Strategic Paradigms by Ehsan Ahrari

Watching the developing spat between the PRC and the U.S. over the latter’s decision to sell $6.4 billion worth of arms to Taiwan, one is reminded of the reality that security affairs have remained part and parcel of “low politics,” if that type of politics can be redefined as politics where suspicion, the dark shadows [...]

The Iranian protest as a social movement The mounting protest against the Islamic Republic in Iran is in the process of becoming a social movement. Sidney Tarrow, a specialist on the subject, defines a social movement as collective challenges (to elites and authorities) by people with common purposes and solidarity in sustained interactions with elites, [...]

The saga of the U.S.-Pakistan relationship may best be described by the phrase “use and abandon.”  That happened during the years following the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, when Pakistan eagerly became America’s ally.  But when the Soviets were defeated and ousted from Afghanistan, the U.S. went home.  Pakistan was left alone to deal with [...]

The Bush administration has thus far failed to resolve the nuclear conflict with two so-called “rogue states”—Iran and North Korea.  In the final three months of his tenure, George W. Bush is making last-ditch deals with Russia and China to put pressure on Tehran and Pyongyang, respectively.  The focus of those deals is to persuade [...]

America’s presidential election debates are driven by a regular fear-mongering drumbeat on Iran.  Both Barack Obama and John McCain are involved in it.  Iran is frequently described as a source of regional turbulence and a sponsor of terrorism.  A similar type of drumbeat on Iraq led to America’s “war of choice.”  Those—especially the critics of [...]

The confluence of the waning months of the Bush presidency—when the lameduck factor is looming large— the continued insistence of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki that the U.S. set a timetable of withdrawing from Iraq, the Russian invasion of Georgia, and the forced resignation of General Pervez Musharraf—President Bush’s favorite strongman in Pakistan—are creating a new [...]