The Perils of Small-Group Thinking
Quote of the week: “I have nowhere to go and nowhere to go when I get back from there.” — A.R. Ammons, “Still” Creativity can be a singular expression or can be nurtured in small groups. The longer the workplace…
Tag: Nawaz Sharif
Year’s End Kudos, 2015 Edition
A year of mostly bad headlines is almost behind us. ‘Tis the season not to dwell on sorrows, but to remember reasons for gratitude and good cheer. So let us pause to acknowledge those who took steps to reduce nuclear…
Upending the Stalemate between India and Pakistan
Trend lines in the subcontinent are poor and will not improve until there is substantive dialogue between India and Pakistan. Hopes that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would pull a “Nixon goes to China” maneuver with Pakistan have been dashed, at…
Prelims on the Subcontinent
[Note: This post has been corrected.] Very bad news often follows when adversaries give up on improved relations. We’re at this juncture now on the Subcontinent. High-ranking Indian and Pakistani officials are lobbing over-heated public recriminations about abetting terrorism in…
Divergent Trajectories, the Bomb, and Kashmir
The recent trips to the United States by Prime Ministers Nawaz Sharif and Narendra Modi provide ample evidence of India’s and Pakistan’s divergent trajectories. Nawaz arrived with no fanfare, a known commodity in familiar trouble back home. He delivered a…
Drones, Revisited
Horse cavalry gave way mechanized warfare, and tank armies are giving way to drone warfare. Drones flourish where national sovereignty is weak and international borders are extremely permeable. Since it’s not a good idea for Washington to set precedents it…
Fasten Seat Belts, Please
Events on the subcontinent are moving quickly, with uncertain outcomes. In short order, Prime Minister Narendra Modi won a resounding mandate. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif attended his oath-taking, a savvy symbolic gesture of potential import. One faction of the Pakistani…
Pakistan’s Choice
Pakistan has been failing for a long time. There have been periods of economic growth, backed up by foreign patrons – mostly the United States and increasingly China — but for the most part, Pakistan’s economy and internal security continue…
Pakistan/US: Ties that Chafe and Bind
Husain Haqqani has many detractors in Pakistan due to his shifting political allegiances and book publications. The thesis of Pakistan: Between Mosque and Military (2005) is about a longstanding alliance of convenience between the Army and Pakistan’s religious parties “to…