Courtesy: gr33ndata/Flickr
The involvement of Islamists in democratic movements is usually dismissed as a mere ruse to attain political power. However, evidence suggests that people in Muslim-majority democracies support Islamist groups which challenge a dishonest government, rather than those who seek to establish Islamic autocracy.
Courtesy: FreedomHouse2/Flickr
Simultaneous efforts to resolve the problem in Syria remain stymied even as more and more high level meetings and consultations take place. The more countries treat the situation as a proxy for political differences, the more it creates the conditions for a wider conflagration with an unpredictable outcome.
The scope for any process on nuclear talks with Iran to founder on distrust, misunderstanding and political in-fighting in both Tehran and Washington remains formidable. Equally disturbing are the wider political realities. Can the upcoming talks in Istanbul launch a process that can, over time, lead to agreement?
Courtesy: freeedomania/Flickr
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: notsogoodphotography/Flickr
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: 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: White House photo/WikimediaCommons
The Wahhabis, who now merit NATO backing, continue on their global mission of converting the Muslim Ummah to its relatively harsh and antediluvian ways of thinking and living. For NATO, this is a geopolitical miscalculation that will have tragic security consequences for the alliance within a decade.
Courtesy: WTCTributeinLight/WikimediaCommons
A change has come about after 9/11: the ideologies grouped as “Al Qaeda” has morphed, from a group directed by a few individuals, it is now disaggregated. Due to this change, NATO is empowering it's future foes in the Arab world by its continued belief in the camouflaged jihadis.
Courtesy: JonathanRashad/Flickr
As the Arab world remains engulfed in protests, there may be lessons to be learned from other recent democratic converts. Latin America’s growth story may provide the Arab world with some recommendations on how to address socio-economic issues in the post-revolution scenario.
Courtesy: openDemocracy/Flickr
The circumstances involved in the execution of Osama bin Laden make clear the connections between the Pakistan military and the Taliban-Al Qaeda. Will it finally slow the U.S. descent down the Wahabi-friendly trail?