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[BOOK REVIEW] Rukmini S. "Whole Numbers and Half Truths"

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  We all tend to make our own perspective towards all kind of things in life. Those perspectives are hardly based on any objective facts. I have often heard people speak about how there are more schools, hospitals and businesses opening up in India. So, this must mean we are growing and developing faster, right? Well, the answer is both yes and no. To build a good understanding of anything, one must be well informed and should have the intellectual integrity to go through a detailed analysis of the topic. Sadly, today we have neither and the studio-based journalists just spin stories that suit their agenda to please the political masters by fooling the public at large. This misinformation is harmful because it prevents us from understanding the depth of any issue in our country.  These narratives repeated enough times, become 'fact' and political fodder. Say for example, the tragic death of many people in India during COVID-19. By now we already know that there was underreporti
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[SOCIETY] Deglobalisation : What to expect?

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  Shivshankar Menon warns, “we are headed for a poorer, meaner, and smaller world." Globalisation is often described through metaphors like 'Global Village', 'Borderless world'. However, the real globalisation is much more complex than these metaphors suggest. The simplistic view is that globalisation is growing interconnectedness, which essentially results in compression of time and space. It is a multi-conceptual and multi-dimensional term with social, political, economic and cultural domains. It can also have many models like Pax Americana or Pax Sinica. The American model or Pax Americana is based on liberal international order. It has three components : ( a) Growth of institutions - World Bank, IMF, WTO (b) Democracy - spread of democratic values (c) Free trade - greater impetus to private sector. The Pax Sinica fashions itself as an alternative, a anti-thesis to the American model. Some features of Chinese model are : (a) Authoritarianism - to kee
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[POLITICS] Low Voter Turnouts in Democracy

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Giorgia Meloni is widely expected to form Italy's most right-wing government since World War Two. With around 26% votes in their favour, the Brothers of Italy, a party with neo-fascist roots that came up with the slogan - "God, family and fatherland" has sent a clear message to the Italians and rest of Europe. Italy is a founding father of the European Union and a member of Nato, and Ms Meloni's rhetoric on the EU places her close to Hungary's nationalist leader Viktor Orban.  However, when we take a closer look to understand the rise of Ms Meloni. We come across some parallel developments like, populism, economic slowdown, unemployment, polarisation among communities, anti-immigrant stand and LGBT bashing. Yet, as one may think that such extreme opinions are bound to draw more and more people in the public sphere. The voter turnout in Italy has a different story to tell. Turnout fell to a record low of 63.91% - nine points down on 2018 elections. Elec
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A Short History and Lessons from : The Peloponnesian War and Thucydides

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" I am more afraid of my own blunders than of the enemy's devices."  "War is a violent teacher." - Thucydides Thucydides was an Athenian general who witnessed the 'Peloponnesian War' and took part in it to fight against the mighty Spartans, the same Spartans who under King Leonidas and his 300 men put up a valiant last stand against the Persian king Xerxes-I in year 480 BCE . Fifty years later, 'The Peloponnesian war' was fought around 431-404 BCE, between the two city-states - Sparta and Athens. The Athenians lost the war despite being wealthy and capable enough to win it. In words of Thucydides, the Athenians lost because they were too smart for their own good . The loss was so great and humiliating for the proud Greeks that it led Thucydides to write, "A History of Peloponnesian War", a book intended to educate the future generations on ' what not to do in a war '. The book is considered to be the first work of political scie
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The Postmodern Question

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“ People know what they do; frequently they know why they do what they do; but what they don't know is what what they do does. ” - Michel Foucault, French philosopher. The early 90's witnessed rolling back of state(decrease in government intervention) brought upon by neo-liberalism(resurgence of free-market capitalism). This was quickly followed by an increased economic growth, prosperity and overall development all around the world. It also bankrolled the increased interdependence of nation states - turning the world into a global village i.e. globalisation. All those changes that came along in the late 20th century gave rebirth to one of the dying streams of political thought. There was a rising skepticism, especially in the western intellectual corridors. Some questions that we all thought we were done with, started springing back up again. Questions such as - What does it mean to be human? How do human beings fit into this universe? Is god real? Why be moral? We are living
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Pivot to Asia : Indo-Pacific, USA and China

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  "Let China sleep, for when she awakes, she will shake the world." - Napoleon Bonaparte, 1817 (While discussing China with Lord Armherst) In 2011, under President Obama, USA made a notable shift in its policy concerning Asia-Pacific. The 'Pivot to Asia', declared that an increased investment in economic and diplomatic efforts as well strengthening of alliance commitments with allies in the region - Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Phillipines was the most important task of American foreign policy in the coming decades. To understand what caused this sudden shift and awakening in the attitude of Washington, we need to have a look at some of the key historical events that shaped the way these two giants look at the world. United States of America - the land of manifest destiny. It is the most sought after piece of real estate in the world, albeit one that is not for taking. After the collapse of Soviet Union in 1991, US became the sole pole in the unipolar world order. It s
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World between orders : Inequality, Conflicts and Life

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  "Just as one bird does not make a flock, nor one day a season, so one action or a short time cannot make us happy." - Aristotle THE Horn of Africa, a region also known as the Somali peninsula lies on the crossroads of Red sea, Gulf of Aden and Arabian sea. The region, once known for their notorious piracy activity on sea is now facing its worst draught in 40 years. A quick internet search will reveal some heart-shattering images of both people and animals lying dead on the ground and their bodies decaying under the open sky. The reason for their death - scarcity of two bare necessities required for survival i.e. food and water.  It is a real tragedy that the West, who also happen to be the self-acclaimed champions of human rights are ignorant as they continue to remain in bed with Ukraine and are seen to be making bold claims of standing up for human rights and against the tyranny of Russians. While the people in Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea and Ethiopia are paying with their
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