CPEC: China’s Soft Balancing Against the United States
The paper deals with China’s ‘soft balancing’ in Pakistan through the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and explains how such has helped limit the influence of the United States in Pakistan after 2015. The author argues that the CPEC is a step towards a more Beijing-led regional order —part of Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and greater ambition of extending his country’s influence — which has been working in China’s favor.
The Media and Aurat March: Friends or Foes?
On March 8, 2021, hundreds of people in Pakistan’s major cities took to the streets to highlight atrocities against women. This was part of the women’s rights campaign’s biggest mobilization in the country, the Aurat March.
The march took place for the 4th year in a row and was met with controversy yet again. This study explores the media’s role in the movement, and more essentially how the print and digital media covered and portrayed this year’s march.
The author analyses the portrayal on the basis of five themes: women’s rights, feminism, healthcare for women, violence and harassment, and patriarchy — with the background being the Agenda Setting Theory.