Throttling Dissent on April 20, 2019Almost seventy years past independence, Pakistan continues to suffer under a searing ordeal of paranoia. Through its checkered history, the entrenched power corridors cultivated a discourse around ‘existential threat to the state’s survival’, nurturing general distrust of the activities of ‘civil society’ cadres and progressive elements. The hegemonic forces of the state have sought to […]
Will the region’s geopolitical tussles allow China to dominate? on July 26, 2018Key Chinese foreign policymakers, including the whole standing committee of politburo, summoned a landmark conference dedicated to ‘peripheral diplomacy’. It was aimed at outlining the country’s strategic direction, in particular with its neighbours. In the conference, President Xi Jinping categorically articulated the nodal points of the peripheral diplomacy, arguing that “the core concern of the […]