Back Issues
-
February, 2010
-
January, 2010
-
December, 2009
-
November, 2009
-
October, 2009
-
September, 2009
-
August, 2009
-
April, 2009
-
March, 2009
-
February, 2009
|
|
Written by Huma Yusuf
|
|
March, 2010 |
 In summer 2008, as Beijing basked in the glory of an Olympics well hosted, the international community had to concede that China's quest for soft power had hit a milestone. By organizing and executing the largest global event - and that too with panache - Beijing had shown its capacity for interacting with, appealing to, and influencing other countries through non-military means. This soft power success was not, however, an accident of the Olympics - it was the crowning moment in a foreign policy initiative long pursued by the Chinese government.
|
|
|
Written by Mansoor Alam
|
|
March, 2010 |
 The purpose behind America's invasion was to stop the rapid emergence of China as the new superpower which threatened to end U.S. hegemony as the sole superpower. The inquiry being held in the UK into the Iraq war has reignited the question about the real reason for it. Tony Blair's recent confession together with the revelations made by two former British Ambassadors to U.S.A. and the UN from 1997 to 2003 leaves no more doubt that Bush and Blair had decided to invade Iraqi in 2002, much before they raised the bogey of WMD even though they still maintain that they were reasonably sure that Saddam had WMDs. The fact is that they knew that there was no WMD in Iraq and the truth will be made known to the world if Hans Blix and El-Baradie, heads of the UN inspection team, were allowed to complete their investigation. Consequently, Bush and Blair rejected their request for a three months extension to complete the inspection and at the same time insisted that UNSC resolution 441 contained the necessary authorization for them to invade Iraq. Hence they rejected France and some other members' proposal that they needed a new and specific resolution authorizing them to invade Iraq.
|
|
Written by Ilhan Niaz
|
|
March, 2010 |
|
The major players in South Asia mostly focus on building hard power capabilities. But they have a soft-power potential as well that they could sell more effectively. Soft power theorists argue that in a globalized world the powers of persuasion are as important as, if not more important than, the persuasiveness of power. The former includes a country's cultural appeal, international marketability, mass media projection and civilizational prestige. Combined, these different aspects of soft power can win hearts and minds and thus facilitate the attainment of national interests. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Copyright 2010 © Southasia Online. All rights reserved.
Please click
here for legal restrictions and terms of use applicable to this site and Southasia Magazine's Privacy Policy.
