Analyses
-
China / Dalai Lama / John Bragg / Lhasa / Panchen Lama / Politics / Politics / Tibet / Focus Article / Asia PacificBy John BraggWhat does the future hold for Tibet? [Note: View the photo feature here.] Before I went to Tibet, I watched two movies. The first, Seven Years in Tibet, provided a good basic introduction to the modern political history of Tibet, specifically during the last years of independence before the Chinese Communist Party’s takeover in 1950. The second was a two hour YouTube film called, "Tibet Situation: Critical," which outlined in great detail the current political climate. A Han Viewpoint It was also interesting to hear the opinions of my two Chinese friends, Wei and Li, on Tibet and China's relations. They both felt strongly that the Chinese government had bettered Tibet...
-
Christian communities in India / gay rights in India / India / Indian Penal Code Section 377 / LGBTI movement in India / Makepeace Sitlhou / Presbyterian Church of Mizoram / Focus Article / Culture / Central & South AsiaIn the Indian state of Mizoram, homosexuality is still a taboo. "If a man practices homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman, both men have committed a detestable act. They must both be put to death, for they are guilty of a capital offense" (Leviticus 20:13). As more states in America and first world nations join the bandwagon for marriage equality, Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalizes intercourse between same-sex partners as an “unnatural offense” and equates it to intercourse with an animal, is currently being challenged in the Supreme Court of India. Meanwhile, there have been several petitions filed against the decision....
-
2030 / climate change / Food Scarcity / future / North America / Shahbaz Shaikh / United Nations / Water Scarcity / Europe / Focus Article / Global ChangeWhat challenges does the world face for 2030? By 2030, technology will have advanced at a rate far beyond the predictive capacity available today, as technology expands in efficiency at an exponential rate. As a result, this will meet limits in terms of physical constraints; it will create a new need for organizational structures that do not promote discrimination or abusive cyclical patterns, which are a feature of today’s marketing system — especially in agriculture and other markets whose products are necessary to the sustenance of the nation. Issues of planning are often understood in goals and timeframes available for achieving them. The primary problem of scarcity in any...
-
Afghanistan War / Asad Zaidi / Axis of Evil / Barack Obama / George W. Bush / Hassan Rouhani / Iran / Iranian Revolution / Iraq Invasion / North America / Politics / Shah Reza Pahlavi / United States of America / US Foreign Policy / US-Iranian relations / Focus Article / Middle East & North AfricaBy Asad ZaidiDespite antagonistic identity politics, US-Iran relations have a history of pragmatic dialogue. Relations between the US and Iran have been compellingly described as a “Sisyphus act.” Sisyphus was a king in Greek mythology. As punishment for his transgression against the Gods, he was condemned to roll a boulder up a hill and watch it fall back for eternity. Within the narrative of US-Iranian relations, the argument goes that the two states are destined to continue this endless cycle of antagonism — both tragic and absurd in its repetition of history. Marshaled by Ayatollah Khomeini, the 1979 Iranian Revolution signaled the end Richard Nixon’s twin pillar norm,...
-
Abdul Wahhab Mosque / Al-Thani / Bahrain / Emir of Qatar / Iraq / James Zack Hollo / Kuwait / Oil / Oil Industry / Oil Rent / Oman / Politics / Qatar / Rentier State / Rentierism / Saudi Arabia / United Arab Emirates / Focus Article / Middle East & North AfricaPolitical legitimacy in the Gulf cannot be explained by oil wealth alone. The bargain between rentier states and their populations is simple: the government ensures the financial well-being of the people, and the people do not rebel or try to influence political decisions of the state. In an article for International Relations of the Middle East entitled, "Oil and Political Economy in the International Relations of the Middle East," Giacomo Luciani, one of rentierism’s most prominent thinkers, wrote that because the relationship between rentier states and their people involves money flowing from the government to the people in the form of entitlements —...
-
Al Azhar / Al-Masry Al-Youm / Censorship / Democracy / Egypt / freedom of expression / Hosni Mubarak / Journalism / Military Council / Mohammed Morsi / Political Cartoon / Politics / Repression / Self-Censorship / Tumblr / Focus Article / Middle East & North AfricaPolitical cartoons are useful survey instruments for mapping permissible speech in Egypt. This is the last of a two part series. Read part one here. Throughout Mohammed Morsi’s year, artists performed new acrobatic feats along the red lines. Operating within (and around) explicit and implicit regulations, each artist took his or her own approach toward challenging the rules of the game. This involved learning the new red lines and how to work with them, publishing controversial cartoons, even if they crossed these lines — and finally, developing other media platforms for cartooning. For instance, controversial images could often be published within the system. In some...
-
360° Analysis / Barack Obama / David Fisher / Geneva Convention / Guantanamo Bay / Michael Morell / North America / Osama bin Laden / Torture / United States / waterboarding / Zero Dark Thirty / International SecurityBy David FisherIs the US willing to accept the moral consequences of a society that institutionalizes torture? In Zero Dark Thirty, enhanced interrogation techniques — so-called torture-lite of the kind practiced at Guantanamo Bay and various CIA black sites — are shown being used to extract information about Osama bin Laden's courier, known as al-Kuwaiti. In the film, this information is a crucial link in a long and complex detection chain, with information gleaned in other ways and from other sources, which helps track down bin Laden to the house in Abbottabad where he is killed by US Seals on May 2, 2011. The movie has provoked a lively debate in the US, with many critics claiming that...
-
360° Analysis / Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi / Arab Spring / Coup d'etat / Democracy / Egypt / Egyptian Islamic Jihad / Gama'at Islamiyya / Hassan Al-Banna / Hosni Mubarak / June 30 Protests / Mohammed Morsi / Muslim Brotherhood / Nasser / NDP / Politics / Sarah Eltantawi / Sayyid Qutb / Middle East & North AfricaPopular checks will make a comeback in Egypt. This is the last of a two part series. Read part one here. The brief history of the Muslim Brotherhood discussed in part one, gives us some context as we try to understand Egyptians’ feelings as they took to the streets on June 30. I was in Egypt shortly after these events and went to the rallies that General Sisi called to gather a mandate to “deal with terrorism,” where I interviewed dozens of people over 12 hours. There has been some dispute over the size of the crowds in support of the uprising against Morsi’s government. I dismiss most of this as unconvincing. This analysis is based on the assumption that Tahrir...
-
Aquino / Bangsa Moro / MILF / Mindanao / Mindanao conflict / Misuari / MNLF / Philippines / Politics / Religion / Valentine Anthony / Zamboanga / Focus Article / Asia PacificThe Mindanao conflict continues to simmer with no end in sight. The Philippines has an estimated population of 96 million, the majority of whom are Catholics. The Muslim minority in the country stands at about 5-10 million, who live mostly in Mindanao — a region which consists of approximately 25 million in total. Unfortunately, the quest of these Muslims, or “Moro,” for Mindanao’s secession from the rest of the country has been a “thorn in the flesh” of the Philippines for decades. As the recurring issue is Mindanao’s Muslim Bangsa Moro, let me first define who the “Bangsa Moro” are. The Bangsa Moro are a homogenously Muslim...