World Politics

The killing of 24-year-old student Anjel Chakma in Dehradun has forced India to confront an uncomfortable truth it has long avoided: racism exists within its borders, and it kills. Chakma, who was from Tripura in India’s Northeast region, was attacked in December after he and his younger brother were allegedly subjected to racial abuse while… Continue reading Anjel Chakma’s Killing Exposes India’s Denial of Racism
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Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takachi’s comments in the Diet that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” justifying the mobilization of Japan’s military were simply a restatement of Japan’s longstanding position about a prospective war over Taiwan’s sovereignty. China’s reaction, however, appeared wildly out of proportion to a statement that one could… Continue reading What’s in a Word? Japan’s Geopolitical Strategy for Regional Security
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Iranian protesters may find that they got more than they bargained for if US President Donald Trump acts on his threat to intervene militarily in support of protesters. Mr. Trump’s threat may have emboldened Iranians to continue taking to the streets, assuming that the world’s most powerful leader has their back. Many protesters and some… Continue reading US Intervention Could Spark Chaos in Iran
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US President Donald Trump, who is nothing if not direct, had threatened to intervene on behalf of demonstrators calling for the removal of Iran’s ruling theocratic regime. But by mid-week, he decided to hold off. The ostensible reason for his turnabout was the apparent decline in protest activity and the government’s failure to follow through… Continue reading Trump Backs Down From Iran Threats, for Now
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Readers of this column should by now have an idea of what I should honestly call the dramatis persona from whose script I am reading: the Devil’s Advocate, a historical function required for every canonization process submitted to the Vatican. Like every other professional role, it depends for its prosperity on the existence of a… Continue reading The Devil’s Advocate in a World Without Saints
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US President Donald Trump’s surprise military operation to seize Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and announce that the US will “run” Venezuela for an unspecified transition period has been widely described as the rebirth of the Monroe Doctrine. At Mar-a-Lago, he even tried out a new label — the “Donroe Doctrine” — and promised that “American… Continue reading The End of the Liberal Garden Era
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Iran’s latest wave of protests did not begin as a romantic revolution. It started as an economic alarm — a warning flare from the country’s commercial heart, where shopkeepers and bazaar merchants shuttered their doors as the rial plunged to record lows. Within days, a market shock evolved into a national political crisis. The driver… Continue reading Iran’s Protest Moment: Four Stakeholders, One Coherent Vision
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The US strike on northern Venezuela’s establishment on January 3 is a gross violation of international law and the principle of the sovereign equality of the nation-state. This noble principle, first articulated in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 — which ended the balkanization of Europe — was later reiterated in the Charter of the… Continue reading US Strike on Venezuela: A Violation of the Sovereign Equality of Nation-State Principle
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