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The Judge, the General, and Pakistan’s Evolving Balance of Power
The tenuous nature of Pakistan’s democratic transition was put on display this Monday when the country’s army chief and Supreme Court chief justice appeared to warn one another to not transgress their...
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New Battle In Sri Lanka
What is it with South Asia’s strongmen and top judges? Only five years ago General Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan found he had bitten off more than he could chew when he tried to sack Chief Justice...
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China Survives a Big Year
The year 2012 will go into the history books as one of contrasting transitions. China’s five- year cycle for Communist Party congresses and leadership turnover overlapped with the U.S.’s four-year...
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Trying To Make Sense Of Pakistan
Even by Pakistan‘s standards, it has been an exceptionally busy week. Terrorist attacks targeting the Hazara Shia community in Quetta killed over 100, leading to widespread protests and the subsequent...
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And Then They Came For The Judges
HIS foes accuse Mahinda Rajapaksa of many sins during his seven years as Sri Lanka’s president. They blame him for the savagery that cost so many civilian lives as his army defeated the rebel Tamil...
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Pakistan’s Battle for Democracy
Last week, tens of thousands of protestors descended into the heart of Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital, demanding that the federal government make sweeping electoral reforms and then give way to an army...
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Leader With Some Spine Takes on World Heavyweight
Say what you want about Benigno Aquino, but the Philippine president has some brass. First he arrested predecessor Gloria Arroyo on corruption charges and ousted her Supreme Court chief justice. Then...
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What Happens When Pakistan’s Powerful Chief Justice Retires?
A case can be made that most significant political actor in the past six years in Pakistan is the country’s Supreme Court chief justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. After all, it is Chaudhry who has...
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Costly Diplomacy
When a friend behaves badly, it’s easy to take a time out. Stop taking their phones calls, pretend to be out when they come to apologise. But responsible nations don’t have the luxury of ignoring each...
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India Finds British Colonial Legacy Hard To Break
When India’s supreme court effectively re-banned gay sex, it set aside the ruling of one of its own high courts in favor of a law imposed on India by its British occupiers in 1861. That means it has...
View ArticleHow The New Supreme Court Could Stymie A Biden Presidency
President Donald Trump’s newest Supreme Court pick will offer conservatives an opportunity to start achieving a long-sought goal: chipping away at the vast administrative state that Americans have...
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