The execution of 25 innocent tourists on 22 April in scenic Pahalgam, Kashmir will haunt India for several decades, much as the 26/11 terrorist attacks in Mumbai have. The Indian government has reacted promptly: the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), chaired by Prime Minister Modi, took key diplomatic steps, including the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty, and expelled the military personnel who were posted in the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi. In truth, the cycle of violence, tragedy read more

West Asia has been greatly affected by numerous conflicts for more than a century, with the Kurdish issue being one of the oldest and most intractable in the region. Yet, due to recent initiatives taken by the Kurds, it is today closer to a solution than ever. If the two political processes led by Kurdish representatives in Turkey and Syria succeed, West Asia will get a real chance at becoming a more democratic, stable and prosperous region in 2025. The read more

Why bother with emerging middle powers when most of the international discussion since Donald Trump took office for the second time is dominated by the great-power politics of the United States and its global implications? Because the world is undergoing profound transformations that are not being driven only by the United States, China or Russia. Small and medium-sized states no longer participate in global affairs at the whim of great powers: they are carving out a legitimate place for themselves read more

In April 1955, a decade after World War II ended, the world was completely bipolar and divided into two blocs – North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) led by the U.S. and the Warsaw Pact led by the Soviet Union. Coping with an unprecedented polarisation, a few Asian leaders felt bold enough to convene 29 nations from Asia and Africa to participate in the first-ever Asian-African Conference held in Bandung, near Jakarta – the Indonesian capital. This historic meeting devised and declared the read more