POLICY BRIEF 9 – EU-South Asia trade perspectives: State of play
SADF Policy Brief 9 - EU-South Asia trade perspectives: State of play
Abstract
The European Union is South Asia’s number one trading partner and has thus far engaged with the region mainly on commercial grounds. This paper provides a thorough analysis of the trade relations between the two blocs, devoting...
COMMENT 167 – Pakistan’s sponsorship of terrorism in Bangladesh: Shedding light on the...
Pakistan is one of the most active sponsors of terrorism worldwide (Byman, 2005, p. 155). International experts confirm that the country not only sympathises with Jihadism but has also been using terrorism as an instrument of state policy for decades (Greig, 2016, p. 22).
Moreover, these claims are backed by...
COMMENT 166 – The Green deal, the rejuvenation of the Ganga and the Europe-India...
India and the European Union established a water partnership in 2016 which gave rise to a vast array of initiatives. In such context, the South Asia Democratic Forum (SADF) gathered a significant amount of contributions highlighting various challenges and opportunities for water cooperation in South Asia. This was published...
COMMENT 165 – 2020 – False start for democracy in Pakistan
For many observers, the year 2019 ended with a ‘twofold big bang’ in Pakistan’s unhealthy civil-military relations. The death sentence of a former army head (Wolf, 2019, January 19) and the interference into the re-appointment process of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) by the country’s judiciary (Wolf, 2019,...
WORKING PAPER 15 – Internationalisation – The Next Phase of Kashmir Conflict
The next phase of Kashmir conflict will be its internationalisation. Over the last 70 years, it has largely remained a localized conflict zone. However, social, political cultural and religious developments over the last decade have paved a way for the penetration of pan-Islamist attitudes in Kashmir’s society. Wahhabism had...
FOCUS 48 – The New Edge in India-Russia Relations: Probabilities
Abstract
Indian-Russian relations have been based on a mutually beneficial partnership for decades. Over the years this relation has witnessed both systolic and diastolic phases in the backdrop of constantly changing international dynamics. The most significant part of this relation is mutual trust and mutual respect of each country’s freedom...
COMMENT 164 – On the Asian Century, Pax Sinica & Beyond (VIII): Why the...
The Rise of China and its President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) are clearly two of the most prominent buzzwords of our time. Both are inevitable, fated to be intertwined which each other. The vast geographical dimensions of the BRI and its thousands of individual projects could...
COMMENT 163 – Musharraf: Pakistan’s Pawn Sacrifice?
In chess one calls it a ‘Pawn Sacrifice’ – a tactical move of giving up a piece with the objective of gaining a positional advantage or another form of compensation. Such strategic manoeuvres are not unknown in the political arenas worldwide, including Islamabad. However, it appears that this time...
COMMENT 162 – The Return of the Rajapaksas, the ‘Debt Trap’ and India
Sri Lanka has been featured in the international news again recently - and not only due to its electoral results. The small island nation - which is important to both India and China owing to its geostrategic location - was the first nation falling prey to China’s ‘debt trap’....
COMMENT 161 – Pakistan’s ‘COAS Extension Case’ – How to interpret it?
On August 19 this year, the government of Pakistan notified the reappointment of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa for another three years (Shahzad, 2019, November 28). General Bajwa’s tenure was supposed to expire on Thursday, November 27 at midnight – a date coinciding with...