Articles

Two ideas have dominated American thinking for the last decade: Francis Fukuyama's ‘End of History’ and Samuel Huntington's ‘Clash of Civilizations.’ They provide alternative understandings of contemporary history, Fukuyama proclaiming the triumph of the West...

Riding high after his speech at the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) summit in October, Malaysia’s Dr Mahathir Mohamad finally kept his promise by stepping down after 22 years in power. He seems to have followed the advice from his mother...

When the US declared its intention to overthrow the Taliban government in Afghanistan after the attacks on New York and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, there were knowing smiles among those familiar with the US oil industry’s long interest in the region. Two years later, a great deal has changed.

Indian prime minister A. B. Vajpayee has tried to dispel fears in the Arab world about India’s military ties with Israel; he says that India’s cooperation with Tel Aviv will not "dilute" its relations with the Arab countries.

Oscillating between comedy and farce, the Pakistani political scene has never been dull, but has resulted in terrible consequences for the hapless Pakistanis. An assorted array of charlatans and crooks, claiming to be on a messianic mission to usher in prosperity, have driven the masses into ever-deeper despair.

Imagery is the key to understanding TV, and there are several angles we could select in order to evaluate the impact of this imagery on our lives. We could look at biological or physiological impacts, or we could look at cultural or social impacts, even political and economic.

Schooling is a relatively new phenomenon in human history, really only extant for about a century in most of the world, less in some places and more in others, but relatively new. It is an institutional response to several social needs, such as the need for social order, the need for acquiring marketable skills, the need for passing down one or another state ideology or identity.

The Rough Guide History of Islam by Justin Wintle. Pub: Rough Guides Ltd, London (www.roughguides.com), May 2003. Pp: 544. Pbk: US$12.95,/ UK£7.99.

Three years after the outbreak of the latest Al-Aqsa intifada -- which has lasted so long and moved on so far that few even remember how the troubles began -- the world has tired of Palestine...

The Nobel peace prize has always been based on political considerations; advancement of peace has had very little to do with it. The Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel--after whom the award is named--reflects the irony of the situation: he invented explosives, hardly the stuff to promote peace...