Asia & the Pacific

28 Items

Shia youths from the Pakistani Kurram tribal area stage a mock scene during a rally demanding peace in their region, near the Presidential House, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Apr. 25, 2011.

AP Photo

Paper - Combating Terrorism Center

Shiism and Sectarian Conflict in Pakistan: Identity Politics, Iranian Influence, and Tit-for-Tat Violence

| September 2010

"Western analysts can no longer afford to ignore the growing potential for sectarian violence in Pakistan, for uncontrolled sectarian violence can destabilize Pakistan and the region at large. Internally, sectarian groups prefer to conduct their attacks in the Punjab, the center of gravity of the country's military and political elite. Attacks against Pakistan's Shia are also bound to have regional implications, since they can further stoke tensions between Pakistan and its neighbor Iran, a Shia-majority state."

U.S. Senator John Kerry, left, meets Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in Islamabad, Pakistan, Feb. 16, 2011. Kerry wants Pakistan to free a U.S. consulate employee Raymond Davis, allegedly involved in shooting of 2 Pakistanis

AP Photo

Analysis & Opinions - Asia Society

Davis Release Highlights Fragility of US-Pakistan Partnership

| March 16, 2011

There are several key points the US and Pakistan must learn from this episode: The bilateral relationship should not be allowed to become hostage to similar incidents in future; There should be complete transparency in the field of counter-terror operations and both sides should abide by agreed 'rules of the game'; Pakistan should be especially careful not to play politics in such cases, as only extremist elements benefit from such controversies; Finally, the US should also develop a better understanding of political realities on ground in Pakistan.

Book - W.W. Norton & Company

God's Century: Resurgent Religion and Global Politics

    Authors:
  • Daniel Philpott
  • Timothy Samuel Shah
| March 2011

Is religion a force for good or evil in world politics? How much influence does it have? Despite predictions of its decline, religion has resurged in political influence across the globe, helped by the very forces that were supposed to bury it: democracy, globalization, and technology. And despite recent claims that religion is exclusively irrational and violent, its political influence is in fact diverse, sometimes promoting civil war and terrorism but at other times fostering democracy, reconciliation, and peace. Looking across the globe, the authors explain what generates these radically divergent behaviors.

Mujahedeen rebels, holy warriors, are shown as they rest high in the mountains in the Kunar province area in Afghanistan in May 1980.

AP Photo

Policy Brief - Quarterly Journal: International Security

The Foreign Fighter Phenomenon: Islam and Transnational Militancy

| February 2011

"...[F]oreign fighter mobilizations empower transnational terrorist groups such as al-Qaida, because war volunteering is the principal stepping-stone for individual involvement in more extreme forms of militancy. For example, when Muslims in the West radicalize, they usually do not plot attacks in their home countries right away, but travel to a war zone such as Iraq or Afghanistan first. A majority of al-Qaida operatives began their militant careers as war volunteers, and most transnational jihadi groups today are by-products of foreign fighter mobilizations."

Supporters of Pakistani religious party Sunni Tehreek chant slogans in favor of Mumtaz Qadri, alleged killer of Punjab governor Salman Taseer, and shower rose petals while waiting for him outside an Anti-Terrorist Court in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, 6 Jan 2011

AP Photo

Analysis & Opinions - The Huffington Post

Pakistan: A Two-Speed Society, Destination Unclear

| January 13, 2011

The vision of Pakistan's founder, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, that of a liberal, democratic society tolerant of religious minorities, has largely gone away. What can take its place is uncertain....Since its origins, Pakistan has been a frustrated state, trumped repeatedly by its more powerful neighbor, India, and frequently channeling its sorrow against the United States, all the more so since the spectacular rapprochement between India and the U.S. initiated by the Administration of George W. Bush.

An unidentified Mujahideen rebel stands on guard on high ground over looking the rocky mountainous while on patrol in the area of Kunar Province near the Pakistan border, Feb., 1980, Afghanistan.

AP Photo

Journal Article - Quarterly Journal: International Security

The Rise of Muslim Foreign Fighters: Islam and the Globalization of Jihad

| Winter 2010/11

Why has transnational war volunteering increased so dramatically in the Muslim world since 1980? Standard explanations, which emphasize U.S.-Saudi support for the 1980s Afghan mujahideen, the growth of Islamism, or the spread of Wahhabism are insufficient. The increase in transnational war volunteering is better explained as the product of a pan-Islamic identity movement that grew strong in the 1970s Arab world from elite competition among exiled Islamists in international Islamic organizations and Muslim regimes.

- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

Belfer Center Newsletter Winter 2010-11

| Winter 2010-11

The Winter 2010/11 issue of the Belfer Center newsletter features recent and upcoming activities, research, and analysis by members of the Center community on critical global issues. This issue highlights a major Belfer Center conference on technology and governance, the Center's involvement in the nuclear threat documentary Countdown to Zero, and a celebration of Belfer Center founder Paul Doty.

 

A Saudi woman and her son walk past the Imam Muhammad ibn Abdel-Wahhab Philanthropic School for Women's Quranic Studies in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, March 21, 2003.

AP Photo

Paper - Combating Terrorism Center

The Failure of Jihad in Saudi Arabia

| February 25, 2010

The paper argues that despite the widespread view of Saudi Arabia as "al-Qa'ida country," and despite the recent developments in Yemen, the jihad in Saudi Arabia has failed so far. The late 1990s saw no operations in the Kingdom because Bin Ladin's infrastructure there was too weak. The AQAP campaign, made possible by the massive influx in 2002 of al-Qa'ida members from Afghanistan, petered out in 2006. Today, practically nothing remains of the original AQAP organization. Nevertheless, its legacy and propaganda continues to inspire amateur cells, and al-Qa'ida in Yemen is actively planning operations in the Kingdom.

An Indian Paramilitary officer lays a wreath on the coffins of colleagues killed on the outskirts of Srinagar, India, Dec. 31, 2009. Gunmen ambushed and fatally shot 4 Indian paramilitary troops in Kashmir, police said, blaming Muslim militants.

AP Photo

Analysis & Opinions - World Policy Blog

Hands Off Kashmir!

| January 8, 2010

"The temptation for U.S. policymakers to get involved in the dispute is latent. In October 2008, Barack Obama, a month before he was elected, stated that 'working with Pakistan and India to try to resolve the Kashmir crisis in a serious way' was among the 'critical tasks for the next administration.' Pakistan, as the irridentist party, would welcome it; indeed, the attacks by Pakistan-sponsored groups in Kashmir and elsewhere in India may be aimed in part in provoking the U.S. to intervene on the dispute."

The shadow of a U.S. Black Hawk helicopter is seen on the ground in Babaji, Afghanistan. Issue date: November 7, 2009.

AP Photo

Analysis & Opinions - Foreign Policy

The Big Impact of Small Footprints

| November 11, 2009

"The power of small incidents has increased in the past decade thanks to the Internet. Increasing bandwidth, cheaper digital cameras and fast-learning activists have turned the world wide web into a giant propaganda tool which can generate powerful visual messages and project them instantly to a global audience. The smallest detail can be dramatically enlarged and turned into a symbol of 'Muslim suffering at the hands of non-Muslims.' On jihadi discussion forums such as Faloja (named after the Iraqi city whose 2004 battles between jihadis and U.S. forces made it an icon of Muslim suffering), high-quality video productions appear on a daily basis. The relationship between objective physical destruction and jihadi mobilization has never been less linear."