Sumantra's blog

Understanding Putin's foreign policy

A lot going on in Ukraine, and talks of a new Cold war in in the air. However, the man behind this geopolitical storm, Vladimir Putin, is regarded as an enigma..."unhinged" by Europeans, especially Frau Merkel, and "cold and calculating" by US. 

 

In my new research paper, published in Nottingham Economic Review, Feb 2014 edition, I argue...Putin is just an old school Realist. 

 

Read the whole paper here

 

I look forward to your criticism and feedback!

On Her Majesty's Hippieland!

Hello Ladies and Gents! Kia Ora! This is me, the Indian wordsmith, writing from my country's Commonwealth sister, New Zealand, after I last reported during the Crimean War. Really, I am that old...and it has been that long! Sorry for the long delay, it is a tough life for an International Relations researcher. 

Syrian protesters miss Bush!

I found a great photo today. The Syrian protesters, butchered daily by human oddity Assad junior, is missing George W Bush very much. Isn't that strange? Aren't we made to believe that W was the most hated statesman in the Arab World? But no...the linear monochromatic commentary is false somewhere...and perhaps it is time to look back at history with the objective and unbiased eyes of wisdom. 

The Three Musketeers 2011

I often feel irritated, sad, or indifferent watching Hollywood treatment of classics, but never before was I angry, the way I felt after watching the latest Three Musketeers 3D. The name itself was a turnoff, like a new version of some group simulation swordfight game, but lets leave it at that. Three Musketeers was a murder of a classic.

Some things just never change...

Muammar Gaddafi is dead. Every dictator meets his destiny someday. And the end is usually bloody.


The Strange Case of Laibah Ahmad Marri

For the uninitiated, Laibah Ahmad Marri is a US based, Baloch activist, who was suspended from Twitter. The interesting part is, she was suspended, for the "fourth" time, after being reported as a "bot"...even though she shows no characterestics of a bot, which I will come to later.

 

India's financial centre rocked by devastating blasts

Sumantra Maitra - in Mumbai

Serial bomb blasts ripped through the commercial capital of the world's fastest growing economy on Wednesday, in what seemed to be a chilling reminder of the coordinated attacks just three years ago.

Something to read about

Where do I Start! This week was so hell busy for me! I hope everyone liked the second part of the Balochistan story!

Here are a few weekend reads for the readers of The Latest!

On Somalian Piracy, and the Afghan withdrawal which I wrote for Washington Examiner!

Balochistan's tragedy - part 2

I wrote a piece on Balochistan here on The-Latest a few months back. The region again comes into prominence after the brutal murder of some unarmed Chechen women, extrajudicially by the Pakistani army, and after the death of Osama Bin Laden, and the renewed War on Terror. But are Balochis terrorists? Or just scapegoats in the great game between China, Pakistan, and USA, for the region's ample mineral resources which are always exploited?

Another foot in the mouth...

The strange case of the arrest and imprisonment of the daughter of an Indian Diplomat is escalating to a major diplomatic crisis. 

Krittika Biswas, the daughter of Indian Diplomat Debasis Biswas, is suing New York Police Department, for wrongful confinement, arrest, and humiliation, when she was chained and handcuffed, without any proper evidence, for 1.5 million dollars. 

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