Stuck between past and present, Lenin lingers on in parts of ex-USSR
On a recent morning a small group of pensioners gathered round a monument to Communist leader Vladimir Lenin in a far-flung corner of the bygone empire he helped found. The…
As legacies of colonialism go
PALESTINE and Kashmir have too readily been likened to each other, and to this end, they were mentioned in the same breath last week at the UN — not for the first…
Don’t blame the Chinese
AN exam question for CSS aspirants: what’s higher than the Himalayas, deeper than the seas, stronger than steel, and sweeter than honey? Well, dear candidate, any hesitation suggests your patriotism…
Stagnant societies
IN comparing Western societies with Myanmar, North Korea or most Central Asian ones, one is struck by the contrasts. Western societies are vibrant and creative. Their states give citizens the…
Debt: a longer view
“INSANITY is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results,” is a saying intended to suggest that such behaviour is stupid. Is that interpretation correct in the…
Geopolitical chessboard
MOMENTOUS developments spearheaded by China’s dramatic rise, growing Sino-US rivalry, an assertive Russia, and the emergence of new centres of power in Asia, Africa and Latin America are reshaping the…
IMU’s journey
THE withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan has changed the dynamics of terrorism and counterterrorism (CT) in Afghanistan and its neighbourhood: while the operational capabilities of Al Qaeda appear weakened,…
Blinkered visions
ONE struggles at times to make sense of the international support in some quarters for Vladimir Putin’s disastrous military endeavour, devastating in obvious ways not just for Ukraine but even…
Whose hubris?
PUTIN’S ‘hubris’ is a popular theme for trenchant commentaries on Ukraine. One can see why. For truckloads of conventional Western pundits, the Ukraine tragedy began on the day of the…
War and peace
UKRAINE’S independence day today will be bereft of any public celebrations in Kyiv because of the elevated risk of Russian attacks on the capital. Precisely six months into Vladimir Putin’s “special military…
