Saudi Arabia Lashes Out, Grants Women Vote
This week was an eventful week for women in Saudi Arabia. Women in Saudi Arabia were given the right to vote and to run in elections by King Abdullah, marking a huge step forward for women’s political participation in this country. Yet, a Saudi woman named Shaima Jastaina also received the first legal punishment for violating the kingdom’s prohibition on female driving and was condemned to ten lashes.
Abbas Makes His Case at the UN
After yet another decade of a peace process that is obviously stalled if not terminally ineffective, PA President Mahmoud Abbas has decided to take Palestinian aspirations of statehood to the United Nations.
Timoshenko’s Arrest Threatens EU Partnership
August 5th marked former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko’s third arrest since June. Mrs. Timoshenko has been charged for allegedly signing an illegal gas deal with Russia in 2009 when she was in office. Allegations that the arrests are politically motivated could threaten the country's status with the EU.
Japan feeling the squeeze in East Asia
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to the disputed Kurile Islands off the north coast of Japan will surely set alarm bells off within the Japanese defense establishment.
The Jury Is Still Out on Conflict Prevention in the CAR
The Geopoliticalmonitor's Misha Boutilier discusses whether the international community's response to fighting in the Central African Republic deserves to be called a success.
OPINION: Don’t blame the R2P for Libya
The invocation of the responsibility to protect (R2P) by the UN Security to authorize “all means necessary” to protect civilians in Libya was a landmark development. But the way in which the NATO-led operation in Libya has unfolded highlights that there is an evident gap between aspirations and implementation. Despite this, international backlash regarding the Libya operation should not be directed towards R2P.
The Pakistan Paradox
Withhold $800 million in military aid, let it go through, or double it- no matter what Washington does it can’t escape the paradox that Islamabad is its most important ally in the war on terror.
China at the End of History
Peaceful Rise, containment, encirclement, the ‘China Threat’ theory- though the times change the language stays the same. Experts are asking the same questions they were thirty years ago about China’s rise and the impact it will have on international society. It’s high time we throw away the rulebook of historical analogies and accept that this scenario is something completely different.
Serbia’s EU Accession: Long Road Ahead
Although the arrest of Gen. Ratko Mladic may be a step toward Serbia’s accession to the EU, the country still has a long way to go – politically, economically and in winning hearts and minds.
China and India: River Wars in the Himalayas
The Geopoliticalmonitor’s Amitava Mukherjee examines the potential impact of China’s dam projects upstream of the key Brahmaputra River in northeastern India.