BRIC
BRIC
Fair Observer provides analysis of important issues, events and trends in the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China.
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360° Analysis / conflict / India / Kashmir / Pakistan / Siachen / BRIC / Global Security / AsiaIncidents are bound to multiply in future if both sides remain ensconced in their fanciful security cocoons built of nuclear weapons and other destructive material. International relations theory is premised on the fiction that the state is a rational actor. By a rational actor is meant that it makes rational calculations based on a careful examination of the pros and cons when interacting with other states. A state is supposed to be maximising its advantages vis-à-vis other states. Experience, however, tells that like so many other highly intellectualised theories of political science, the one pertaining to the state as a rational actor in international relations is a great...
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360° Analysis / Aksai Chin / borders / China / Himalaya / India / BRIC / Global Security / AsiaPart 2: Interpreting Indian Behaviour. For part one click here. The primary strategic objective of the Nehru regime, even as the dispute deteriorated after 1959, was to avoid a frontal collision with China. The more interesting and perhaps central question, therefore, is why did India find itself on the Himalayan battlefield in October 1962. In retrospect, this author can discern five factors that shaped the Indian behaviour. 1: Indian Domestic Policy Decision It is essential to appreciate the context that framed India’s geopolitical worldview, since this directly influenced the type of China policy adopted. The entry of Pakistan into the Western alliance system in...
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360° Analysis / Aksai Chin / border tensions / borders / China / Himalaya / India / BRIC / Global Security / AsiaChina's way into the Sino-Indian War. In a recent Global Times article, a researcher from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences writes, “Mao wanted to wake him (Nehru) up from the superpowers’ influence by giving him a heavy punch, so that he would come to his senses and end the war.” This rather blunt quote really sums up the war from the Chinese perspective: 1962 was primarily a pre-emptive punitive strike intended to, in Mao’s words, “guarantee at least 30 years of peace” with India. Liu Shaoqi, China’s then-President, is reported to have told Colombo conference representatives in January 1963 that the Chinese had to show the Indians that...
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Ghandi / Hunger Strike / non-violence / Politics / resistance / Focus Article / BRIC / Middle East / Africa / AsiaVisualizing Palestine presents an infographic exploring hunger strikes. Throughout history, hunger strikes have been used as a form of non-violent resistance against injustice and oppression. Between December 2011 and April 2012, a cascade of hunger strikes among Palestinian political prisoners began as they protested their administrative detention. This policy, imposed by Israel, means that Palestinians can be detained in prisons without charge or trial for up to six months, a term that be renewed indefinitely. Since 1967, the equivalent of 40% of the Palestinian male population has been detained by Israel. Visualizing Palestine released “Hunger Strikes” in...
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By Sonia KatyalOn its way to being a globally inter-connected economy, India must distinguish between necessary reform and unnecessary liberalisation rhetoric In the two decades post 1991 when opening up became up a golden word, India has tasted the fruits of a global economy. Its citizens, led by the middle class – which was hitherto neither here, nor there – seemed to have woken up to a dream of accomplishments and accompanying consumerist expectations. This was the era when mobile phones rapidly populated the aam aadmi’s home, every middle class family could plan a foreign holiday, children of the not-so-rich studied abroad, and IT professionals mushroomed in every...
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360° Analysis / BRIC / Asia / HealthThe scarcity of food, water, education, and transportation is negatively affecting both urban and rural populations in India. More than sixty percent of the Indian population depends upon agriculture and agriculture-related activities for their livelihood and live in rural areas. When they followed traditional practices, all agricultural inputs were locally available such as seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides. But, after the green revolution, while crop yields increased very significantly, all inputs became commercial commodities to be purchased seasonally from the market. Seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides – all specific to each crop separately – have to be purchased by...
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360° Analysis / Politics / BRIC / AmericasBy Trevor CohenBrazil’s experience in alleviating poverty has given the country major international credibility. Economic expansion has multiplied the influence of Brazil’s traditional soft power approach to diplomacy, highlighting the interactions between power both hard and soft. Can a superpower rise from soft foundations? Throughout history, powerful states have projected their might using military force. The weapons of war have spread culture, commerce and ideas, sharing the softer side of dominance beyond the conquest. But can a world be conquered through culture, commerce and ideas alone? Brazil has become a major diplomatic player without the show of military force, and through...
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The movement of literature across national and linguistic borders often reflects and reinforces global power dynamics. The fact that Brazil is promoting its national literature at the same time as it emerges as an economic force is not a coincidence. Earlier this year the Brazilian government announced that it would substantially increase investments in programs designed to internationalize Brazilian literature. This strengthened commitment is motivated, in part, by upcoming international literary events that will feature Brazil, in particular the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2013, one of the world’s largest events for publishers. The “Program for Supporting the Translation and...
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By Trevor CohenBrazil has not only taken a leading role in Latin America but continues its economic rise globally, already leaving behind well-established western economies. Background Just five years ago, the economy of the UK was more than three times larger than that of Brazil. But by 2011, the Brazilian economy had surpassed the UK as the world’s sixth largest. Over the next three years, Brazil is set to overtake France. By 2030, it is predicted that Brazil’s economy will eventually rise above Germany and Japan. In the last ten years, 40mn poor Brazilian’s have joined the middle class, the minimum wage has risen by 60%, malnutrition and infant mortality are down to 73% and 45%...
