Asia
Asia
Fair Observer provides insightful and informed analysis of the important issues, events and trends in the unique nations of Asia.
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360° Analysis / Afghanistan / al qaeda / corruption / Cunningham / good governance / Jalalabad / Kabul / Karzai / Nangarhar / Pakistan / Politics / Sherzai / Taliban / US Ambassador / US withdrawal / AsiaBy Will CalhounPart 2 of a series which looks at the fractious upcoming Afghan presidential election next year. Another potential candidate is Asadullah Khalid. Khalid is a Karzai loyalist, and currently the head of the National Directorate of Security, Afghanistan’s domestic intelligence agency. Well-groomed and stylish, between 2005 and 2008 he was Governor of Kandahar, and between 2002 and 2005 he was Governor of Ghazni. Born in 1969 in Ghazni province to a Pashtun family, his father served in Parliament under King Zahir Shah. Involved in the anti-Taliban resistance, Khalid joined the National Directorate of Security after the 2001 invasion. His tenure as Governor of Kandahar and Ghazni was...
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360° Analysis / China / Diaoyu / Diaoyu Protection Societies / Fire-control radar / Japan / military / Nationalism / Noda Yoshihiko / Pinnacled Pavilions / Politics / Senkaku / Sino-Japanese / Xi Jinping / Global Security / AsiaBy Wilson ChewJapan's policy of harsh words and soft actions increases the risk of conflict over Senkaku Islands In China, the dispute over the Senkaku Islands illustrates the usually opaque dynamics between government and society. Japan's attitude toward the islands, however, remains the preserve of government policy. Traditionally, theirpolicy has been an effective mix of pragmatism and principle, but for Japan, the 2012 Senkaku crisis is the story of how this approach fell apart. It’s clear that Japan will have to take their handling of the Senkaku Islands in a new direction or, at the very least, modify the old policy. What's less clear, though, is how these changes can be carried...
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360° Analysis / Gandhi dynasty / India / Manmohan Singh / Politics / Sonia / United Progressive Alliance / AsiaBy Mayank SinghSonia Gandhi’s completion of fifteen years as president of the Congress party has been met with much fanfare in the party. Archana Dalmia’s eulogy, “Sonia Gandhi: Working the Miracle” is a case in point. Apologists of the diarchy in governance with Sonia as the chairman of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have waxed eloquent about the ‘understanding’ between them which has been a necessity arising out of the compulsions of coalition politics. The ‘understanding’ has however only facilitated the perpetuation of the de jure rule of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty over the country. Manmohan Singh has been...
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360° Analysis / al-Qaeda / AQAP / Drones / Global Security / Pakistan / Politics / United States / United States / Yemen / Middle East / Global Security / AsiaBy Bilal AhmedDestabilisation in Yemen and Pakistan is tipping the scale in the wrong direction for the US drone warfare policy. A highly controversial element of the war on terrorism, drones have led to troubling circumstances in both Pakistan and Yemen. Even as the US painstakingly sought to eliminate terror networks employing the smartest piece of its military technology over the past years, Washington’s high-frequency drone strike strategy has not only further destabilized both countries, ironically it has also aided a fresh spurt of anti-American terrorist outfits now threatening its security and national interests more than ever. Drone strikes have become a staple of the new American century...
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Politics / United States / Europe / Focus Article / BRIC / Middle East / Americas / Africa / Asia / OceaniaFair Observer's five best articles of March. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. Perhaps that is why China is moderating its approach to the disputed Diaoyu or Senkaku Islands. Pakistan has just seen an elected government complete its first full term, marking a victory for democracy. Now it will have to confront the more intractable issue of poor governance that its democratic neighbor India is still struggling with. Another woman was tragically gang raped in India; this time a married Swiss tourist who was on a camping trip with her husband. President Obama visited Israel, the West Bank and Jordan. He gave a great speech...
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By Ajaz AshrafIt is time we examined the society we have created before we invoke the rather trite argument of dynastic rule to stridently criticise the Gandhis and the Congress. No doubt, dynasty is antithetical to democratic politics. Yet, it is also true that dynastic succession is the norm outside the Indian political realm as well. Its sheer pervasiveness explains why people dismiss outright the hypocritical media outcry against dynastic succession to routinely vote pater familias to power, in state as well at the Centre. Among the media personalities, arguably the most vocal critics of dynastic succession – and the Gandhis – are two stalwarts who are guilty of what they rail against....
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Farming / Food Production / Green Revolution / Health / Nutrition / Focus Article / Asia / Environment & SustainabilityThe introduction of chemicals and, thereby, progression to chemical intensive conventional farming led to simultaneous development of two types of trends in Indian agriculture- that of investing huge sums of money in seeds, fertilizers to nourish these seeds, and pesticides to protect them, and that of growing one type of crop in a huge area leading to production of relatively fewer crops in the whole state or region. The new development, initially projected, advertised, and promoted keeping a scientific whip in hand seemed the only solution towards an imaginary hunger free prosperous society. The notions that technology is the only answer to develop better ways of doing things leading to...
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360° Analysis / Afghanistan / al qaeda / corruption / Cunningham / good governance / Jalalabad / Kabul / Karzai / Nangarhar / Pakistan / Politics / Sherzai / Taliban / US Ambassador / US withdrawal / AsiaBy Will CalhounA Look at the Fractious Upcoming Presidential Election in Afghanistan On February 15 2013 U.S. Ambassador James Cunningham appeared with Nangarhar Governor Gul Agha Sherzai in a joint press conference to announce the U.S.’s plans to support fair and free Presidential and provincial elections in Afghanistan in 2014. Although it is clear that Afghanistan is the junior partner in the relationship, it was Sherzai’s hulking presence that dominated the room. At over six feet tall and 350 pounds, Sherzai cuts an imposing physical presence, and an imposing political one as well. As Governor of Nangarhar Province, he has made a name for himself as a point man for the Americans and as a...
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1984 / 360° Analysis / ceasefire / conflict / DMZ / George Orwell / Ideology / Juche / Kim Jong Un / Korea / military / North Korea / Nuclear Missile / Peninsula / Pyongyang / Seoul / South Korea / United States / Washington / Global Security / AsiaThe annual “Tension Season” in relations between the United States and North Korea is noticeably harsher this year. Every year, there seems to be two periods of tension in the relationship between the United States and North Korea. These seasons of tension are nothing new. The historical pattern of bi-annual tensions are a result of confrontation spawning from joint military exercises by the US and its allies on the Korean Peninsula which coincide with two major North Korean public holidays, May Day and the Mass Games. May Day demonstrations celebrate the effort and sacrifices of the working class and are thus often proceeded by a...