How ironic it would be if the most direct consequence of the “war on terror” was the overthrow of a government by Muslim extremists and the destabilization of a nuclear-armed country. With the Taliban gaining full control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan last February and advancing to within 60 miles of Islamabad just a few months ago – moving much faster and over a wider area than in any of their previous incursions – such a catastrophe seems to be looming just over the horizon.
Xinjiang is economically and geopolitically important to China. It is the country’s number three oil producer and represents one-sixth of China’s territory. Given the significance of oil and the role of China in Central Asia, stability in Xinjiang is key to the Chinese state. The underlying factors behind the events of July 5, 2009, in Urumqi include cultural, economic and political dimensions.
In recent years, the United States has been quietly increasing its presence in West Africa with a variety of declared humanitarian interests. Discussion as to the ‘true’ motivations vary, from the need to shore up its role as global hegemon in the face of Chinese advances, to attempts to neutralise the territory as a base camp or staging ground for terrorists, to the need for new desire for US goods. The most pragmatic of the ‘true’ motivations offered is the need to secure oil supplies.
Russia is no democracy, nor will it become one anytime soon. The concern of most is now how to deal with the external power projection of an apparently consolidated authoritarian state. So the pertinent question for outsiders is not now ‘what kind of state is Russia’, but ‘how do we deal with Russian foreign policy?’
Small developing countries that have been historically caught up in great power politics often seem to be exotic destinations for travel books rather than concrete places. Cambodia is one such example. As an insignificant part of the international system, it is difficult to appreciate what is happening there without seeing it for yourself. But Cambodia is a microcosm of development, and the changes that are happening there by no means trivial.
Since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, its Communist Party leadership has repressed dissident political views and organized political opposition. Nevertheless, today’s China is not the China during the rule of Mao Zedong (1949-1976), when people were persecuted and imprisoned not only for what they said, but for who they were.
For nearly two decades I have been researching and writing about the global political economy of intellectual property rights (IPRs). In that time, intellectual property has moved from the margins of contemporary global politics to become an issue that most, if not all commentators and analysts recognise as being an important subject of political contest and disagreement.
US Secretary of defense Robert Gates said recently that coalition forces have about a year to turn around the war in Afghanistan, where the Taliban is resurgent, or risk losing support in America.Just a few days later the US military command in Afghanistan announced that action reports will no longer mention enemy casualties
Georgia has been guilty of aggressive state-integrationism, and, by its unquestioning support for Georgia’s ‘territorial integrity’, the international community fully shares the guilt for the bloodshed in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Georgia has squandered any moral claim to control the respective territories.
July 26 2009 saw a milestone reached by the Indian navy at Vishakapatnam, their eastern Command centre, as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh formally launched India’s own domestically produced 6,000 ton nuclear powered submarine, INS Arihant. Has the moment arrived when the Indian navy achieves blue water status with a reliable nuclear deterrent?
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