International Affairs & Institutions

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS & INSTITUTIONS

BY

SHRI SAPTARSHI NAG, WBCS (EXE)

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GLOBAL GOVERNANCE

Global governance in a broad sense refers to the efforts directed towards preservation of peace, promotion of human and civil rights and economic prosperity across the world. In the era of globalization, this term has acquired wider significance. The 21st century has seen terrorism on a scale never experienced before. Incidences like 9/11 or 11/26 have shaken the very base of the world. Civil wars have torn many nations apart. Global warming has reached an alarming level. Selfish economic policies of a few nations have made poorer nations suffer. It is in this context that the importance of global governance has been realized by many thinkers of the world. However it must not be confused with the term “World Government”. In fact it is the coordination of the efforts of all the governments to keep aside narrow interests and strive for overall prosperity of the world in socio economic and environmental matters. The unidirectional approach towards global governance is based on a few principles. These include-legitimacy of the use of power and its rooting, respect for other nations' sovereignty, competence and efficacy, cooperation and partnership, linking local demands with global ones to name a few. However various challenges are ahead of the mammoth task of making Global Governance a reality. First of all it is essential to carry out reforms in the global institutions like UN, where still the grievances of the smaller nations are being ignored and majority of the decisions are being taken in the interest of the major nations like US or UK. Moreover in the age of so called "neo-liberalism", organizations like WTO or IMF have to be more transparent in their governing policies so that economic interests of the poorer nations are not put at stake for the benefit of the big ones. Moreover there is an urgent need for coming to a global consensus for the restrictions to be imposed upon the industrially developed nations for minimizing pollution. Although the future of global governance does rosy, yet it is not impossible to achieve. What needed is the sense of cooperation among the bigger nations, so that a unilateral action plan can be chalked out. In the process, it is essential to shed off various prejudices that have so far isolated many nations from the world. Only with a greater degree of cooperation and better sense of brotherhood that the myth can be a soon be a reality.

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ROLE OF NATO IN THE POST COLD WAR ERA

The end of the cold war and formal dissolution of the Warsaw Pact in 1991 resulted in complete revision of the policies of NATO. This culminated in the further eastward extension of NATO and expansion of its activities in those fields which were not previously its concerns. The first major step taken by NATO was Operation Sharp Guard, military intervention in Yugoslavian crisis. This was followed by a few more operations in the Eastern Europe. From 1994 onwards, NATO shed off its initial reservations and involved in partnerships with regional forums. Partnership for Peace, Euro Atlantic Partnership Council, Mediterranean Dialogue are some of such initiatives. In 1999, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic became the first three former communist states to join NATO. In 1998 NATO-Russia Permanent Joint Council was established. After September 11 attack on USA NATO invoked Article 5 of its Charter for the first time in history. It states that attack on any member nation will be considered as attack on all the nations. It culminated in the war against terrorism. NATO also took command of International Security Assistance Force. After that NATO involved in Iraq and Afghanistan invasion as well. In 2002 the Berlin Plus Agreement was signed between NATO and EU. It enabled EU the option to use NATO's assets in an international crisis where NATO was reluctant to take steps. From then onwards there has been continuous increase in NATO membership.

G-8 SUMMIT 2009

BY VINOD ERAT

G-8 Summits provide global leaders an opportunity to review economic and political along with socio-cultural conditions prevailing across the world. This year the 35th G-8 Summit was held at L'Aquila, Italy from 8th to 10th July. Apart from the existing members of G-8, leaders of the five Emerging Economies of the world namely India, China, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa also attended the Summit and it came to be known as G8+5 Summit. 3

The main agenda of the Summit included Climate change, global financial crisis, Energy security and nuclear energy, millennium development goals, poverty in Africa, Intellectual property rights among others. The main decisions taken by the leaders are as follows • Industrial nations to avoid protectionism and ensure credit flows • Joint commitment to provide resources to international financial institutions • Call for a balanced conclusion to the Doha round of talks • Participants to refrain from introducing any barriers to trade and investment • WTO and other international agencies to monitor financial stability and the situation and report publicly on quarterly basis • Commitment towards clean energy technology and reduction of Green House gas emissions • Bridge the gap before the next G20 summit • Next climate change summit in Copenhagen The contentious issues at the summit were • •

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Reduction of emission of GHGs Funding and technology transfer for clean energy technology. The developed nations want IP protected clean energy technology to be transferred to developing nations at minimum or no license fee. Agriculture and Non Agriculture Market Access.

ROLE OF USA IN PROMOTING/HINDERING INDIA-PAKISTAN RELATION

The role of the United States over the years in India-Pakistan relation has been dubious. There has been much expectation from both the sides, but practically other than giving lip services or creating confusion by changing stance, US so far has not done anything major to play the role of a responsible mediator between the two nations, often hostile at each other. Pakistan has often enjoyed leverage over India so far relation with USA is concerned. In the cold war era, it received US support by becoming an active member of the US backed South East Asian Treaty Organization (SEATO).India on the other hand, was often criticized for not being a party to American ambitions during the cold war phase. NAM, of which India was a party, was often criticized as being tantamount to non commitment and non involvement. The relationship worsened during Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The traditional friendship of the then USSR and India, kept India aloof from criticizing her traditional friend. On the other hand Pakistan joined hand with US to combat USSR 4

invasion of the Afghan soil. It is only recently that India has been in the "Good Book" of USA and getting a treatment often enjoyed by Pakistan, courtesy the much talked about “ NuclearDeal". US despite declaring war against international terrorism has been unusually silent when question came over branding Pakistan as a breeding ground of terrorism, a notion perceived by most of the nations. The so called "Four Pillar of US Policy on Kashmir" gives Pakistan an edge as it talks about Indian government's role in addressing the grievances of the Kashmiri people, whereas POK does not find any importance at all in the policy. The ambivalent attitude of the US after Mumbai blast of 1993 or even after 26/11 incident reflects its policy of "escapism" when its own interests are not at stake. Thus the only thing US reiterates after all the much hyped visits of the high profile diplomats to these two nations is that US wants the Kashmir issue to be solved by these two nations themselves through dialogues. And even after verifying evidences suggesting Pakistan's role in spreading terrorism on Indian soil, it reiterates its faith in Pakistan's role in combating terrorism. Sounds ludicrous but unfortunately the unipolarity of the world with US being the only superpower, does not allow India to give vent to her anger to such dualism. Conflicts often get exacerbated due to dualism of the mediator. That is exactly what is happening in case of US role in India -Pakistan. US must come out of shell and present itself in a more responsible manner if it really wants peace in South East Asia. Rather than complicating the already gloomy situation, US must become a responsible communicator and strive for bringing peace among these nations. It is often very difficult to call a spade a spade, but responsibility brings with it difficulties, always.

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL Amnesty International is a non governmental international organization with the objective of prevention of violation of human rights and demanding justice for those whose rights have been violated. Headquartered in London, it was established in 1961 by Peter Benenson. It has received Nobel Prize for Peace in 1977 and UN Human Rights Prize in 1978.Presently Irene Khan is the Secretary General of the organization. Of the many activities of Amnesty International, most noteworthy is its role in protesting human rights violation in various prisons across the world, especially in camps like Guantanamo Bay Prison Camp or Abu Ghraib. It has argued constantly in favor of abolition of Death penalty and punitive actions like "Code Red". Its role in securing the rights of the children and women also has earned accolades. It vehemently opposed the apartheid regime in South Africa. It has over the years raised concerns over the socio-

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cultural and economic impacts of globalisation. It has also done a commendable job in securing the rights of the refugees. Most recently it has been vocal in protesting against the conducts of Israel and Palestinian Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Despite many of the good deeds done, Amnesty International very often faces criticism especially from USA and the allies for biased approach towards various political or economic issues. Moreover, it is often accused of supporting the causes of the criminals and terrorists. It has faced harsh criticism from the Catholic Church for its stance on abortion.

ROLE OF INTELLIGENCE IN FOREIGN POLICY

Intelligence is the ability to get information which has been concealed by the opposite party. It is a key determinant of any nation's foreign policy as the availability of information makes it easier for one nation to know about the hidden forces operating against its interest. Accordingly it can take necessary action or counteract the opposite forces. In the present context spurt in terrorist activities has made "Intelligence" even more important in a nation's policy making. Moreover the need to survive and have an edge in the competitive economic market has also raised its importance. It is widely believed that the Kargil war was a failure of India's intelligence, as a result of which India could not take timely measures to prevent the intrusion. The role of intelligence in building diplomatic relations is time tested. On the basis of it a nation can prioritize its foreign policy agenda. Failure of intelligence thus produces catastrophic effects on a nation's international image. The Iraq invasion by USA can be cited as one such example. Intelligence agencies of the super powers had much to do with the mounting international tension during the cold war era.

Victory of the West in Lebanon

The victory of the west backed coalition party in Lebanon, led by Sa'ad Hariri, son of the assassinated politician and business tycoon Rafiq al Hariri presents yet another clear picture of how the United States of America wants to influence the politics of West Asia.

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The west had branded the election as proxy fight over Iran for influence over Lebanese politics. The electoral results came as a surprise for the world as Hizbollah bloc, the main opposition and political ally of Iran in Lebanon was expected to achieve a thumping victory because of their popularity after their success in the war against Israel and for their reputation of effective governance. However the west led by US maneuvered the political game well to ensure a victory for the March 14 Coalition (named after the day in 2005 when massive demonstration was held in Beirut against Syrian influence in Lebanese politics, shortly after the assassination of Rafiq Hariri).Prior to the election the US Vice President Joe Biden went to the tiny nation to display US solidarity with the March 14 coalition. The US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton had warned Lebanon people of the possible implications if they failed to elect the west backed coalition. The apprehensions of losing US finances produced a strong psychological impact on the Lebanese voters. Moreover, US has been aggressive in criticizing Hizbollah for the past few years and has even branded as a "Terrorist Organization". The Lebanese expatriates flew to Lebanon to exercise their voting rights just prior to the election. Nearly $ 20 million was spent for their air tickets. The source of such funding still remains a mystery though it is widely believed that it was done by US to secure votes for their protégé. Though US has been successful in wining the first round of the diplomatic war in Lebanon, the real challenge lies ahead. Hizbollah even after failing to gain a majority has retained its traditional seats. It still retains the veto power to influence major decisions. The "Party of God" has shown a nice gesture by conceding the defeat graciously and promising to help the victorious coalition for the betterment of the nation. If they show such level of maturity, US may not hold its influence over Lebanese politics for long. It is thus now a waiting game for Lebanon, for coming out of the external influence and build an independent domestic and foreign policy. For US, it will be a tough task to continue propping up the puppet party against Iran.

BDR REVOLT- THREAT TO DEMOCRACY IN BANGLADESH

Democracy

in Bangladesh faced a serious challenge as BDR, country's paramilitary force entrusted with the maintenance of security of the border areas revolted in February, killing many senior army officials as well as civilians.The government headed by Sheikh Hasina showed tremendous ability in handling the pressure situation. The army, too showed remarkable poise in quelling the revolt. However, the threat posed by the revolt is not yet extinguished and the government has a huge task ahead to make it sure that democracy in Bangladesh remains safe. The demand of the BDR jawans was many. Removal of the deputed army officials from high ranks of BDR, promotion of the BDR personnel to higher posts, equal treatment to them, introduction of the jawans in peacekeeping missions, overall improvement of the 7

BDR members are some of the key demands. It is true that most of the demands are reasonable and sound. However, the murderous way that the BDR personnel adopted was unjustified. The mass graves revealed that as many as forty nine senior army officials including the Director General of BDR and his wife along with many other civilians were massacred in the heinous revolt by the BDR. It was only when the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina promised general amnesty of the mutineers in return of surrendering arms, peace returned in Bangladesh after days of bloodbath. The surprise revolt is being seen as a result of many cohesive currents acting in Bangladesh politics. Firstly, the landslide victory of the Awami League in the November, 2008 election and the promise of Sheikh Hasina to combat Islamic terrorists operating on the soil of Bangladesh to consolidate democracy in Bangladesh was not taken well by the fundamentalist organizations especially Jamaat-e-Islam.. Moreover, the unfulfilled promise of the government to begin the trial of the war criminals of 1971 war also made the war criminals potential foes of the government. The possibility of ISI involvement with the hope of overthrowing the democratically elected government can not be overruled as well. The revolt was an eye opener to the government for which the honeymoon period after achieving a thumping public mandate lasted very short. Proper investigation to find out the agents working behind the mutiny, carrying out reforms in the BDR and finding out the avenues to avert such incident in future are the tasks ahead for the government to sustain the public mandate and democracy in Bangladesh.

US-RUSSIA RELATION-THE KEY FACTORS

This article is presented in points rather than in paragraphs. This might give you some food for thought to ponder over the matter in broader perspective. •

Obama govt has shown some signs of milder attitude towards Russia. This is evident from

1. He has hinted that US might not build any missile defense sites in Europe(Earlier there were hints that US might put interceptor missiles into Poland) at all. 2. He has not shown much interest in including Georgia and Ukraine in NATO Possible reasons behind such change of attitude might be: 1. In Ukraine, the ongoing feud between the President and the Prime Minister might be the main obstacle for its candidacy in NATO whereas in case of Georgia, it might be the antipathy of some of the NATO member towards its President Mikhail Sakaashvili. 8

2. US might want to placate Russia to secure cooperation in reducing nuclear weapons and in containment of Iran 3. At present another missile defense site may not attract positive reactions from the US taxpayers considering the ongoing recession especially when the other two in Alaska and California are almost non performing. However considering Russia's own aging arsenal, there might be interest in Kremlin to strike a nuclear arms deal with US and many US officials believe that rather than being in a concessional mood, US should leave the ball in Russia's court. Moreover, considering the May 2009 nuclear test of North Korea, US policy makers are of the view that US should not slow down the process of building a missile defense site in East Europe. The nuclear threat from Iran should be considered as well. In this context, what seems to be the most determining factor in US-Russia relation is how Russia reacts to US policy on Iran. Russia has recently signed a deal to supply S-300 surface to air missile which is supposed to prevent any air attack on the Iranian nuclear sites. Moreover, as chances of EU enlargement eastward seem very bleak, Russia may continue to enjoy a greater presence in the area with no further expansion of EU or NATO. How US and Russia deal this changing scenario, will determine future relation between them.

GLOBALIZATION AND CLIMATE CHANGE

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definition, climate change is a global issue. The composition of the atmosphere which surrounds the planet is altering as a result of the emissions of tonnes of polluting gases (called greenhouse gases - GHGs) from industry, transportation, agriculture and consumer practices. With this thickening blanket of gases, the atmosphere is gradually warming. The entire planet will be affected by the climatic changes and impacts which are predicted e.g. increased droughts and floods, rising sea-levels, more extreme temperatures, etc. The willingness of countries around the world to cooperate in the negotiation of treaties to address this global problem is a positive example of globalization - or perhaps this is better referred to as internationalism. Intensive discussions over an 18-month period before the 1992 Rio Earth Summit led to the adoption of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Negotiations have continued subsequently to develop another agreement for more specific emission reduction targets for industrialized countries. There are many environmental impacts of economic globalization: transnational corporations moving operations to developing countries to avoid the stricter environmental regulations of their home country; free trade agreements which restrict the capacity of national governments to adopt environmental legislation; destruction of southern rain forests to provide exotic timber for northern consumers and to create pasture land for beef for northern hamburgers oil spills in the seas and oceans destroying oceanic environment because of increasing number of business treaties and increasing 9

shipping are to name a few. The climate change issue illustrates how inter-related the world is both in terms of the causes of the problem and the options for addressing it.

BRIC- A TOUGH CHALLENGE AHEAD

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first BRIC summit held in Yekaterinburg, Russia in June promises a better economic equilibrium in the world, an idea very much consistent with the purpose of the formation of BRIC, an alliance of Brazil,Russia,China and India. So far the activities of BRIC remained within the periphery of discussions and talks. But the recent summit indicates bigger domain of activities and a greater role to play in shaping up a multi polar world. The First BRIC summit is the manifestation of the determination of the leaders of these nations to make the world feel their presence. The main agenda of the summit was to find out the avenues to tackle the global financial crisis. They also discussed how these countries can work together in a better way to push the financial institutions for better reforms. More they had discussions over the role of other developing nations involved in the global affairs. The leader proposed a "global reserve currency" which would be more stable and predictable to withstand future financial shocks. This is being seen as a frontal attack on "Dollar dominance” of which these nations especially Russia has been critical for a long time. The idea of BRIC was first floated by Goldman Sachs back in 2001.Their report indicated that these four nations will become the four largest economies by the middle of the present century and surpass the United States in terms of economic parameters. However the idea was embraced by the concerned nations only in last year when their foreign ministers met for the first time in the sidelines of Russia-India-China trilateral meet. It is widely believed that given their internal differences over wide range of issues, the chances of success of these nations for forming a strong alliance against eco-political giants like US or EU do not seem to be very bright. At the most they can act as a pressure group to influence the policies of the global institutions. However, the global financial crisis provided a golden opportunity for these nations to tighten their grip on the present state of affairs. Though these nations too suffered from the financial meltdown, it was nowhere near the economic setback of US or EU.China and India even managed to maintain growth rate over 5%.Moreover, with more than 25% of the land mass of the earth, nearly 42% of the total world population and huge markets their presence in the global economic and political scenario can not be ignored. Question remains whether such high sounding claims of unity in diversity will prove to be just paper tigers or they will really keep aside their differences for a better, common cause and throw a challenge to the rival giants for ensuring a multipolar global order.

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DECOUPLING THEORY-REALITY CHECK

Decoupling theory, as the name suggests, decouples emerging world markets from US markets. The followers of this theory believe that “because of the strong GDP growth of many developing countries, especially of China and India, their markets will chug along even at the time of US. After the first symptoms of recession of US stock and other financial markets, many investing firms and funds changed their focus to emerging markets of Europe and Asia. Decoupling theory is postulated in this context for assisting the firms to reap from these emerging markets, but the validity of this theory is arguable. The theory was pretty right till the end of last year, but things have changed considerably in this year. recession.” Now with the US slowdown spreading across the globe coupled with a declining dollar, advocates of the decoupling theory are debunking their claims. Most Asian markets are now on big recession after the crash of Dow John’s. Indian, Chinese and Hong Kong markets fell considerably in the recent past. In the globalized world no country can remain isolated and hence developments taking place in one part of the world have their repercussions on the other part of the world and capital markets are no exception. The Indian capital market is also showing bearish trends with banking stocks moving down in recent times.

After the first symptoms of recession of US stock and other financial markets, many investing firms and funds changed their focus to emerging markets of Europe and Asia. Decoupling theory is postulated in this context for assisting the firms to reap from these emerging markets, but the validity of this theory is arguable. The major drawback of Decoupling theory is that it does not consider the multiple economic relationships and globalization trends. Although the trades among Asian countries grown tremendously, the major trading partner for all major Asian countries is still United States and any recession in its economy will lead to recession in all these countries, although the effect may vary. The coupling thus still exists and the same can be said about the near future as well. Courtesy:1>Dr Salma Rizvi,MBA,PhD,Lecturer(Finance)Amity Business School 2>Amarendra Chowdhury,MBA,Phd,Consultant,Citi-India

PIRACY IN SOMALIA 11

Piracy off the Somali coast has been a threat to international shipping and an issue of international concern for over a decade and a half since the beginning of civil war in Somalia. This has increased the cost of shipping and impeded the delivery of shipments. However, in the last year or so, there has been a spurt in the activities of the notorious pirates and this has posed a serious threat to the trade and commerce of many nations as the Gulf of Aden which lies on the Somali coast is one of the busiest shipping channels of the world. The reasons behind such an alarming increase of piracy in the particular region are many. Somalia with an estimated GDP of $600 per year is one of the poorest countries of the world. Such level of poverty along with the successful hijacking of a number of ships by the pirates have drawn large number of young men toward such gangs of pirates. Clan based social structure of the country, lack of a central government because of the ongoing civil war and its strategic location all have aided in the rise of such activities. Moreover, as there has been absence of coast guards, in the earlier days a number of shipping trawlers of other countries got access into the seawater. Moreover the Somali coast has been used as a dumping ground for toxic and nuclear wastes by many European and Asian countries. This has caused an erosion of fish stock of the Somali coast. With no other options available to protect themselves from such illegal activities, the poor fishermen found hijacking both the cargo ships and passenger ships a good way to sustain themselves. As in most of the cases the ransom was paid, the local warlords found it a lucrative business and began to facilitate pirate activities thus providing a better breeding ground of piracy. The Somali Diaspora has aided the pirates by providing valuable information and funds in return of heavy monetary profit. There has been a rare show of unity among the nations to combat piracy in that region. Various countries have deployed warships to patrol the area. Many have deployed naval forces to escort their vessels through that region. European Union has started Operation Atlanta to combat piracy in the Gulf Of Aden. India has deployed INS Tavar and INS Mysore to show her eagerness to check piracy. However, there must be an international effort to strike at the root of the problem. United Nations must strive for restoring peace and law in the nation. Monetary organizations have to increase financial aids to Somalia. Efforts must be guided to end the civil war in the country and bring back the pirates to normal stream of life. Otherwise darker days are looming ahead.

THE TALIBAN RESURGENCE BHARATH VAISHNOV

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The Taliban was founded by Mullah Mohammed Omar. It was formed at a time when Afghans were being tormented by the Mujahideen warlords. As a result Taliban enjoyed enormous support among the Afghans initially. Taliban managed to alleviate afghans by subduing the influence of Afghan warlords. However they later revised their goals and decided to overthrow the afghan government as they were against the secular nature of the government. Taliban got a major impetus from US during the cold war era when US used Taliban as a shield to prevent Soviet Union from occupying Afghanistan. This was the period when Osama bin laden rose in stature. Osama came down from Sudan and forged relationship with Omar. Thus Taliban and Al-Qaeda came together. US poured funds and arms into Afghanistan and by 1987, 65,000 tons of U.S.-made weapons and ammunition a year were entering the war. With the help of their burgeoning resources thanks to the backing of CIA and ISI they managed to capture Kandahar in 1994 and Kabul in 1996 and thus took control of government in Afghanistan. The Taliban implemented one of the "strictest interpretations of Sharia law ever seen in the Muslim world". After the cold war, US deserted Taliban and left Taliban to fight out on its own. The aid stopped coming and this irked the leaders of Taliban. They decided to wage war against the western world through al-Qaeda. This resulted in attacks on US and various other countries by way of attacking establishments, abduction and execution of citizens. The flash point in US Taliban relationship was when an al-Qaeda attack bulldozed world trade centre which was the heart of US business world. The Taliban refused to extradite Osama Bin Laden who was believed to be the mastermind behind the attack. US along with its allies launched a major offensive against Taliban in 2001. The stated intent of military operations was to remove the Taliban from power because of the Taliban's refusal to hand over Osama bin Laden for his alleged involvement in the 11 September attacks, and disrupt the use of Afghanistan as a terrorist base of operations. On 14 October 2001 the Taliban offered to discuss handing over Osama bin Laden to a neutral country if the US halted bombing, but only if the Taliban were given evidence of Bin Laden's involvement in 9/11. The U.S. rejected this offer as an insufficient public relations ploy and continued military operations. The war resulted in decimation of Taliban cadres in Afghanistan and the disappearance of Osama bin laden. Following this war against Taliban, a democratic government was established with Hamid Karzai as the head of government. The strength of Taliban in Afghanistan was reduced drastically. Despite the complete dismantling of terror infrastructure in Afghanistan, Taliban managed to cling on by way of guerilla attacks on various government establishments. After the invasion, the Taliban managed to regroup by drawing in new recruits from the madrasas in Pashto dominated regions. The Taliban resurgence had begun. This has 13

been confirmed by the ground forces at Afghanistan who claim that they are losing control of their respected areas. The most notable sign was the rioting in May after a street accident in the city of Kabul. The continued support from tribal and other groups in Pakistan, the drug trade and the small number of NATO forces, combined with the long history of resistance and isolation, leads to the observation that Taliban forces and leaders are surviving and will have some influence over the future of Afghanistan. The Pashto dominated SWAT valley in Pakistan had provided greener pastures for Taliban. The Taliban has managed to groom many terror organizations like Let, Jud which are a major threat for our nation. The complete implementation of Sharia law in SWAT is a sign of the presence of Taliban in Pakistan. On February 11 2009, the Taliban struck at three government buildings, including that of the Ministry of Justice, in the heart of Kabul, killing 20 persons. More than 50 were injured in the attacks, in which explosives and Kalashnikov rifles were used; eight gunmen were killed by the Afghan security forces. The February 11 attacks, hoodwinking all the security deployment in most of Kabul, cannot be viewed in isolation. There have been indiscriminate kidnapping adventures by the Taliban and its associates in the neighboring regions of Pakistan, especially in the Swat valley of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), which is virtually under militant control despite a huge Pakistani Army presence. Pakistan has apparently launched an offensive against Taliban in SWAT valley and is believed to have made some progress in SWAT. However these reports can’t be trusted consider the dubious nature of Pakistan. Taliban though had no hard feelings against India in the initial years; the recent suicide attack on Indian embassy shows the growing hostility between India and Taliban. It’s time we step up and make ourselves well equipped to fight Taliban as we can’t afford one more Mumbai.

THE END OF LTTE-CHALLENGES AHEAD

The death of Velupillai Prabhakaran signals the end of the civil war between the Sri Lankan government and the militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). For nearly three decades since its formation, the LTTE had relentlessly pursued its aim of achieving a separate state (Eelam) to be carved out of the northern and eastern areas of Sri Lanka. In the course of its single-minded drive to achieve “Eelam”, the organization ruthlessly decimated other militant organizations and voices among the Tamils – many of

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whom were willing to accept autonomy or federal rights for the Tamils. But by accepting no compromises and by continuing to use tactics such as assassination of perceived “enemies of the cause” and violent retribution, the LTTE brought about its own doom. The LTTE’s inflexibility and rejection of any compromise, say a federal solution to the conflict, its dwindling legitimacy internationally and the internal split, with the defection of erstwhile eastern commander, Vinayagamurthy Muralidharan,alias Colonel Karuna, were ultimately responsible for its defeat. Far from realizing the aspirations of the minority Tamils who aimed for self-rule, the LTTE’s actions have only resulted in a traumatized Tamil population disaffected both by the “Eelam cause” and with the government ruling from Colombo. The LTTE lacked many of the essential characteristics of a liberation movement and had several attributes of a terrorist organization. So it sowed the seeds for its own defeat. Thousands of Tamil civilians now live in “appalling conditions”– as the visiting UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon called them – in internment camps after displacement because of the war. Despite claims by the Lankan government about commitment to “early resettlement”, its actions in restricting access to these camps by humanitarian agencies and its callous treatment of the displaced people in the camps in the name of security do not inspire confidence. These actions in tandem with the triumphant displayed by the Sri Lankan polity would only make one more skeptical about the Lankan government’s claims of bringing about a democratic solution to the problems of the Tamil minority after the defeat of the “terrorist” LTTE. A lasting peace after the defeat of the outfit would remain a chimera if the Sri Lankan polity refuses to acknowledge the plight of the displaced Vanni residents or indeed of the genuine grievances of the Tamil community. In the provision of relief to the displaced Tamils and in their resettlement, the international community, through its various humanitarian agencies, must play an important role. Also, the international community must be vigilant and should pressurize the Sri Lankan government to arrive at a political solution to the conflict that takes account of its root causes. In the absence of this, the seeds would be sown for another militant organization – one that would have learnt from the past mistakes of the LTTE – espousing complete separation. Courtesy: Frontline and Economic & Political Weekly

CAUSES AND RAMIFICATIONS OF HUNGER IN AFRICA

When the world is marching towards a new horizon with the advancement in science and technology, the African nations are still living in the Dark Age. Poverty, hunger, malnutrition, and illiteracy all these problems make social development virtually impossible in Africa. Even when United Nations aims of a hunger free world, hunger remains an unanswered question in Africa. The reasons behind this menace are many. Firstly, political instability and lack of democratic institutions are important factors 15

behind hunger in Africa. After the African nations gained independence, dictatorship and military rule have captured the continent. Government atrocities led people to revolt, civil wars began and the question of food security remained unanswered. The divisions of boundaries according to the convenience of colonial powers led to power struggle among major tribal and ethnic groups in most of the African nations. Power was grabbed by a few using undemocratic means which was to be held by force. In the process, the common people were left unattended and lack of democratic rights made them vulnerable to poverty, unemployment, malnutrition illiteracy -- all of which led to the creation of vicious circle where hunger was the cause as well as effect of the political instability and lack of good governance. Examples can be seen in Ethiopia, Somalia, Congo, Sudan, and Rwanda – just to name a few. Almost all the African nations suffer from illiteracy, unemployment and lack of social awareness. Without making progress in these key social issues, achievement of food security seems impossible there. Other causes include corruption of the officials, failure in exploiting the physical, human and natural resources of the nation, underdeveloped agriculture, absence of an effective distribution system etc. The ramifications of the problem are listed below. • • • • •

It has led to mass migration of the people from drought and strife hit areas to neighboring countries. Tribal wars and community clashes for the rights of food, land and water as is happening in Sudan Developing countries are keen to provide help only for getting access to their rich mineral resources. Waiving loans and debts apart from increasing aid to these countries by G-8 nations Hunger has aggravated AIDS problems in Africa which needs to be tackled immediately.

Establishment of democratic rule, UN intervention to stop civil wars, proper utilization of International and domestic resources are the ways and means to combat the menace of hunger in Africa.

Impact of globalization on state system and its institutions

Globalization removes boundaries among the states for economic and socio-cultural unification of the world. In the wake of golbalization a new concept of global governance is replacing the age old closed and confined single state governance. The state system has gone through significant changes in the globalized economy. States are opening their economies. To get benefits of barrier less trade cooperative governments, trade groups, economic blocs are being developed. Bilateral and multilateral agreements, free trade agreements are taking place among several nations. Today the state system is broadly being dictated by the norms of organizations like WTO 16

and IMF. Even states have to limit their sovereign decisions due to pressure from such international forums. The states are giving up administered price mechanism to make way for market determined prices. Even the state institutions have to change their structure and organization to get themselves acquainted with the process. Insurance, banks, education, finance, agriculture, PSUs, FDI policy all are being modified to accustom to the changing world to become more competitive and more qualitative. Thus in today's world the state system and its institutions are largely being dictated by market forces and shedding off the age old sovereign prejudices to get the most of the new trends. For reference you can visit http://www.allacademic.com//meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/0/7/2/2/5/pages72251 /p72251-1.php http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/nispacee/unpan005068.pdf

SOUTH SOUTH COOPERATION

South-South Cooperation is the cooperation among the developing countries of the third world. The collective efforts of the developing nations can be utilized to ensure faster growth of their economies and making their voice heard in every forums of the world, usually dominated by the developed nations. The sense of brotherhood among the developing nations has given birth to organizations or movements like NAM, SAARC, ASEAN, BRIC.IBSA, MERCOSUR, G-77 etc. Such unity has not only given these nations to unite under a common umbrella but also to raise a collective voice against menaces like poverty, malnutrition, hunger, pollution ,terrorism etc. As a result the common grievances of these nations have been given more importance in UN,WTO and other forums. It is necessary to revoke the myth that cooperation can exist only among the developed nations. The developed nations for long have taken care of their personal interests ignoring the ideals and aspirations of the poorer nations leading to polarization of the world. South- South Cooperation promises to break such polarization leading to equitable growth for all. India with its arsenal of the largest democracy in the world and being a responsible member of forums like SAARC, ARF, IBSA or BRIC has even greater role to play in this regard.

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