or even before that date. If Antarctica is seized, either by force or deception, this can lead to a global conflict. The ATS refers to extensive multilateral accords which came into force in 1961....
-
australia / carbon market / carbon trading / energy policy / Japan / United States / Europe / Finance & Economics / Focus Article / Oceania / Environment & SustainabilityGlobal carbon trading could potentially be the most effective economic tool to regulate industrial Co2 emissions in the fight against climate change. As concern about global climate change and carbon emissions mitigation is becoming ever more important, governments and corporations across the world have introduced innovative strategies to reduce steadily rising carbon emissions. Some of these strategies such as carbon taxes, energy efficiency strategies, command and control policies and market-based pollution trading mechanisms have been around for some time. However, they were previously used for other pollution control purposes, besides that of carbon emissions mitigation, with varying...
-
Chagos Islands / European Court of Human Rights / Politics / United Kingdom / Europe / Focus Article / AfricaBy James Wan Former residents of the Chagos Islands have lost their latest legal bid for the right to return following a European ruling. What next for the islanders? Former residents of the Chagos Islands, located in the middle of the Indian Ocean, have lost their latest legal bid for their right to return home. The islanders’ fight to go back to the archipelago – from which they were brutally and illegally deported by the British government in the late-1960s – has been long and Sisyphean. Following battles in the UK High Court – which the islanders won – and the House of Lords – which they lost – the latest chapter saw the appeal go to the...
-
The Central African Republic may come to serve as a spark for what may yet become the "African Spring." Daniel Wagner and Giorgio Cafiero analyze the implications of political change in the country. As was the case in Mali, recent events in the Central African Republic (CAR) have the potential to profoundly impact the dynamics of political change in Africa, where the plethora of failed or failing states provides a ripe breeding ground for extremists to assume power. The CAR's location, being landlocked and surrounded by the failed states of Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Sudan, make it vulnerable and beholden to its neighbors. Being mineral rich makes it ripe for...
-
Is America inadvertently rearing another monster with its 'covert' support to al-Qaeda cadres in Syrian rebel ranks? During World War II, the US Office of Strategic Services (OSS), predecessor to the Green Berets and in turn US Special Forces, utilized members of a German dissident group who had fled to France as refugees for unconventional operations against the German Army in conjunction with the OSS. The philosophy of the then OSS Chief General Donovan had been: “Use them as long as they kill Nazis.” This is no surprise when you look at special operations over the years. Use of irregulars, especially natives, by Special Forces has been common practice considering the...