All in Intercultural Relations

Analysis | Gambling in Pandemic Proportions: COVID-19 in Tajikistan and Turkmenistan

Across the globe, the COVID-19 pandemic is challenging assumptions held by many for years about the capacity and capability of their governments. Unfortunately, not all countries in Central Asia have taken the threat of the virus seriously. Tajikistan and Turkmenistan have chosen to gamble that they can both weather the storm and minimize the damage to their power and economy.

Analysis | Gantz’s Gamble vs. the Netanyahu Narrative: Israel Elects

The April 9th election will not only decide who will lead Israel as Prime Minister, but it also has the potential to make drastic changes to Israeli policies towards the Palestinian Territories. Netanyahu’s victory may strike the deathblow to the two-state solution. His defeat could herald the rebirth of the Palestinian peace process. Israeli voters must now decide: to gamble on Gantz’s promise of diplomacy under fresh leadership or to defend Netanyahu’s narrative of an Israel under siege.

Analysis | A Cocktail for Catastrophe: India and Pakistan Clash over Kashmir

Despite major conflicts between India and Pakistan, the one constant rule has been the sanctity of the de facto borders in the contested territory of Kashmir. Such an understanding has ensured that both nations, while heavily active on the border, dare not violate it whatsoever, to the extent that individuals meeting in border crossings into the region usually maintain cordial relations. However, India and Pakistan’s de facto policy on the Kashmir region has changed dramatically over the last few years, perhaps irrevocably.