Courtesy:
A recent confrontation between the Nigerian army and the Islamic Movement of Nigeria has rekindled the state’s tensions with its Shia citizenry. However, Nigeria should pay heed to its own contemporary history of the armed crackdown on an obscure religion sect that led to the birth of Boko Haram, and exercise caution while dealing with minority groups.
Courtesy: Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung/Flickr
On 29 May, Buhari was sworn in as the next president of Nigeria, ending the presidency of Goodluck Jonathan. The mandate for Buhari indicates that Nigerians want a firmer hand in dealing with corruption, regionalism, and insurgency. It is now Buhari’s task to fulfil these hopes
Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
This year has seen a disturbing increase in brutal violence by terrorist groups across the world—the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, Boko Haram in Nigeria and the Tehreek-e-Taliban in Pakistan. With non-traditional terror targets like Belgium, Canada and Australia also being attacked this year, 2015 could see a more lethal spread of jihadist terror
Courtesy:
With the growth of the Islamic State and of terrorist groups in Africa and other parts of the world, global coordination to combat terrorism is imperative. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged the UNGA to adopt the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism, but divergent national interests remain a hurdle
Courtesy: misguidedchildren.com
The kidnapping of nearly 300 school girls by Boko Haram has elicited international outrage and support for Nigeria. India must now channel its experience in counter-terrorism to provide assistance to Nigeria in its own war on terror
Courtesy: W123/WikimediaCommons
Whether backdoor geopolitics rather than careful negotiations brought about the interim agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme, the next six months will determine its fate. Reactions have ranged from a furious and mistrustful Israel to collective relief by many countries, and a worried India welcoming the agreement
Courtesy: Sameer Patil
Gateway House’s Associate Fellow Sameer Patil, who participated in the fifth annual Halifax International Security Forum, blogs about his inferences from the main discussions as well as his interactions with the participants at the event
Courtesy: generalising/Flickr
The India-Japan alliance needs to be viewed through a prism broader than that of "containing" China, and by treating the Indian and Pacific oceans as a single entity. Such an alliance has the potential to strengthen the geopolitical security of India and Japan, along with that of all their allies and associates
Courtesy: Ministry of External Affairs, India
In the coming years, India’s greatest strategic challenge in the Indian Ocean region may not be the development of power projection but the quality of the strategic relationships that it can build in the region. The extents to which India will be recognised as a regional leader depend on these relationships.
Courtesy: Zeinab Mohamed/Flickr
Today, the role Wahabbism plays in geopolitics poses a severe security risk not just to the West but also to the Muslim world. The West needs to rethink its strategy of promoting Wahabbi International, and realise that Wahabbism cannot be a moderated geopolitical asset