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CIAO DATE: 08/06
Volume 9, Number 3 (Fall 2005)
The World Economic System and the Alternatives
South and Central Asia in the Global Context
The international situation greatly depends upon the fate of the United States which, along with other ‘western powers’ has entered a process of alarming political, economic and moral decline. South Asia on the other hand is progressing rapidly in many areas but is beset with risks of civil and interstate conflicts. Vinod Saighal recommends the adoption of policies aiming to minimise such threats and institute peaceful cooperation between the major nations in the region.
Continuity and Change in Indo-Pakistani Relations
The histories of India and Pakistan are inextricably interlinked, with alternating phases of open conflict and relative détente. Pakistan’s political dynamics is mostly influenced by its ethno-demographic composition and its largely feudal social structure which has kept the armed forces, allied with the top bureaucracy at the center of power. Sukhwant S Bindra argues that the country’s rivalry with India and its chronic instability account for its longstanding alliance with USA and the former British overlords.
Understanding Nuclear Pakistan: Global, Regional and Domestic Dimensions
Pakistan is an exceptional case on the international map of nuclear military politics. The only Muslim nation to boast atomic weapons and the world’s biggest proliferator, it manifestly acquired its armaments with the covert approval of the USA even though the state is ruled by a military dispensation and constantly threatened by radical Islamic elements. These circumstances make the future of the country highly unpredictable according to Artem Rudnitsky.
The India-Pakistan Population Dynamics
P K Gautam points out that there is some uncertainty about the real figures of Pakistan’s population and about India’s total Muslim population as well. The rapid demographic growth of Pakistan, whose rulers are traditionally keen to claim the first rank among Islamic nations in terms of numbers, is a matter of concern to India which would be negatively affected if its neighbour’s political instability is compounded by unsustainable over population.
Kashmir-the Keystone of India's National Security
The Kashmir issue is generally perceived abroad as a dispute between two neighbours holding more or less equal claims to that territory. Vishnu Bhagwat recalls that historically and constitutionally the state of Jammu and Kashmir is an inseparable part of India. Questioning that status would undermine the foundations of the Indian nation as the juridical “successor state” to the British Indian Empire.
Bangladesh and the World Trade Organisation
Bangladesh is an original member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as it was of the erstwhile GATT. However, the country’s participation in the WTO requires it to carry out a process of legal reform, which poses several problems. Mohammad Monirul Azam suggests that as a relatively small and poor nation, Bangladesh is indeed at a disadvantage in its negotiations with greater economic powers and should therefore seek to cooperate with other developing countries (such as India and Brazil in particular) and with likeminded NGOs of the North to achieve fairer trade terms.
Suicide Bombers in Sri Lanka
Various revolutionary and separatist movements are active in South Asia from Pakistan, Nepal and across India’s tribal belt to Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan LTTE is one of the most resilient and lethal insurgent organisations and it pioneered the systematic use of suicide bombers in the subcontinent. The influence of the Tamil Tigers on other terrorist guerilla groups lends additional importance to S Y Surendra Kumar’s study of their training methods.
Strategic Chess Moves Across Eurasia
Geographically, Central Asia is a buffer zone between South Asia, China and Russia. An era of intense rivalry between the great powers began with the disintegration of the USSR. K Gajendra Singh explains that while the USA has been strategically positioning its forces across the “silk road” belt, China and Russia are coordinating their policies to protect the region from Anglo-American hegemony. India is directly affected by those tensions.
Review Essay
Unsettling Findings about 9/11
As information continues to trickle down from official and “inside” sources about the events of September 11, 2001 in the USA, the picture that emerges is quite different from the American Government’s version of these massive terrorist attacks. Three recent books, among many other publications and reports, analyse the facts that have come to light so far and arrive at some starting conclusions, as noted by Côme Carpentier de Gourdon.
Reviews
Documents
I Declaration of Heads of Member States of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, Astana, July 5, 2005.
II Address by the External Affairs Minister of India, K Natwar Singh at Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit, Astana, July 5, 2005.
III Speech by Dr Mahathir Mohamad, former Prime Minister of Malaysia at the Suhakam Conference, September 9, 2005.
IV Address by President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela to the UN General Assembly, New York, September 15, 2005.
V Address by President Alyaksandr Lukashenka of Belarus to the UN General Assembly, New York, September 15, 2005.