Asia

Every state has created narratives which help its citizen to identify with national culture.  These narratives are the foundation on which the state is built.  Domestically, they are a useful political tool. Globally, recognizing national narratives can help one to understand the roots of different cultures. These narratives are generally constructed from two sources.  The...
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Aung San Suu Kyi, a pro-democracy leader in Burma has been released by the Burmese government, after 15 plus years of house arrest. She serves as a hero to the Burmese community, her party, as well as the remaining 2,200 political prisoners in the country. The release came a week after...
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Obama’s visit to India this week could be considered a watershed moment in the history of the relationship between the two countries.  Business deals worth $10 billion were made, the ban on dual-use technology was lifted, and public laurels were given to India regarding its status as a world power. Today, India’s growth rate is...
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Recently I stumbled upon an interesting article that was originally published in the Yale Environment 360 online magazine — the title of the piece was “Are America’s Fears of a Greentech Race with China Unfounded?” At the bottom of the article there was a voting function where readers could opine on whether they...
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With an average of 300 days of sunshine a year, India is a country where solar power can technically flourish. In an act of recognition and confirmation of this potential, the Government of India announced in November 2009 an ambitious nation-wide initiative to promote solar energy. The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission is...
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Depends on who you ask. A few days ago several hundred people gathered in the Kazakh city of Almaty to protest against the country’s proposal to lease farmland to China. Interestingly enough, back in December when the media leaked reports of this news to the public, the Kazakh Prosecutor-General’s Office led an...
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The dispute over a fence going up on the Myanmar border continues.  As the fence is erected, Bangladesh border troops are being deployed to the common border.  This has an effect on the Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic minority from Myanmar, because they cross this border fleeing rape, forced labor, and property confiscation seeking refuge...
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There are long-existing points of tension between Bangladesh and Burma such as disputes over maritime boundaries and the movement of illegal goods. One of the most sensitive issued has been the  cross-border trafficking of drugs and the migration of refugees from Burma to Bangladesh. In the last couple of weeks tensions have been mounting...
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Summer is nearly officially over (and the weather here in New York shows it). This means the Perspectives on Global Issues blog is back from its sun-drenched hibernation. Our editors have already been churning out their thoughts and analyses on the latest breaking news in the world of international affairs — but just...
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In an earlier blog I wrote about the leaders in Bangladesh and Thailand that were beginning to put pressure on the Government of Burma to discuss the out-migration of the Rohingya to Bangladesh, Thailand, and Malaysia. It seems now that we may be beyond that point. Business Day recently reported that the...
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