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Attack on Nasheed and the Rising Tide of Radicalisation in the Maldives

The attack on former Maldivian President and current Speaker of the Majlis, Mohammad Nasheed, on May 6, 2021 has brought to attention the country’s tenuous political stability, compounded by the problem of Islamist radicalisation.

Adil Rasheed
May 20, 2021
Issue Brief

Growing Cyber Risks to Energy Infrastructure

Cyber-related risks to the energy sector can be minimised by strategic intelligence gathering on potential threat actors, weaving of cyber security strategies into corporate decisions, industry-wide collaboration as well as up-to-date backup systems.

Tehrik Labaik Pakistan and the Politics of the Religious Right

The ban imposed on the Tehrik Labaik Pakistan (TLP) by the Pakistan government will not defang the religious radicalism that forms its core strength.

Resolution Regarding Recent Development in East Bengal

MR. SPEAKER: Before we take up the calling attention motion, the Prime Minister will move a Resolution on Bangla Desh. There will be no discussion and it will be adopted.

Competing in the Age of AI: Strategy and Leadership When Algorithms and Networks Run the World

The concept of ‘adaptability’ was introduced by Charles Darwin in the 19th century when he had stated that it was not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change. Though the theory was propounded in the context of biological evolution of species, the same can apply to organizations and businesses that in order to survive must adapt to the needs of the market and demands of the time.

The Ultimate Goal: A Former R&AW Chief Deconstructs How Nations Construct Narratives

Why is it that ‘500 British nuclear weapons are less threatening to the United States than 5 North Korean nuclear weapons,’ posits Alexander Wendt (1995), a prominent theorist of the constructivist school of international relations. He ripostes, ‘the British are friends and the North Koreans are not.’ The constructivists argue that threat emanates not from nuclear weapons or their volumes but from the perception of those who possess them. In other words, the threat attribution hinges on how the bearer of nuclear weapons is perceived by the adversary.

What Is Iran? Domestic Politics and International Relations in Five Musical Pieces

In What is Iran?, Arshin Adib-Moghaddam, professor in Global Thought and Comparative Philosophies at SOAS, University of London, tells the story of Iran’s international affairs and domestic politics with the help of five musical pieces that he found emblematic of the subject matter. The book discusses Iran as a global object, with a post-national approach beyond conventional understanding of Iranian politics.

India in the United Nations: Interplay of Interests and Principles

The year 2020 marked 75 years of India’s association with the United Nations. India was one of the founding members of the UN when its institutional edifice was built in 1945. Since then, the concept of UN centrality in international peace and security matters is one of the features of Indian foreign policy. Over the decades, India played an active role in the UN’s political process and significantly contributed to its policies and programmes. At the UN, India stood at the fore of the struggle against colonialism and apartheid.

Jinnah: His Successes, Failures and Role in History

More than seven decades after Pakistan’s creation, Mohammad Ali Jinnah continues to captivate both his critics and admirers. While the former excoriate him for exploiting religion to achieve his goal, the latter hail him as the Qaid-e-Azam (Great Leader) who single-handedly secured a homeland for the Muslims of British India.

Forget the Cheese of Zero COVID. Escape the Mousetrap of Lockdowns

On February 18, SKY News UK trumpeted that ‘Lockdown is working! COVID-19 infection rate plummets in England’. Yet, as Figure 1 shows, Sweden with voluntary social distancing guidelines experienced an earlier and faster decline of COVID deaths per capita. The other interesting feature about the figure is how the mortality curves are policy-invariant, mimicking one another regardless of policy interventions between Sweden, the UK and the EU countries. The virus infection, hospitalization and mortality curves seem to rise and fall by seasons, independent of lockdowns.