Publication Filter

Queering the ‘Pitch’ of Pakistan Politics

At a time of such monumental, even existential, challenges, if all that Pakistan can come up with is a vacuous demagogue like Imran Khan, then its future is pretty bleak.

Sushant Sareen |
November 08, 2011 |
IDSA Comments

Ukraine’s Flirtation with China and Russia’s Quest for a Eurasian Union

Ukraine has resisted Russian attempts to draw it into a closer political and economic embrace and has instead explored a closer association with the EU, NATO and even China. Recent developments indicate a turnaround in the Ukrainian attitude and may portend a closer relationship with Russia and the CIS states.

Smita Purushottam |
November 04, 2011 |
Issue Brief

Istanbul Conference on Afghanistan: A Feeble Attempt at a Regional Solution

It will not be fair to assess the success or failure of the Conference at this stage. The fact that there was an attempt to forge regional cooperation on Afghanistan was a positive but feeble step.

Nepalese PM’s Visit to India: “Qualified Success”

Prime Minister Bhattarai’s visit will definitely help in dispelling some of the mistrust between India and the Maoist regime in Nepal.

Anshuman Behera |
November 04, 2011 |
IDSA Comments

National Interests and International Commitments: the Problem of Enforcing Sanctions

Recently it has been proposed by the United States that economic sanctions be applied by the international community against the Khomeini regime. Economic pressure is sought to be initiated against the regime in an attempt to force it to change its stand on certain policy matters, more specifically on the issue of holding Americans in Iran as hostages. Once again the whole concept of sanctions has been brought into prominence. The viability of sanctions as instruments of pressure, aimed at bringing about certain internal and/or external changes within the target state is open to debate.

The Unfinished Global Revolution: The Limits of Nations and the Pursuit of a New Politics by Mark Malloch-Brown

Books about the UN, like the politicians who support it, evidently do better when they make little outward mention of that international organisation. While the cover of most editions of this nine-chapter book is adorned with UN blue and those initials are highlighted in the ‘unfinished’ of the title, the United Nations is mentioned nowhere explicitly until a chapter or two in. This is no criticism: the UN is a flawed body that everyone knows but few understand, and smuggling it onto people's reading lists may be one of the few ways to address that.

State Sovereignty to Sovereignty of Individuals: Evolution of R2P

Intervention across borders of other states with the intention of protecting the civilian population from atrocities committed against them is not a new phenomenon. According to Thomas Weiss, 1 the evolution of humanitarian intervention precedes the appearance of the current generation of international institutions. After the Second World War, the United Nations Charter under Article 2(1) stipulated that the UN be based upon the sovereign equality of all its members.

The Emerging Principle of the Responsibility to Protect: An Asian Perspective

In the aftermath of the Second World War and the horrors of the Holocaust, during which war crimes were committed on an unprecedented scale, the international community came together to declare ‘never again’ and set up the United Nations. Governments agreed that they would cooperate to prevent the commission of genocide and punish the perpetrators.

The Role of UNHCR and Afghan Refugees in Pakistan

The protection and shelter of millions of Afghans on Pakistan soil for over three decades has amplified the image of UNHCR as a humanitarian institution, which has worked along with the government of Pakistan to manage the burden of the largest caseload of refugees in the world. The office is credited with having carried out the largest repatriation of Afghans (approximately 3.6 million) to their home country since 2002. This operation has greatly enhanced the credibility and esteem of the UNHCR both within Pakistan and Afghanistan.

UN’s Role in South Asia: The Case of Nepal

Nepal has conducted a slew of political experiments since 2006. By inviting the Maoists into the mainstream and collectively deciding to dump the Constitution of 1990, there was hope that a new era of peace and stability would begin with the end of the decade-long armed insurgency. The Constituent Assembly (CA) elections of 2008 saw the emergence of the Maoists as the largest party—which was a totally unexpected and surprising outcome for the international community.