UNDERSTANDING THE ANNA HAZARE MOVEMENT SEP 07, 2011 By Siddhartha S.Bhadrakumar
Political movements arise out of various circumstances , usually of an adverse nature. In extreme cases such movements coalesce into revolutions. Some attempt to be both political movements and revolutions at the same time. One such case is the so-called anti-corruption movement of Anna Hazare.
OBAMA?S INDIA VISIT NOV 24, 2010 By Siddhartha S.Bhadrakumar
Much has been made up of Obama?s India visit. Much has also been made of India?s supposed rise. Both assumptions are fallacious according to my opinion. That Obama is now a lame duck President and possibly a one-term President seems to state the obvious. The visit is unlikely to have shored up Obama nor will it change the realities which define India. India is keeping its options open by engaging other great powers,despite the U.S. sponsorship for India's claim to a permanent seat at the U.N. Security Council.
GENERAL STAFF WAGES TWO-FRONT BATTLE, AGAINST COUP PLOTTERS AND GÜLENISTS JUNE 19, 2009 By Halil M. KARAVEL? ISSUED BY ISDP, TURKEY ANALYIST
Once again, commentators raise the question whether there is a risk of a military coup in Turkey. There is no reason at all to believe that the General staff entertains any such thoughts. However, recent developments have nevertheless provided a reminder that the military?s position remains delicate. The Chief of the General staff, General Ilker Ba?bu?, is in fact engaged in an awkward battle on two fronts, against old coup habits in the military, and against the challenge posed by the Islamic movement of Fethullah Gülen.
IRANIAN CRISIS CATCHES THE TURKISH GOVERNMENT OFF GUARD JUNE 19, 2009 By Svante E. CORNELL ISSUED BY ISDP, TURKEY ANALYIST
After two decades of deep tensions with Iran, the AKP government has largely rebuilt relations with Turkey?s historical rival and neighbor. Yet its responses to the Iranian crisis ? in which Prime Minister Erdo?an was embarrassingly among the first to congratulate Mahmoud Ahmadinejad upon his highly questionable re-election ? appears to question the foundations of this rapprochement. Moreover, it indicates the limitations of Ankara?s newly found ?zero-problem? foreign policy, which appears to mean that Turkey has no opinions on the basis of either interests, values or principles in its neighborhood.
