Why a small American state can have a big impact on the world
by Rashmee
Posted on February 12, 2020 / The National
The battle for the US presidency gets properly under way with Tuesday’s election in New Hampshire, a small north-eastern state, where the Democratic Party picks its preferred choice for presidential nominee. Meanwhile, two seemingly contradictory narratives are emerging. The first is that the Democratic Party is simply incapable of winning against incumbent president Donald Trump … Continue reading “Why a small American state can have a big impact on the world”
Read MoreThe US and China are battling over a geographical concept
by Rashmee
Posted on January 15, 2020
To no one’s surprise, China doesn’t admit to being part of the “Indo-Pacific”. The strategy has potential – as well as its perils. Consider this. In the past decade, Indo-Pacific has become an established political and strategic concept for Australia, India, Japan and the United States. In the Trump era, the term “free and open … Continue reading “The US and China are battling over a geographical concept”
Read MoreRaisina Dialogue 2020 is a nod to multi-alignment
by Rashmee
Posted on January 14, 2020 / The National
Today, exactly 11 days after the targeted US strike on Iran’s top general Qassem Suleimani, Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif will be under the same patch of New Delhi sky and talking to the same people as US deputy national security adviser Matthew Pottinger and senior US diplomat Alice Wells. That is reassuring, after fears … Continue reading “Raisina Dialogue 2020 is a nod to multi-alignment”
Read MoreHow Suleimani’s death will affect India and Pakistan
by Rashmee
Posted on January 6, 2020 / The National
To properly consider the possible fallout of Friday’s targeted US strike on Qassem Suleimani, of Iran’s elite Quds Force, disregard the tub-thumping rhetoric from Washington and the ominous rumblings from Tehran. Listen instead for the sound of silences within disparate countries’ statements on the situation. Consider the responses offered by South Asia’s nuclear-armed neighbours, India … Continue reading “How Suleimani’s death will affect India and Pakistan”
Read MoreKimchi diplomacy: how national cuisine brings more than just food to the table
by Rashmee
Posted on December 23, 2019 / The National
As the season of festivities and end-of-year feasting approaches, here is a question worth asking: which countries feed the world? By that I mean: which countries provide the food that reaches restaurant tables abroad? In other words, whose food might you and your family and friends be eating if you go out for a meal? … Continue reading “Kimchi diplomacy: how national cuisine brings more than just food to the table”
Read MoreIt’s going to be a year of ‘conscious uncoupling’
by Rashmee
Posted on December 22, 2019 / The Arab Weekly
All bets are off on what lies ahead in 2020 but it probably won’t be a sober and well-judged 3M strategy on the part of the West. As 2019 hastens to an end, its defining patterns are clear. The year was marked by two rancorous relationships: between China and the United States and between Turkey … Continue reading “It’s going to be a year of ‘conscious uncoupling’”
Read MoreWhy a reset on capitalism is a good idea
by Rashmee
Posted on December 10, 2019 / The National
It has been 130 years since Andrew Carnegie wrote The Gospel of Wealth, an essay that is still considered a foundational document in the field of philanthropy. Now comes a new one, from Ford Foundation president Darren Walker. It is called From Generosity to Justice and urges philanthropists to work on the root causes rather … Continue reading “Why a reset on capitalism is a good idea”
Read MoreRussia has fair-weather friends and allies in the Middle East
by Rashmee
Posted on November 30, 2019
Former Israeli foreign minister Shlomo Ben-Ami recently attempted to set everyone right on a crucial question: Is Russia the Middle East’s new hegemon? His answer was somewhat surprising. Russia is not the region’s new hegemon, he concluded. Never forget that its economy is the size of South Korea’s and its military capabilities significantly less that … Continue reading “Russia has fair-weather friends and allies in the Middle East”
Read MoreAmid preparations for Nato’s 70th anniversary summit, no one seems sure about where Europe should be heading
by Rashmee
Posted on November 26, 2019 / The National
Tomorrow, European officials will vote to confirm the new European Commission. If all goes well, the executive arm of the European bloc will begin its five-year term by the end of the week, just a few days before Nato’s 70th anniversary summit in London. The sequence of events throws into relief three key policy challenges … Continue reading “Amid preparations for Nato’s 70th anniversary summit, no one seems sure about where Europe should be heading”
Read MoreIs democracy really dying a slow, agonising death?
by Rashmee
Posted on November 25, 2019
It’s fashionable these days for commentators to lament the lingering death of democracy. It’s being strangled long and slow, so the narrative goes. How? By neutering democratic checks and balances – a judicious distance between governing party and the state. By packing the courts or preventing them from exercising judicial independence. By preventing the opposition … Continue reading “Is democracy really dying a slow, agonising death?”
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Rashmee has lived and worked in several countries in the past decade, including Afghanistan, India, Haiti, Tunisia, the UAE, US and UK