United States
United States
Fair Observer provides inclusive, insightful and non-partisan analysis of important American issues, events and trends.
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Arab Uprisings / Egypt / Elections / Foreign Policy / Greater Middle East / Hosni Mubarak / Islamism / Islamist threat / Israel / Palestine / Politics / Syria / Syrian Civil War / Tunisia / UN / United States / Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali / Europe / Focus Article / Middle East / Global SecurityAfter decades of secular dictatorships, how will a new Middle East and North Africa alter centuries-old Arab-Western relations? This is the first of a two part series. Since December 2010, the Arab revolts have shaken an entire region. Uprisings, initiated by youth activists, have undoubtedly changed the history and makeup of the Middle East and North Africa. Long-standing autocratic regimes in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen were overthrown as a consequence. With their causes rooted in a variety of political, social and economic factors, issues such as a demographic youth bulge and widespread unemployment have created restive societies throughout the Arab world. Having started with...
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Afghanistan / Bruno de Cordier / feminism / Feminists / gender imperialism / gender industry / Global War on Terror / minorities' rights / Politics / United States / women / Europe / Focus Article / Arts & Culture / Middle East / Africa / AsiaMore than contributing to just and humane societies, the international gender industry, feminism’s institutionalized offshoot, has undeniably become part of multi-faceted attempts at periphery control. Just like threats and enemies often don’t turn out to be who we are told or believe them to be, measures and movements with an apparently noble and humanist purpose do not always serve it. Draconic laws against “hate speech” and “extremism,” for instance, are perhaps not as much about promoting tolerance or stopping evil white supremacists and evil Salafists as the public is told. The latter groups rather serve as mediagenic scarecrows, the threat of which...
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African spring / Arab Spring / Best of the Month / Fair Observer / Gaza / Humanitarian Aid / India / Pakistan Elections / Pakistani Spring / Politics / Syrian Civil War / The Economist / United States / Europe / Focus Article / Middle East / Americas / Africa / AsiaFair Observer's five best articles of May. This has been an eventful month. A gory murder of a soldier in London has shocked much of the world. The barbarity that one associates with Africa and Afghanistan suddenly seems close to home. In the immediate aftermath of this tragedy, President Obama declared that the war on terror "like all wars, must end." In a thoughtful and bold speech, which is clearly not going down well with his Republican opponents, he acknowledged that drone "strikes have resulted in civilian casualties," and declared that "force alone cannot make us safe." In another part of the world, where drone strikes have created much anguish,...
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360° Analysis / Af/Pak / Afghanistan / Drone Strikes on Pakistan / Drones / Imran Khan / Islamabad / Kabul / Nawaz Sharif / Pakistan / Pakistan Elections 2013 / Politics / RSIS / Sajjad Ashraf / United States / War on terror / Washington / Waziristan / Global Security / AsiaPakistan’s new leader, Nawaz Sharif, faces acute domestic issues and a troubled relationship with the United States and Afghanistan. His solution calls for an end to US drone attacks, and the start of talks with the Taliban. By Sajjad Ashraf Nawaz Sharif, leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), begins his third term as prime minister having to face mounting domestic issues, while Pakistan’s relations with Washington and Kabul is in a critical phase. The people of Pakistan and much of the world await with trepidation to see how the new government handles these challenges during the crucial American withdrawal from Afghanistan. Sharif takes over at a time when Pakistan...
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360° Analysis / Anders Amador / Bianca Nandzik / Christina Wenderoth / earth art / land art / United States / Europe / Arts & CultureArtist Bianca Nandzik looks at the progression of land art from monumental works cut into the earth’s landscape towards a quieter, more ephemeral art form. [View the photo feature, Rethinking "Land Art".] In the late 1960s, a group of artists protested against the conventional market-driven art world. They turned their back on museums and galleries and began to explore nature as their canvas. A new art form was born, which became known as “earth art” or “land art". Their works demonstrate how the artists dealt with technological, social and political conditions. The pioneers of land art put momentous construction efforts in their projects. Using...
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360° Analysis / Boston / Boston Bombings / Chechen Immigrants / Chechnya / Donovan Currier / Globalization / Media and terrorism / RAND Corporation / terrorism / Terrorist Attacks / United States / Global SecurityAs individuals, and as a society, we wrongly react to terrorist attacks. We must ensure that the risks are greater than the benefits for potential terrorists, in order to discourage them from perpetrating heinous acts that harm innocent people. The bombings that occurred at the Boston Marathon on April 15 were tragic. Every American has been reminded once again that he or she is not impervious to those who seek to harm the innocent using violent measures. Regardless of the fact that the Tsarnaev brothers were two radicalized Chechen immigrants, homegrown, and from a different part of the world, it is held that there are measures we can take as a society to minimize the...
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360° Analysis / Albus Cavus / Graffiti / Peter Krsko / Street Art / United States / urban art / urban improvement / Washington DC / Washington DC art scene / Arts & CultureBy Peter KrskoPeter Krsko, founder of Albus Cavus urban art collective from Washington DC, talks about the importance of art in developing local communities. The development of healthy communities in urban centers depends on active involvement of their members. One of the most effective ways to educate and encourage the young generation to be responsible and motivated citizens, is to provide them with creative resources that are relevant to positive civic life. Albus Cavus, a collective of artists, scientists and educators, has been practicing this community-focused creative approach for building healthy and robust urban neighborhoods. In the last decade, the group has established and maintained a...
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360° Analysis / Annika Schall / Boston bombing / Chechnya / Dagestan / Dzhokhar Tsarvaev / Politics / Ramzan Kadyrov / Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik / Tamerlan Tsarnaev / United States / Europe / Global SecurityBecause the Boston Bombers came from Chechnya, the country is now back on the public agenda. Uwe Halbach analyzes the situation in Chechnya and sheds light on the background of Islamist terror in the Northern Caucasus. With the Boston Bombings, public attention has returned to the subject that disappeared from the media over the last few years: Chechnya, the attackers’ country of a origin. At present, it appears that Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev were acting independently. There is evidence that suggests the older brother, Tamerlan — who seems to have initiated the attack — had travelled to the Northern Caucasus where he could have taken on radical Islamist views....
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360° Analysis / Barack Obama / Bashar Al-Assad / Diplomacy / Israel / Jeffrey Laurenti / Lakhdar Brahimi / Negotiations / Nobel Prize / Politics / Recep Tayyip Erdogan / Ryan Crocker / Syria / Syrian Civil War / Turkey / UN resolution / United States / Europe / Middle East / Global SecuritySyria is not Iraq. Outside Washington, the US seems strongly opposed to deep involvement in the Syrian conflict. Obama's caution is on the mark, argues Jeffrey Laurenti. As pressures mount in Washington for a more aggressive American involvement on behalf of at least some rebel groups in Syria, President Obama has seemed intent on proving the Nobel committee was farsighted in awarding him its peace prize four years ago. He sent Secretary of State John Kerry to Moscow this month with an initiative to re-engage diplomatically with Russia to end the war, through an international conference in June. It could not come soon enough. The Syrian government has, by all accounts, begun to win back...