Backgrounders
Backgrounder
American decline has once again become a fashionable prophecy in academic and media circles. This time, BRIC countries like China and India have replaced the specter of a rising Japan, the country that was often cited by ‘declinists’ as a challenger to American hegemony during the 1980s. This backgrounder will examine both sides of the debate and provide an objective analysis of the causes and possible effects of American decline.
ListenBackgrounder
With the exception of an uptick in protests during Ashura, Mir Hossein Mousavi’s challenge to the Iranian political establishment has faded from the international spotlight since the open dissidence of last June. However, Iran remains a society divided. This backgrounder covers the people and events that are shaping Iran’s reform movement.
Backgrounder
In the words of the U.S Overseas Basing Commission, U.S. military bases are, “the skeleton upon which the flesh and muscle of operational capability [can be] molded [1].”
Backgrounder
The status of Taiwan stands out among global disputes as one that could realistically trigger a war between major powers. This backgrounder will first provide a brief historical overview of the conflict and then explore the changing military situation.
Backgrounder
AFRICOM facilitates the United States advancing on the African continent, taking control of the Eurasian continent and proceeding to take the helm of the entire globe.
Backgrounder
This report explores what is sure to become one of the most salient issues of the coming decade - the energy security outlook for BRIC countries.
Backgrounder
This backgrounder explores the rise of the Pakistan Taliban.
Backgrounder
This backgrounder seeks to explore the origins and breadth of American torture during the Bush presidency by compiling all relevant information from recently de-classified memos and reports.
Backgrounder
Rising global temperatures and melting Arctic ice are changing the geopolitical reality in the far north. In the span of a decade, the Arctic has gone from being considered a ‘global common’ to a hotly contested economic goldmine
Backgrounder
Following the December 1991 cancellation of elections by Algeria’s governing National Liberation Front (FLN) after gains by the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) in the first round of voting, Islamist guerrillas launched a decade-long civil war of horrific brutality that claimed upwards of 200,000 lives. Yet there is compelling evidence that suggests the covert manipulation of opposition forces by elements of the Algerian government, supported by the West, as well as military collusion in massacres officially ascribed to Islamic rebels.
