Global Issues & Governance
| 30 August 2010
At the beginning of the second quarter of 2010, the danger of a "double dip" that is, a sudden second economic plunge seems to be looming. Some of the indicators that by now must be considered structural of the new economy have been a see-sawing in performance of the major stock exchanges in the world (the Dow Jones Industrial Average has plunged by more than 200 points on at least three occasions in 2010, not including the freak 1000 point drop suffered in April.) The Euro currency has lost a lot of its value in the spring and while this would be good news for a region where manufacturing weighs heavily in the economy, this development has not had the expected effects because the more advanced European economies don't base their economic output on industrial performance but the service industry. More to the point, the doubts cast by poor performance of Greece, Spain, Portugal, and now Ireland and probably Italy, will have Eurocrats in Brussels think twice before extending the Euro to the newest members of the EU in Central and Eastern Europe. This is because there, the economic downturn of late 2008 and 2009 is still simmering.
| 14 July 2010
I. The Challenge and Objective of ‘Zero Nuclear Weapons’
The calamity of nuclear bombs and their destructive power was illustrated in the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear attacks that caused 200,000 deaths on impact and several hundred thousands of radiation related illnesses and cancers over the years. In the post cold war era, an intentional nuclear war between the USA and Russia seems remote. However, a regional nuclear war and the likelihood of nuclear terrorism and the use of a bomb in a suitcase are increasingly possible. Per expert reports, a regional nuclear war between India and Pakistan, can cause one billion deaths as a direct result of the conflict and its associated environmental damage to food chain and human and animal habitats which are not only limited to the region in question, but cover a much wider geographical area.
Economically, even with no wars, the costs of preparing for war are costing every one of us and particularly the needy of the world, wastage of necessities and loss of opportunities. Per a SIPRI annual report, the 2007 global military expenditures stood at $1.3 trillion, equivalent to almost $200 per person per year.
| 22 May 2010
I. Introduction
The European Union-China relationship is one of the most important and least understood relationships in the world today. Where there used to be cooperation between the Chinese and the Europeans, competition has now emerged, and new issues have appeared in areas which were not that relevant in the past, such as China’s role in Africa. Since mutual understanding in a more objective manner is a pre-requisite for mutual trust, this paper aims at understanding the potential of a trade partnership between the European Union (EU) and China. China is a strong economic power with increasingly sophisticated production in its coastal regions and attempts to establish itself as a gravity center by concluding many bilateral free-trade agreements (FTAs) in the region
| 27 April 2010
| 28 March 2010
There are two Dolphin-type Israeli submarines in service. The first is patrolling in the Mediterranean and the second in the Persian Gulf. The submarine in the Persian Gulf, according to expert Bharat Karnad (Research Professor in National Security Studies, Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi, member of the First National Security Advisory Board of the National Security Council, Government of India) navigates in the nearby Strait of Hormuz in order to closely monitor Iranian military objectives.
The Israeli submarine patrols, albeit in a negative perspective, perfectly illustrate the inter-connectivity between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Today, it is in the strategic theatre of the Indian Ocean that intertwines the two big conflicts which can alter global order: the tension between China and India for energy supplies and that of the USA and the Islamic world over the control of energy production.
In fact more than 15% of the world’s oil supply is transited through the Strait of Hormuz. Furthermore, the Strait of Hormuz serves the increasing Chinese energy demand. No wonder that the Strait plays host to the American fleet, the Indian aircraft carrier and, now as we also know, the second submarine of Israel.