jp morgan piece bob Courtesy: World Economic Forum/Flickr
18 May 2012

What the Dimon debacle means for the world

After the $2 billion loss reported by JP Morgan, one of the four U.S. mega banks, the odds for regulation may be better now. The sentiment is global: banks in Europe have already faced a small backlash, and the prevailing opinion in parts of Asia is not whether there would be another financial crisis, but when.

ObamaVsRomney Courtesy: Malwack/Wikimedia Commons
8 May 2012

How India sees the U.S. presidential race

C. Raja Mohan says Indians watching how the U.S. presidential race shapes up shows a growing appreciation of how political developments within the United States can affect Indian interests. He answered questions on a variety of subjects involving India-U.S. relations in this interview with Bernard Gwertzman.

U.S.-Afghanistan agreement: A welcome start Courtesy: U.S. Department of Defense
27 April 2012

U.S.-Afghanistan agreement: A welcome start

An important take-away from the preliminary pact reached by Kabul and Washington is that unlike the 1990s, the Americans are not just packing their bags and leaving. This is good news in terms of regional stability, and the upcoming NATO summit may answer some questions this draft agreement raises.

bahrain piece neelam Courtesy: LGEPR
24 April 2012

The Bahrain formula

With turmoil in the Middle East, a drawdown in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Iran-Israel-U.S. conflict, the international community has paid little attention to the democracy of a small group of people - the Bahrainis. More worrisome, however, is that politics now responds to the elite.

5825395379_5d725a53f4_z Courtesy: Flickr/freeedomania
21 April 2012

UN: a return to ‘mandated colonialism’

By forcing regime change in Libya, and attempting the same in Syria, and by promiscuously arming disparate groups of Wahabbis and Salafists to achieve this aim, NATO is creating more room for instability in the region. What Syria needs is engagement, not isolation; it needs dialogue and not the arming of rebels.

IMG_4820 Courtesy: Gateway House
20 April 2012

Deciphering today’s Middle East

What are the implications for India if Iran is attacked? How effective has the response been by gulf nations to their own protests? Ambassador Talmiz Ahmad, India’s former Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, discusses the dynamics of West Asia with Gateway House’s Alisha Pinto and Azadeh Pourzand.

Pragati_0 Courtesy: PMO
10 April 2012

Between Washington and Tehran

Over the past thirty years, the U.S. and Iran have been at odds over Iran's alleged nuclear weapons programme. India too has a large stake with both countries - with the U.S. as a strategic partner and Iran for its oil imports - and resolving this conundrum will require some creative diplomacy.

Courtesy: IAEA Imagebank
9 April 2012

Iran: An opportunity for BRICS

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?