COMMENT 187 – Social media in Pakistan and GSP+ compliance under stress
In the shadow of the corona virus pandemic and hardly noticed by international observers, the government of Pakistan is attempting to establish a sweeping state-oversight over the social media sector (CPJ, 2020, February 13). In order to do so, Islamabad envisaged a set of new regulations called the ‘Citizens...
COMMENT 185 – The Global conditions for the economic recovery
Prime-minister Modi set the international tone on the post-pandemic recovery path announcing a substantial stimulus and economic reform package on May the 12th. Still, for the recovery to be global and sustainable, trust must be restored, and for this, it will be necessary to overcome the psychological impact of...
Focus 55 – Broadening Horizons of India’s Act East Policy: Future Avenues
Abstract
The Act East Policy of India, announced in 2014 presented some significant differences from the previous Look East Policy. It aimed to look further east, towards the Pacific and beyond Southeast Asia. However, India's exit from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) raises questions regarding where India's Act East...
Dr Christophe Jaffrelot ‘The Covid-19 Crisis – long term trends in India’ – Webinar...
If you wish to attend the event, please register here. For logistical reasons attendance via Zoom to the event will be limited to 100 attendees, to whom priority in Q&A will be given. The event will also be livestreamed on SADF’s Facebook page Registration is open up until 26 May.
COMMENT 184 – The Rohingya question: From a Burmese puzzle to a looming regional...
Even when the whole world is grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic, the question of Rohingya refugees looms large. On May 3 2020, Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister, Dr A. K. Abdul Momen, confirmed to UNB that a few days before, a small group of Rohingyas who had entered Bangladesh in small...
COMMENT 183 – Are Pakistani dissidents safe in Europe?
On March 2, Sajid Hussain Baloch, a journalist openly critical of Pakistan (Tanner, 2020, May 2), went missing in Sweden (Khan, 2020, April 4). His body was found on April 23 in the Fyris River, outside the university city of Uppsala (Mukhopadhyay, 2020, May 2). Sajid, who escaped from...
WORKING PAPER 18 – Covid-19 in South Asia: Space Matters
Abstract
Covid-19 undoubtedly poses challenges to our world. The first, being the protection of human lives, a pursuit which will influence and take a toll on economic recovery and trust. Through the implementation of a policy of ‘social distancing’, governments have tried to delay the spread of infection to help...
COMMENT 182 – On the Asian Century, Pax Sinica & Beyond (XI): Corona crisis:...
The Global Times (2020, April 16) proclaimed that ‘China's rising status in the world, requires it to ‘safeguard its national interests’. One of the latest target countries of this ‘safeguarding’ is Australia. Canberra made a ‘principled call’ to international political leaders and the World Health Organisation (WHO) for an...
FOCUS 54 – The Changing Face of Urban Informality – Class, Migration & Gender
Abstract
Cities are rapidly changing, and so is the agency of urban infrastructure. It is necessary for policy discussions around urban informality to keep up with this changing pace. This paper begins by exploring how urban infrastructure plays an increasingly structural role in influencing the politics of inclusion & exclusion...
Focus 52 – A European water partnership with South Asia
Abstract
Water in South Asia has been a recurrent central topic in SADF activities nearly from its creation. Among various other initiatives, SADF organised in September 2013 and in partnership with the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung a conference in Brussels dedicated to the issue. A special session on water management in...