Cold War

Strategic projection of democratic credentials appears to be driven by the urge to reassert US hegemonic interests.

Some first rough thoughts to provide a context for and to make a case for the pursuit of a clear coherent and consistent international economic policy by India's policy-makers.

America's wars on Afghanistan and Iraq have raised many questions on terrorism, modern war, the role of Islamic fundamentalism in opposition to the west's appropriation of modernity and the continuing relevance of imperialist military and economic aggression in contemporary north-south debates. Terrorism is a form of identitarian conflict which has a history rooted in the colonial past of many third world countries. Afghanistan is a good example illustrating the consolidation of so-called modern and traditional identities in modern history. Time and again western imperialist powers have portrayed Afghanistan as the battle frontier of western civilisation. This essay offers a deconstruction of this western mythology and points out that a holistic critique of the western appropriation of real and symbolic modernity is necessary to comprehend the problem of religious terrorism and thereby wrest the anti-American initiative from the terrorist.

The details of the classified US Nuclear Posture Review which have appeared in the media point to a perpetuation rather than a break with the cold war logic on nuclear weapons. They also go against president Bush's stated policy of reduced reliance on nuclear weapons. By attempting to define a new role for these weapons of ultimate destruction and envisaging their use even in conventional wars, the review redefines deterrence and undermines the non-proliferation regime.