Posts tagged politics
Understanding media in paths of political change: the case of the Arab Spring

The ongoing democratic backsliding in the Middle East and North Africa questions the promises brought by the Arab revolts on rights, dignity and a democratic governance in the region. They also give ground to those who argue for an incompatibility between the region and the very notion of democracy. The meagre gains in structural reforms, some of them are mere cosmetic change, empowered a return to a nationalistic discourse that frames change as a danger to the stability, national security and even the national identity. It is not a surprise to see a triumph of the nostalgia of old days, including former dictators, perceived as a safer option, despite their legacies of crimes and human rights violations. The ongoing counterrevolutions are empowered by a vicious use of new media, turned from a tool of liberation to a weapon of indoctrination, disinformation, and surveillance.

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India–China and Their War-making Capacities

Much has been said about how China’s rapidly growing economy has led to increasing power disparity between India and China over the last two decades. China’s economic growth in this period has been spectacular, but it is not clear whether that gives a good sense of how effective its military capabilities are against India.

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India in the United States Press: Framing US South Asia policy

Right from its independence at midnight on 14/15 August 1947, India’s political ties with the US government did not start on a friendly note. Scholars of international relations have shown that during the early years of the Cold War period, India, led for many years by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, refused to join any superpower-led military alliance that would seek to curtail India’s independence in terms of following its foreign policy. I

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'It’s the system, stupid'

The defeat of Donald Trump (despite winning 70 million votes) in the recent US election together with the continuing death and disruption resulting from the coronavirus pandemic are hugely significant events. Both point to the centrality of structural factors including poverty, racism, inequality and the vulnerability of ruling elites.

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India in the Emergent Multipolar World Order: Dynamics and Strategic Challenges

India has arrived on the world stage. In the last three decades, India’s large and rapidly expanding economy coupled with its huge population and its nuclear powers captured international attention and enhanced the image of India with a profound change.

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The Changing Dynamics and New Developments of China–Pakistan Relations

Pakistan’s relationship with China is usually described in the prism of national interests instigated largely by regional security architecture and economic imperatives. Arguably this narrative is justifiable in the backdrop of the emergence of Pakistan as a nascent state in search of security in a hostile neighbourhood. A good relationship with China in the given scenario soon became a rational choice for Pakistan’s political and security elite.

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