In writing this blog, I don’t intend to engage in Monday-morning quarterbacking, nor to second-guess every initiative, but rather to try to go beyond the headlines to make sense of current events in the area by placing them in a regional perspective. Basically my goal is to cover as best I can the trends and dynamics shaping the region, which often get lost in the daily mayhem. Why “South Asia-ish?” Because its very definition is currently up for debate (has it expanded from South Asia to Indo-AfPak, for instance, or been dislocated with the uprooting of India from the South Asian confines?), and what happens in South Asia doesn’t stay in South Asia. (Plus, the “-ish” is a very neat device that allows me from time to time to basically discuss what I want).
By attempting to understand what lies behind the day-to-day issues, this blog hopes to help decipher this troubled area which presents more security challenges than perhaps any other (terrorism, domestic instability, poverty, ballistic missiles race, clashing great power aspirations, border disputes, drug trafficking, water scarcity, nuclear proliferation but to name a few). I guess another way to define my main topics would be by saying that this blog will try to cover various issues related to Chinese, American, Indian or Pakistani foreign policy, mainly within the area ranging from Afghanistan to China (which really narrows it down).
Having said all these grandiloquent things, I’d just like to add that I hope you enjoy this blog; please don’t hesitate to leave comments ;-)
The Afghan Peace Jirga (Part 2 of 2)
[Read part 1 here] Focused first and foremost on consolidating his power, like any political leader facing an insecure environment (the same principle applies to North Korea, who seeks a nuclear deterrent to ensure regime survival), Karzai failed to make the needs of the Afghan people his priority, as reflected in the flawed loya jirga most recently.
The Afghan Peace Jirga (Part 1 of 2)
Deciding Afghanistan's Stability Everywhere but Afghanistan
The peace and stability of Afghanistan, the subject of numerous international, regional and national consultations, consistently shuts out the Afghan people themselves, and the recent peace jirga (June 2-4) hosted by Hamid Karzai was no exception. This calls into question the validity of the Obama administration’s approach, on more levels than one.
France and China: Political Reconciliation and Beyond
I know that neither of these countries are technically a part of South Asia (although I’ve included China in the list of countries I intend to discuss), but since I live in Paris I feel I should discuss elements of French foreign policy from time to time, especially since it often goes unnoticed abroad, and yet cannot be dismissed too quickly. By the way, just because I live in France doesn’t mean I’m an expert on its foreign policy, which is one of the reasons why I don’t intend to write about it too often.
Needed: A Coherent U.S. Strategy for India
Hi everyone, or people who found this link by mistake, I’m back – my thesis is finally finished, completed, over. I hope to make South Asia-ish as active a blog as those of my fellow bloggers here at The Mantle, whose dynamism I aspire to emulate. I know the “ish” in South Asia-ish gives me a lot of freedom (as does Shaun Randol, founder of The Mantle), but that probably doesn’t extend to me writing about me – so enough about me. Or, as French playwright Sacha Guitry famously said, “enough about me.
Musings on India
Apologies for the prolonged silence – I promise this isn’t my idea of a “regular” blogging schedule; I’m in the midst of writing my thesis, and basically living in seclusion until it’s done. However, I couldn’t fully resist the trappings of the Internet; once online, a combination of recent events caught my attention that led to a few brief thoughts on India I wanted to share. (I also wanted to let our dear leader Shaun Randol know I hadn’t disappeared. Anyway, back to South Asia and me).
Revitalizing India-Russia Relations
Hi everyone,
I can’t tell you how excited I am to be joining the talented team of bloggers that Shaun Randol has assembled here at The Mantle. Although I’ll mainly comment on things happening in South Asia, I also intend to make use of the freedom provided by the “-ish” in the title to discuss other issues, generally related somehow to something in South Asia (no, I can’t be more specific – that’s how great the “-ish” is).
