Geo-political considerations and commercial interests – not morality and principles -currently define international relations, argues one Pakistani analyst.
Read More »What is at Stake in the Strait of Hormuz?
Are consumers in the United States and other countries likely to suffer because of the tensions in the Strait of Hormuz? So far, that has not been the case in terms of fuel costs.
Read More »View from India: A Pre-election Strike on Iran?
Why a purportedly ‘limited’ attack by the U.S. is likely — and worrying.
Read More »Iran to Get Chinese J-10 Fighter Jets in Return for Oil Rights
Iran is set to receive the advanced J-10 fighter jets from China without paying a dollar by signing a contract to allow Beijing exploit its largest oilfield for the next 20 years.
Read More »Iran’s Chabahar Port and the Strategic Turf Wars
Iran’s Chabahar port is challenging the significance of Pakistan’s Gwadar deep sea port. The project is strategically important particularly for India due to its land access to Afghanistan and Central Asia which is otherwise blocked by the territory of Pakistan.
Read More »The Geopolitics on Central Asia’s Petroleum Riches
Central Asia’s share of the world’s reserves of natural gas is somewhat higher at 11 per cent; still, it falls short of the Middle East’s share, 43 per cent. Hydrocarbon rents have enabled the authoritarian regimes in Central Asia to provide the welfare services that ensure their populations’ acquiescence in their government.
Read More »US Dreams of Energy Independence
When Americans talk about ‘energy independence’ they are talking about oil and the Middle East. Forecasts that the US may become close to energy self-sufficient in net terms by 2035 have once again made this verbal icon of US energy policy a popular ‘sound bite’. But its use is both inaccurate and misleading, and without a seismic shift in American’s attitude towards …
Read More »(No) Dialogue in Bahrain
In the run-up to the third anniversary of the Bahraini uprising on February 14, 2011, mass protests with tens of thousands of participants again engulfed the small kingdom. At the same time, a number of contacts between the opposition and the royal family sparked hopes of renewed high-level negotiations leading to the resolution of the long-standing conflict. A January …
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