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Uttar Pradesh (UP) is going to the polls this month and the results will have implications even beyond India. However, Mayawati, the Chief Minister of UP, will encounter big challenges for re-election as the state faces major problems such as poverty and an inefficient education structure.
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As the al-Assad regime faces increasing international pressure to step down from power, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad attempted to make political reforms recently. However, Syria has strong relations within West Asia and the denouement will profoundly impact developments in this region.
Courtesy: Amir Farshad Ebrahimi/Flickr
On March 2, 2012, the Islamic Republic of Iran will hold its ninth parliamentary election. The outcome and state decisions that follow will have significant effects on India, which has strong political relations with Iran and relies on it for a considerable portion of its energy imports.
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Despite recent regime changes and agitation in the Middle East, the international community's attention has been diverted from the Indian Ocean - via Maldives. After President Nasheed's forced resignation, the country is now in political turmoil.
Courtesy: VOA - Yuli Weeks/WikimediaCommons
The India-Russia summit in 2011 was sandwiched chronologically between two events that received much greater exposure: the Gita scandal and the Russian protests. Is this a warning sign that Russia’s state-anointed xenophobia and nationalism could act as a dampener for the formerly solid Indo-Russian relationship?
Courtesy: Steve & Jem Copley/WikimediaCommons
The upcoming Kuwaiti elections will take place in the backdrop of a new wave of political reform, triggered by the Arab Spring. If Kuwait's Emir, Sabah Al-Sabah, proactively implements the debated changes, he can ensure that Kuwait remains in the vanguard of the Arab world.
Courtesy: Yann/WikimediaCommons
Many artists, thinkers and politicians are increasingly threatened, not just in India but in every corner of the world, by those who disagree with them. So what is the implication of Gandhi’s legacy for those of us who oppose such an assertion of ‘might’ over the ‘right’ of free expression and open exchange?
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The current standoff between the Pakistani Government and the Supreme Court is yet another sign of Pakistan’s instable democracy. Will this lead to another transition to military rule? Or will the pillars of the media and the judiciary be able to bring about a balance?
Courtesy: nazeah/Wikimediacommons - Ramesh Lalwani/Flickr
The year 2011 saw various events - the Arab Spring, anti- corruption protests, Europe's sovereign debt crisis - transform countries and reshape the world order. Gateway House takes a look at what these events mean for India, and presents India's top foreign policy cheers and jeers for the year.
Courtesy: U.S.ArmedForces/WikimediaCommons
The 'memogate' fiasco in Pakistan highlights, yet again, the tensions that exist between the country’s political establishment and the Pakistan Army. While the final acts of this maneuvering are being played out, will the all-powerful Army continue to push the civilian government into a corner?