Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – From the time of its beginning as a nation state “Brazil has been a paradise for some, an endless hell for others, and for the rest, a kind of purgatory on earth.” So write two Brazilian historians, Lilla Schwarcz and Heloisa Starling, in their massive, newly published, […]
The World Needs a Strong Legal Framework for Complete Elimination of Nuclear Weapons
Viewpoint by Kairat Abdrakhmanov Following are extensive excerpts from the statement by Kairat Abdrakhmanov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan at the High-level Meeting of the UN Security Council on “Maintenance of International Peace and Security: Non-proliferation of WMD” on 26 September 2018 in New York. NEW YORK (IDN) – Countering the […]
Peacebuilders for a Nuclear-Weapon Free World
Viewpoint by Rene Wadlow* GENEVA (IDN) – As the world celebrated the UN-designated International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on September 26, there were still some 16,000 nuclear weapons in the world, largely in the hands of the United States and the Russian Federation, some on “ready alert”. There are plans to […]
India-U.S. Strong Partnership Not Endorsement of Washington-led Regional Order
Viewpoint by Jagannath Panda The writer is a Research Fellow and Centre Coordinator for East Asia at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi. He is also the Series Editor for Routledge Studies on Think Asia. This article was first published in East Asia Forum on September 23, 2018. NEW DELHI (IDN-INPS) […]
Why the International Court for War Crimes Is Essential
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Last year the office of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) released a report which for the first time explicitly named U.S. military forces and CIA operatives in secret prisons as possible war crimes culprits for the alleged use of torture and rape. Because the […]
India’s Stance on the Indo-Pacific Not Exclusionary of China
Viewpoint by Prateek Joshi The writer is a Research Associate with the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) India, a New Delhi-based public policy think-tank. This article was first published in East Asia Forum on September 21, 2018. NEW DELHI (IDN-INPS) – In a move that heralds greater bilateral cooperation, Chinese Defence Minister Lieutenant General Wei Fenghe […]
The Earth is the Common Home of All Inhabitants
Viewpoint by Riccardo Petrella* ROME (IDN) – The first vast work of “worldwide” occupation and predation of the Earth and its inhabitants was that begun in the sixteenth century by a number of European states (Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, England and France). After the First World War, new actors – no less conquerors and predators […]
The Russia, Iran, Turkey, Israel and Syria Mosaic
Viewpoint by Pier Francesco Zarcone* ROME (IDN) – Recent events in Syria (downing of a Russian Ilyushin plane and an agreement between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recip Erdoğan on Idlib) lead to some reflections starting with the Israeli bombing that caused more than ten Russian deaths. Many political observers, including Alberto Negri […]
Global Compact Pays Heed to Migrants Fleeing Degrading Lands
Viewpoint by Mariam Traore Chazalnoël The writer is a specialist in environmental and climate migration at the International Organization for Migration (IOM)’s Office to the United Nations in New York. She has been working since 2013 on the global governance of environmental migration and regularly publishes on the topic. This article first appeared in UNCCD […]
When Climate Change Dishes Up a ‘Toxic Stew’
By William S. Becker* MILWAUKEE, USA (IDN) – It happened in July 2016. A flash flood roared through Ellicott City, Maryland, killed two people and caused tens of millions of dollars in damages to the historic buildings along Main Street. The experts said it was one of those rare 1,000-year flood events. The city set […]