Globalaffairs

Issue 24/May-August 2011
By Abdulkadir Suleiman

It is literally perfect to assume that the Norway shooting spree on Friday was not come by chance as Europe has been experiencing wave of loathing for the last ten years throughout the continent. The Norway incident was not more than a disclose of, what perhaps, most people won’t actually realize unless it is affected by score of people and that obscurity has ragged approximately hundred lives in a couple of hours.

The numbers of individuals who have excessively obsess a xenophobic as well as Islamphobia expressions were significantly increased in European metropolitan cities since 9/11 incident and in result the conservatisms have grabbed some attention since then. In deed the action by Anders Behring Breivik has translated the inner hearts of those individuals into really political manifestation.

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Issue 23/January- March 2011
By Mahmoud Ezzat A.Elhafez

With the first day of the year 2011, At least 21 people have been killed and more than 70 injured in Egypt (Eight Muslims were among the wounded) in a suspected suicide bombing outside a church in Alexandria as worshippers left a new year service. It was initially thought a car bomb had caused the explosion just after midnight at the Coptic orthodox Al-Qidiseen church. But it’s clearly that a foreign-backed suicide bomber may have been responsible. And after Baghdad church bombing, we can say that the circumstances of the attack “clearly indicates that foreign elements undertook planning and execution”; so the accusation is directed at al-Qaida (A terrorist organization not an Islamic organization) of planning the bombing because “The al-Qaida organization threatened to attack churches inside Egypt after Baghdad bombing.”

So, the first idea is that Egyptian government must cut off the hands of terrorists and those plotting against Egypt’s security as the bombing was an attack on “all Egypt” and the terrorism does not distinguish between Copt and Muslim.

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Issue 22/October-December 2010
By Paul Pryce

On December 8th, 2010, the 4th European Book Prize was awarded in the European Parliament to two authors [1]. One of the recipients, Sofi Oksanen, was recognized for her work on the popular and critically acclaimed novel, “Purge”, which details the ordeals experienced by three generations of Estonian women under the Nazi and Soviet occupations, as well as through the predations of the Russian Mafia following the re-assertion of Estonian independence. This Finnish author’s tale has become very popular, with the book having previously received the Finlandia Prize in 2008, the Runeberg Prize in 2009, the 2010 Nordic Council Literature Prize, and a number of other prestigious awards [2].

But if “Purge” has left some of its readers with the impression that Estonia is firmly post-Soviet, depressed and haunted by the trauma of the past, the start of 2011 will come with a surprise. On January 1st, 2011, Estonia will formally become the 17th country to join the Eurozone, replacing the Estonian kroon with the Euro [3]. This comes on the heels of the announcement made earlier in 2010 that Estonia would - along with Chile, Israel and Slovenia - join the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

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Issue 21/ July-September 2010
By Yusuf Yerkel

Today there are large-scale of literature on IR theories dealing state’s behaviours with regard to international structure, in particular the notion of mutual dependency. These theories tend to take cultural, historical and religious element for granted and make these elements hardly an issue in utilizing for state’s behaviour. Putting emphasis merely to the structure in which states are seen as dependent can never be sufficient on its own to account for the orientation of states. In fact, one would be left without any explanation for the sudden policy change caused by the domestic change. This is well illustrated when someone looks to the case of Iran after the fall of Shah or policy changes that occurred even without such a regime shift (Egypt’s stance from a pro-Soviet to pro-US policies in 1972). Similarly, it is hard to understand, for example, why Turkey during the time of Erbakan started to give priority to Islamic countries (his first visit was to Iran and then Libya and he was the leading figure of the construction of D-8).

While capturing this dimension, the importance of decision-makers’ perception relates not only to such material or political interest but also to their perception of the nature of regional and international policies, and of their own identity and role as well as those of their state, which eventually feed into policy-making. At this juncture, the fundamental component, which in my opinion is to large extent not appreciated, is that each objective challenge faced by states is interpreted on the basis of decision-makers’ worldview. As Ayoob argues, even in the case of providing security of a state, which is one of the fundamental driving force of state’s behaviour, could be closely linked to the basic driving components of domestic politics.

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Issue 17/October-November 2009
By Andrea Bonzanni

The United States does not seem to have much hope about the chances to strike a deal with Iran on the nuclear programme. In spite of the historic resume of negotiations with the 5+1 on 1st October in Geneva, the Obama administration is already working on a possible tightening of economic sanctions. At the G20 meeting in Pittsburgh, President Obama denounced with unusual harsh tones the existence of a secret nuclear site in Qom, signaling a shift in US attitude towards the Islamic Republic.

The change of paradigm had already emerged on 9th September, when leaked intelligence reports to the White House and a statement by the American ambassador at the IAEA publicly acknowledged that Iran possessed the technology and the know-how to produce a bomb within a short time. These positions may be linked to a revaluation of the threat due to new information from recent intelligence activities. However, analysts interpret them as a way to put pressure on allies (in particular China and Germany, respectively the first and third exporter towards Iran) and to convince them to accept a stricter sanction regime against Iran.

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Issue 16/August-September 2009
By Alexandre Calvo Cristina

Proliferation and Non-proliferation, or why states seek nuclear weapons

The development of nuclear weapons led to two different views of their nature, with some claiming the fundamental nature of warfare had not been affected (1), and others seeing them as marking a new era in the field of human conflict. The main argument in favor of the latter view is that due to their sheer effects, a country possessing them would not be attacked by other nuclear powers for fear of retaliation, leading to the so called MAD (mutually assured destruction). It was precisely in order to guarantee this equilibrium of terror and avoid the perceived potential destabilizing effects of missile defense systems (which, by allowing a country to attack another without or with a lessened risk of retaliation might make it an attractive proposition, or at least provide incentives for a first strike in the event of a crisis) that the US and the USSR signed the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty in 1972 (2).

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Issue 15/June-July 2009
By Glen Ruffle

The people of Europe have voted, and shown that the separation between them and the elite is bigger than ever. Given this, and how the elite will not listen to the people, the only way forwards for the EU is to reduce in size.

Europe is now looking at the aftermath of the European Parliament elections, where 350 million people were able to have their say choose some of the people who will make laws that rule and govern their lives.

With the lowest ever voter-turnout, the election of explicitly anti-EU MEPs, and gains for far-right parties across Europe, only Jose Manuel Barrosso could say “Overall, the results are an undeniable victory for those parties and candidates that support the European project and want to see the European Union delivering policy responses to their everyday concerns” [1].

That the President of the Commission could conclude such a fantastical and outrageously wrong conclusion is symptomatic of the plight facing the EU. Quite simply, the elite of Europe are not listening, and don’t want to listen.

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Issue 14/April-May 2009
By Monica Díez

18th November was officially inaugurated the UN Human Right Room cupola, headquarters in Geneva, made by the Mallorcan artist Miquel Barceló.

We are not discussing the artistic value of the work, after analyzing many people opinions, most of them have labeled it as “shameful” and “ugly” or “colorful shits” (that should make the artist think about his art goals). Also its financing was controversial because it is contradictory that a person cooperating with NGOs helping Saharawi, Mozambique, Mali or Bolivia should not take FAD funds for his own profit. But for sure Barcelo belongs to the artist group supporting Zapatero, it seems that we have returned to the political art sponsors which are in any tyrannical regime (as the Nazi regime where it was an official art and the rest was forbidden because it was considered immoral). The difference is that in this case artists joined under democracy for climbing up regardless of their works quality.

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Issue 13/ February-March 2009
By Neha Rajan

26 November 2008 cited the day of the Mumbai terrorist attacks. The onslaught was conducted tenfold, violence striking the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, the Oberoi Trident, the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel, Leopold Café, Cama Hospital, the Nariman House, Metro Cinema, a lane behind the Times of India building, the Mazagaon Docks, and Vile Parle (1). For fifteen years Mumbai has been the target of terrorist hostility, while India has experienced terrorism for decades (1). The former Chinese ambassador to the United States, Hu Shih, has been credited with saying: “India conquered and dominated China culturally for twenty centuries without sending a single soldier across her border”. The nonchalance and cleverness with which India has controlled other countries, mindful and intangible, has survived until today. Why is this military strategy not quid-pro-quo?

India has been controlled by the British, invaded by Persians, Dutch, French, and Chinese alike, and has warred with Pakistan and Bangladesh. Foreign soldiers have infringed on Indian soil on many occasions, whereas Indian forces have seen the sun rise at the same time for centuries. This incongruity lives, courtesy the inconsistencies and shortcomings that are housed by the Indian government. The Indian subcontinent, despite lax military policy and permissive border patrols, has achieved phenomenal economic success in the past decade. If the pacifism is to be reciprocated, if there is to be a dearth of foreign military influence in India, the indiscretion in its legislative system must be resolved. The problem areas lie in the two global arenas: the intercontinental and the domestic.

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Issue 12/December-January 2009
By Sushil Srivastava

The two words art and investment taken together create an intellectual contradiction and force us to think as to how an art object is termed as an investment.

An art object is a soulful expression of the artistic sensibilities that has an intrinsic value. Which is not just because of the interlaced creative and aesthetic juices but also because of it’s relevance in the time frame of an era. And it is due to these attributes that an art object acquires a financial value.

And since art is very subjective it needs deeper understanding with regard to its financial aspect.

The Indian art is today being recognized on the global platform and at home the Indian art market is annually growing at 30-35%. It is being predicted that this trend would continue. It is not just because of the surge in Indian economy that has had a trickle effect and triggered the boom in Indian art market but also because Indian art has a long way to go. It is far behind if one was to draw a comparison with others in Asian art market itself. Thus with a potent economy to support, international exposure, the ever growing awareness and the knowledge of art just a click away, it all mounts to the long awaited big bang in Indian art industry. And since our art industry is still in an emerging state those who understand this transition will benefit the most.

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