COMMENT 212 – India can play a pivotal role in Afghanistan’s stability after U.S....
As the United States prepares to pull out the entirety of its remaining 2,500 troops from Afghanistan (Liptak, 2021) – a move fast being followed by NATO allies in the war-tattered nation (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation , 2021a, 2021b) – the onus for security and stability will fall on...
COMMENT 211 – The threat of the Taliban’s rising to power in Afghanistan –...
After months of speculation, the dice is cast: the US will withdraw its remaining combat troops from Afghanistan. Contrary to the vision by some optimistic sections of both the Afghans and the international community, the country is far away from becoming ‘a better place’ to live in. There are...
Focus 70 – Myanmar’s Military is Myanmar’s Agony
Abstract
The article argues that Tatmadaw's involvement in politics and Suu Kyi's plan for 'ethnic democracy' have ruptured the co-habitation of different social identities from forging inclusive democratization in Myanmar.
Key Words: Tatmadaw, Democratization, Ethnic Democracy, National League of Democracy, Reforms.
Introduction
The Myanmar military’s (Tatmadaw’s) intervention in politics is caused by ‘pull’...
COMMENT 210 – Out of sight, out of mind? Biden’s calamitous decision on Afghanistan
Despite severe concerns by members of his own military top brass and security circles, on 14 April, 2021, US President Joe Biden announced the unconditional withdrawal of all combat troops by 11 September of the same year. The US does not only thereby relinquish the opportunity to conduct counter-insurgency...
Focus 69 – Indian National Congress: What can save the political future of the...
Abstract
This paper analyses the political future of the Indian National Congress (INC). The abysmal performance in elections at various levels shows that the INC, the grand old party, is losing its grip among the masses. Even in the ideological and organizational context the INC is facing problems in...
COMMENT 209 – India-Pakistan relations and the upcoming Ankara conference on Afghanistan
India-Pakistan relations recently experienced a new low – expressed in a sharpened public rhetoric, the frequent occurrence of cease-fire violations at the ‘Line of Control’ (LoC), contestation over influence in Afghanistan, and other dynamics. The decades-old bilateral tensions gathered particular steam in August 2019 as New Delhi abrogated Article...
COMMENT 208 – Is Pakistan’s PM Khan losing his political grip?
Islamabad’s political circles experienced a tumultuous week, even for Pakistani standards. On Saturday, March 6, 2021, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan asked lawmakers from the lower house of the country’s parliament for a vote of confidence. The PM secured 178 votes out of the 171 currently required to win...
POLICY BRIEF 11 – Disinformation in the name of the ‘fight against disinformation’
The case of ‘EU DisinfoLab’
Table of contents
Abstract
EU DisinfoLab: a disinformation tool
The Disinfo Lab sprawl
The Islamist hidden link
Freedom of expression
Modern disinformation strategies
Recommendations
References
Correspondence
Keywords:
Disinformation, disinfolab, google, twitter, islamist, iran, Benalla, US, Soros, crosscheck.
Abstract
This policy brief comes in the wake of a vicious...
COMMENT 207 – Pakistan’s vision to reset its ties with the U.S. and the...
Pakistan is in the process of realigning its foreign policy parameters. Since last year, it became clear that Islamabad is trying to achieve more independence from Saudi Arabia in order to enlarge the room for collaboration with Iran. Currently, in a second major move to change the paradigm in...
COMMENT 206 – Pakistan’s new civilian-military cordiality in perspective
Since Imran Khan took office as Pakistan’s Prime Minister (PM) in August 2018, there has been an obvious improvement in the ties between the civilian government and the country’s armed forces. It is argued here that this new civil-military cordiality led to a constructive, less tensed working relationship between...