Exploring China’s Strategic Partnership with Iran
Divided into three sections, the first part of the paper examines the concept of “strategic partnership” as a new framework in international relations and intentional cooperation. It also examines how this concept has become integrated into China’s foreign policy, and the reasons behind Beijing’s over-reliance on it.
The second section examines China’s historical relations with Iran up to the announcement of the so-called comprehensive strategic partnership, focusing on the motives and goals of both states. The third section highlights the main challenges that are expected in Beijing’s strategic partnership with Tehran.
Evolution of the Two-Party System in the United States
Andrew Jackson’s Democratic Party and Abraham Lincoln’s Republican Party continue to dominate American politics today.
Have you ever wondered how the two-party system in the United States evolved?
This informative paper explores this question and examines the key changes in these two political parties from the nation’s beginning.
Applying Securitisation Theory to the Ongoing Russia-Ukraine Conflict
Muhammad Usama Siddiqi and Brilliant Windy Khairunnisa aim to explain the factors that led Russia to securitise Ukraine through the lens of the securitisation theory.
According to the theory, issues that are fundamentally political are considered and analysed from a security perspective. They use this theory to effectively frame the actors and threats in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Hindutva: Turning Secular India into a Hindu State
Hindutva has created divisions in Indian society by forging a ‘Muslim threat’ to legitimize the BJP’s anti-Muslim acts. Nishat Shuja analyzes Modi’s aim of creating a Hindu Rashtra (state) through Hindu supremacist policies and Muslim marginalization.
The 2019 Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the revocation of Kashmir’s autonomous status, and the Kerala hijab ban are cases in point for the systemic discrimination against the Muslim minority. Undoubtedly, PM Modi and right-wing Hindu nationalism threaten India’s constitutional foundations by creating a Hindu Rashtra.
Sports: A Tool for Diplomacy
History has seen many examples of sports diplomacy helping states to foster good relations. Football diplomacy involving Israelis and Arabs, the revolutionary ping-pong diplomacy between China and the US, and the cricket diplomacy between India and Pakistan are major case studies elaborating on the significance of sports diplomacy.
Masooma Zahra explores the demonstration of this soft power in exhaustive detail, referring to its examples and limitations.
The Impact of Brexit on the UK Economy
This research aims to explore the impact of Brexit, the most historic event to occur on the European continent since the fall of the Berlin wall.
The findings prove that while Brexit has given substance to factors (like taking back control of immigration and regaining sovereignty and national identity), it was not a rational economic decision.
The brits realized their mistake in the face of the severe economic hardships that the UK had to face post-Brexit.
Weather Warfare: Weapons of the Future
Amid climate concerns, states are now devising ways to change and control the weather. However, this initiative could tempt global powers into using weather to gain military advantage.
Muhammad Sajjad and Saba Kiran review international frameworks and several studies to demonstrate how weather modification technology can be used in future wars.
Fossil Fuel Burning & Corporations: The Case of Berkshire Hathaway & Saudi Aramco
When it comes to climate change, the contribution of giant corporations to global warming is often overlooked. Maryam Ibrahim notes that one of the main causes of global warming is the emission of CO2 from the burning of fossil fuels, and this is where energy corporations come in. The author takes the example of Berkshire Hathaway and Saudi Aramco to shed light on climate denial, and the lack of accountability associated with these corporations’ environmental activities.
Pegasus Spyware: A Case of National Security & Modern Warfare
Hamna Binte Waqar examines the change in the cyber security realm with the advent of the NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware. After targeting several countries, governments, and individuals, the software has created an uproar in international politics and media. It is now seen as a threat to the national security of states and as an unconventional weapon capable of extracting private information and generating propaganda. While Pegasus has faced continuous backlash, the need to adapt to the transition in the modes of warfare has slowly made it a sought-after weapon in the contemporary security market.
Period Poverty and Its Impact on Women
Meerab Malik discusses the struggle many low-income women and girls face while trying to afford menstrual products. She uses data from primary and secondary sources to try and understand the consequences of this ‘period poverty’ in their daily lives.
The Impact of Anti-Nuclear Global South Movements on the Control of Nuclear Weapons
Before being banned, nuclear testing in the Global South had been a major issue for leaders and citizens in those countries. The West found the Global South’s soil to be fair game for nuclear testing while preserving the sanctity of their own lands. In this essay, Dina Tawfik proposes and answers the following research question: to what extent have the Global South’s antinuclear movements had an impact on curbing the usage of nuclear weapons as well as nuclear testing, and on developing a non-proliferation global norm, and nuclear disarmament?
China’s BRI vs the US’s FOIP: Foreign Policy Opportunities and Challenges for Malaysia
Contemporary publications identify Indo-Pacific as a hub of great power politics. The great powers, China and the US, are striving their best to enhance their sphere of influence across the region through BRI and FOIP respectively. These two strategies bring some opportunities along with certain challenges for ASEAN member states. In this research paper, the structural realism lens is used to analyze the foreign policy situation of Malaysia under these circumstances.
Explaining the Party System in Canada
Since the 1900s, the Canadian party system has evolved from a two-party system to a multiparty. Hurain Sheikh analyzes Canada’s party system in the light of Duverger’s law and Johnston’s study of the system. She argues that the present-day party system in Canada is not based upon polarization but rather on moderate pluralism. Since most Canadians have moderate views on social, economical, and political policies, even the parties with extreme ideological beliefs had to gradually adopt a more moderate stance to appeal to the masses.
Unleashing the Potential of the SME Sector in Pakistan
Using a general thematic approach, this paper examines the positive and negative externalities of the COVID-19 pandemic on Pakistan’s economy. The author, Umme Ammara, explores the different cases of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) from China, India, Bangladesh and Kazakhstan to understand the different measures the Pakistani government can initiate to strengthen SMEs. The findings suggest that unleashing the potential of the SME sector requires the need for institutional change in a country intending to build a human economy where human development is the main area of concern.
The Conflict in Syria & Its Brutal Effects on the People
What started off as protests against the authoritarian regime of Bashar al-Assad in 2011, has turned into a decade-long war involving international and domestic actors. The author, Amna Shaukat, applies the conflict tree model to explain the deep-rooted causes of the conflict and the effects of this war on the people of the state. Since the war first broke out, almost 400,000 Syrians have lost their lives while millions have been displaced—internally and externally. It has left Syria devastated in every way. The economy itself will take years to recover, but that too, requires the war to end.
The Demographic Transition Model in China
Transition in the economic growth of countries takes place when they shift from a high, uncontrolled population to a low and balanced population. The same is the case of China which shifted from low prosperity, high child mortality, and high fertility to a state of high prosperity, low child mortality and low fertility. The author, Arfah Zia, dwells on the impact of the demographic transition on China. She draws attention to how this transition has proven successful for economic growth and, at the same time, discusses how it has become distressing for China’s population size.
Iran: A Common Enemy of Israel and the Arab Countries
The relations of the Arab states, namely Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, and Oman, with Israel have always been based upon what they perceive as a threat and what benefits them. The authors, Rubab Nawaz and Kanza Tahir, explain that initially, these Arab states viewed Israel as the enemy but now, they’ve started to align themselves with it to counter the threat of a Shi’ite and nuclear Iran. This threat has been securitized to gain legitimacy from the masses. For the sake of this Arab-Israel alliance, the Gulf states seem to have sidelined the issue of Palestine.
