By Hilary Dauer
The pesantren is an essential part of many Indonesian communities. It disseminates ideology, both religious and political, through the key community services it provides such as education for the community’s youth and the administration of important religious rites. Through the provision of these services, pesantrens provide the ideological underpinning for societal stability.
Read MoreBy Eric Reeves
In December, 2012, commentary on the purported “coup attempt” in Khartoum provided little in the way of consensus about how serious the “coup” was, precisely who was truly involved, or how far planning had moved to an actual attempt.
Read MoreBy David Caragliano
Human psychology and market incentives make real name registration an unpalatable proposition both to netizens and to online service providers charged with implementing the policy. In time, this article argues, internet policy makers will conclude that real name registration is more trouble than it is worth.
Read MoreBy Cassandra R. Veney and Paul Tiyambe Zeleza
Since the 1990s, Kenya, like most African countries, has undergone a protracted transition to democracy. Studies on the subject tend to focus on specific events, actors, challenges, and roadblocks and offer prognoses that are often soon overtaken by new developments. In many studies ethnicity looms large as an explanation.
Read MoreBy W. Alejandro Sánchez Nieto
In 1993, political scientist Samuel Huntington published a provocative article entitled “The Clash of Civilizations?” in Foreign Affairs.
Read MoreBy Rachel Bergenfield
“Gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights,” proclaimed former Secretary of State Clinton in 2011.
Read MoreBy Jayita Sarkar
Despite coming into force in 1970, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) continues to lack universal adherence. At present, India, Pakistan, Israel, North Korea and newly-independent South Sudan are non-signatories.
Read MoreBy Aiden Warren
In its drive to produce fissile material for weapons, augment its weapons production facilities, deploy additional delivery vehicles, construct additional nuclear reactors, and expand its reprocessing capabilities, Pakistan has clearly placed the expansion and improvement of its nuclear weapons arsenal at the heart of its overall security strategy.
Read MoreBy Tuesday Reitano
A confluence of events – the successful end of the political transition, the formation of a promising new government headed by a new guard of civil society leaders, and the rollback and significant weakening of the militant terrorist group al Shabaab – offers the best hope for a peace that Somalia has had in decades.
Read MoreAn Interview with John Lewis Gaddis, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Historian on the Cold War and policy of containment.
Read MoreBy Thomas Graham
The future of the Russian-led effort to consolidate the BRICS (the BRICs plus South Africa) as an influential multilateral organization is less certain because of inherent contradictions in the members’ ambitions, prospects, and security challenges. The United States engages Russia for strategic, not economic reasons.
Read MoreBy Jolyon Howorth
The total absence of the European Union, as a bloc, during the Libyan crisis of spring 2011 has led analysts to pose tough questions about the future of Europe as a collective security actor. The progress made toward the EU’s Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP) since 2003 was to some extent a reflection of the extraordinary nature of this relative pooling of sovereignty in the security field.
Read MoreBy Christopher Hendrick
The Peace Corps is undergoing a profound transformation. Previously, disconnected volunteers worked on projects alone. Now, the internet is harnessed to collaborate on shared bold goals together.
Read MoreBy Evan Fowler
How should the US move forward on engaging North Africa? An op-ed on reinterpretation and reinvestment by Evan Fowler.
Read MoreBy Andreas Borgeas
This study finds that militant Islam amongst the Uighur in Kazakhstan remains a fringe and localized presence, which will struggle to gain sufficient popular support for historical and contextual reasons. Even so, the United States can take specific steps to help Kazakhstan ensure that Islam remains a moderate—rather than extremist—force in the country.
Read MoreBy Jorrit Kamminga and Nazia Hussain
The security transition plan in Afghanistan is a high-risk political game. Decreasing the presence of foreign troops is not just a military strategy; it signifies a concomitant reduction in international commitment to Afghanistan after 2014.
Read MoreBy Ioana Maria Puscas
Two years have elapsed sInce the Arab Spring started its sweep across the Middle East and North Africa.
Read MoreBy Warren Ryan
“Under New START, America gives and Russia gets . . .. Every single provision favors Russia or is neutral; not one favors the United States . . .. The stronger we are relative to nations like Russia, the safer the world is.”
Read MoreWhile the world waits to see what domestic policy changes Xi Jinping will implement as the new President of China, it is worth noting that the issues now taking precedence in mainland China have been developing for some time in Hong Kong.
Read MoreBy Paul Rexton Kan
This article explores the online clash between the hacker group, Anonymous, and the Mexican drug cartel, Los Zetas. This type of cyberwar was unique: it was an incident where two clandestine non-state groups used the digital domain to attack each other and it was largely a private affair.
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