Shape up or Shake out

With elections in Iraq approaching, various questions dominate the possible outcome of this event. Will sectarianism dominate over secularism? Will centralism dominate over federalism? The answer will depend on what Iraq’s majority Shias vote for and what Iraq’s Shia-dominated parties end up supporting. Iraq’s diversity could end up being the country’s greatest asset and as a result the greatest impediment to attempts to consolidate any sectarian hold on power.

Protecting Marianne

The ban on the full veil in France has been defended as a means to protect the rights of women, but foremost to protect the definition of what is French. However, if the government intends to defend the quintessential values of the French state—liberty, equality and fraternity—they should take a second look at the partiality behind their definitions of what constitutes liberty and what constitutes equality. Rather than focusing on the ban, the government would benefit from revaluating the way it aims to integrate immigrants into French society.

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The Odd Couple

Decades of avowed Turkish hostility toward any expression of Kurdish autonomy in the region have given way to increasing collaboration, culminating in a de facto Turkish recognition of Kurdish sovereignty in northern Iraq. This has challenged the Turkish taboo regarding Kurdish nationalism, but also many of the prevailing conceptions about regional geopolitics.

The Nuclear Road

Recent events implicating a nuclear partnership between Iran and North Korea amount to one of the greatest fears of Western and Israeli security experts. Nuclear collaboration between North Korea and Iran dates back to the 1990s. The risks, however, that the potential of such an alignment could have on Middle East security should not be underestimated.

Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks

The Lebanese executive branch is subject to far too many restraints to be in the position to deliver major reforms. Its main task can only be that of tackling its internal critics and foreign enemies while guaranteeing minimal standards of stability to the country.

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Frenemies

It is not always about nukes, terrorism and hatred between India and Pakistan. Over the last several years, the rivals have reached unprecedented levels of cooperation. The new generation now debates how to consolidate this rapprochement into a lasting friendship.

The American Blanket

Iraq has disappeared from the Administration agenda and presidential speeches. One may say that deterioration of “AfPak” is reason enough to explain that. However, finishing the job in Iraq with coherence, strength and ambition should be the goal of the Obama administration. The American withdrawal must guarantee a political commitment to Iraq and the problems it might face in the future.

My Way or the Highway

Amongst the different issues the Iraq Inquiry has exposed regarding the UK’s involvement in the War in Iraq has been the role of the UN. The Inquiry has hinted at important differences between the UN mandate and the reality behind its hierarchical structure – exposing important weaknesses in the international cooperation that is supposedly behind the organization’s power and legitimacy. Weaknesses that effectively limit diplomacy as a viable option in cases when it was most desirable.

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