The international politics of peak oil and energy policy
The abrupt rises in oil prices in recent years coupled with worry about the long-term viability of a fossil-based economy have prompted some writers to foretell the coming of a ‘new dark age’ of Malthusian proportions. Very little appears to abate the current and soaring demand for oil, even as world oil production reaches it peak.
Libya Was Easy
Libya was easy, but Syria is hard. The question this time is whether the architects of R2P envisaged both types of scenarios when they came up with the concept.
Rebalancing Priorities: America, Europe, and Defence Austerity
Faced with fiscal pressures at home and rising powers elsewhere, the US is reducing its troop presence in Europe. The interests of European security can be best served by Britain and France developing a stronger joint expeditionary capacity.
The War on Terror and the Crisis in Pakistan
How ironic it would be if the most direct consequence of the “war on terror” was the overthrow of a government by Muslim extremists and the destabilization of a nuclear-armed country. With the Taliban gaining full control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan last February and advancing to within 60 miles of Islamabad just a few months ago – moving much faster and over a wider area than in any of their previous incursions – such a catastrophe seems to be looming just over the horizon.
North Korea in the Kim Jung-un Era, Where to Go?
The North Korean ‘Dear Leader’ Kim Jong-il unexpectedly passed away on 17th December. Now, Kim Jong-un comes under the political spotlight. The new North Korean leader is in his late 20s and has been so unknown to the outside world that a torrent of predictions on the future of North Korea is being suggested.
Tea with Madam Secretary, Part II
The following is one of the questions I asked Secretary Albright: Do you see the decision by the Security Council to vote in favour of a US-led military engagement as the beginning of a significant development in a movement towards protecting human security at the expense of national sovereignty?
Religion and Human Rights: A Dialectical Relationship
The real challenge is one of how to get global faith in a dignified and well-protected existence for everyone, rooted in all hearts and minds. This tends to entail periods of sharp confrontation with the powers that be, as the recent Arab Spring has markedly illustrated.
Was the International Intervention in Libya a Success?
The UN-mandated intervention in Libya is now officially at an end. Perhaps only time will tell whether Libya turns out to have been a great case of international intervention or something rather less.
National Humiliation in China
For the last century, the narrative of national humiliation has been an enduring framework through which scholars and common people alike have interpreted China’s recent history. Looking to the future, whether or not China will ever again feel confident and hopeful enough to repudiate the angry indignation of national humiliation is one of the most significant questions shaping the rise of 21st century China.
Peace, Temporality, and the Vivacity of Differences
Throughout the history of Western political philosophy and politics, thinking about peace has been an important and constant effort. The spectrum of questions raised encompasses enquiries such as how to accomplish peace, how to justify the breaking of peace, and how to define peace; and relates to problems such as the relation between war and peace, just war, ius in bellum and ius at bellum.
