As Pakistan lurches from one crisis to another, it needs a fundamental rethink of its geopolitical and economic strategy. Without it, any International Monetary Fund program—the most recent being a “stand-by arrangement” for around $3 billion, approved on July 12—only buys some time before the next cataclysm. Pakistan must start putting sustainable and inclusive economic growth above all else, especially its elite-focused policies that have created a cycle of...

Democracy & Governance;  Mediation, Negotiation & Dialogue

After the 9/11 attacks, which weighed on America for a generation, the U.S.-led complete military victory over the Taliban in 2001 brought an unexpected opportunity to end decades of destructive violent conflict in Afghanistan. Afghans and many Americans and other foreigners who worked on the country were aware of...

Fragility & Resilience;  Democracy & Governance

The UN Security Council last week approved the Kenyan-led multinational security force for the country with Kenya promising 1,000 police officers. But a Nairobi court granted an interim injunction on Monday in a case brought by opposition politician and lawyer Ekuru Aukot, who argues the deployment is...

Conflict Analysis & Prevention

After being pressured by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Beijing has condemned the attacks launched by Hamas in Israel but did so without naming Hamas.In the latest statement from its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China condemned "all violence and attacks on civilians" and said...

Democracy & Governance

At the same time, the United States Institute of Peace and international institutions have expressed concern about the situation of girls in Afghanistan and called for girls' rights to be honored in the country. Girls above sixth grade are not allowed to go to school and universities are also closed to them. Hadya, a sixteen-year-old 10th grader, said that...

Fragility & Resilience;  Human Rights

“The town belongs to them,” Lae said, referring to the Chinese investors running a special economic zone (SEZ) at the train’s final stop, where she was visiting a childhood friend for the day. “Boten is famous for child trafficking,” her daughter Ellie warned. “They take young Lao girls to China.” The Boten SEZ, nestled next to China’s Yunnan province, has cycled through...

Democracy & Governance

The Chinese government has issued arrest warrants for a minister and a mayor in the Wa Self-Administered Zone (SAZ) for their alleged leading roles in telecom fraud gangs in the autonomous region of Myanmar’s northern Shan State near the Chinese border. The Hanzhou City Police Department in Jiejiang province and the Kunming City Police Department in Yunnan province issued warrants for the arrests of...

Democracy & Governance

The UN Security Council last week approved the Kenyan-led multinational security force for the country with Kenya promising 1,000 police officers. But a Nairobi court granted an interim injunction on Monday in a case brought by opposition politician and lawyer Ekuru Aukot, who argues the deployment is unconstitutional as is not backed by any law or treaty. Aukot helped draft Kenya's revised 2010 constitution and charged that Kenya would be deploying its police abroad while it failed to...

Fragility & Resilience