The Oxford English Dictionary defines “pogrom” as “an organized massacre of a particular ethnic group”. By this definition, although there have been hundreds of religious riots in independent India, there have been only two pogroms: that directed against Sikhs in Delhi in 1984, and that directed against the Muslims of south Gujarat in 2002. Ramachandra […]
South Africa plans to launch its own developmental aid agency this year, The South African Development Partnership Agency. Maybe some of my readers who are more directly involved in development can give some of their perspectives, but this seems like both a good (if imperfect) and a savvy idea. If the ideal aid involves local […]
With a new Ambassador in town I wanted to get some fresh ideas and opinions represented here on the FPA Syria blog. So I asked the two most interesting people I could think of to comment on the new Ambassador. It has been a bit lonely writing solo these past months and I wanted to […]
The government of President Rene Preval and its Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) prevented many candidates, political parties from taking part in the Nov. 28 Haitian elections, including philanthropist Wyclef Jean, and popular party Fanmi Lavalas of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Ironically, his administration seems currently engaged in a desperate battle for survival, some last grand stand to keep his […]
My editor here at the Foreign Policy Association has written a fine book for the FPA “Headline Series,” The Quest for African Unity: 50 Years of Independence and Interdependence. You should track down a copy and visit his African Union blog here at FPA.
BP and Rosneft, two of the world’s largest oil companies, have formed a “global alliance” to explore three license blocks in the Kara Sea on the Russian Arctic continental shelf. BP is the world’s third-largest energy corporation, while Rosneft is a major oil extraction company owned by the Russian government. Rosneft will now have a […]
On Wednesday, January 12th, Hizballah and its allies withdrew 11 of their ministers, causing Lebanon’s government to collapse. Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri is now a caretaker, and it is unclear what his role will be in the formation of a new government, if any. At the heart of the dispute is the UN’s Special […]
As the United States is trying to fight terrorism in different parts of the world, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Lebanon and Egypt, evidence suggests that agencies tasked with domestic security have overlooked key aspects of home-grown threats and their root causes. Recent examples of failed attempts to attack Americans were linked to international hot spots. In […]
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is credited with facilitating India’s economic liberalization in 1991, is currently under pressure over concerns of price rise and increasing inflation. Thanks to the economic reforms of the 1990s a color television in India is much cheaper today than it was two decades ago. However, the cost of food items […]
Given the sad state of affairs, I often feel that it’s my responsibility to locate some silver lining that threads through the Iraqi experience. Now, in the midst of crisis, concern and carnage, Iraq’s national soccer team is making another run at the Asia Cup.
London’s Tate Modern is one of the most renowned art museums in the world. And right now Tate is exhibiting the work of Gabriel Orozco, a 48-year-old Mexican artist. Orozco garnered international acclaim in 1993 when he reconfigured a junked Citroen by carving the icon of French industry into three parts, making the vehicle appear […]
Words are out that on the behalf of the South African President Jacob Zuma, the principal mediator representing SADC, envoys arrived in Zimbabwe to patch up a way forward. All bluff making it as if something is being done, but in reality nothing is happening! Neither is the Southern Africa regional bloc’s strategy of appointing […]
Following the eight year Presidency of Luis Ignacio Lula da Silva, Brazil has come to embody both the transformation of Latin America and the rising clout of developing world. Through a combination of heterodox public policies, ‘soft’ diplomacy and the internationalization of brand Brazil, the nation has finally shed its tragic nickname of the ‘country […]
“The Polar Imperative: A History of Arctic Sovereignty in North America,” a book by historian Shelagh Grant on the race to claim sovereignty in the Arctic, has been shortlisted as a potential contender for the Lionel Gelber Prize. Each year, the award recognizes the English-language book that “seeks to deepen public debate on significant global […]
This is part two of my exclusive interview with Ilan Mizrahi, the former deputy chief of the Mossad and former head of the Israeli National Security Council under former PM Ehud Olmert. Mizrahi discussed his advice to Olmert on the urgency of establishing peace with Syria, Olmert’s original intent to order a Gaza-like pullout from […]