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21. Apr 2022
Nationalist monks provide spiritual support to Myanmar’s brutal generals
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Myanmar’s military receives arms and aircrafts from Russia and Belarus used against the widespread civilian resistance after the coup. At the same time nationalist monks provide spiritual support to the generals, and Buddhism played a crucial role in disrupting the ousted civilian government. The following is a brief analysis of how Buddhism functions in Myanmar’s politics.
Read more14. Apr 2020
Calm in the Eye of the Cyclone
InFocus
By Jakub Polansky, University of Sussex In August 2019, I embarked on a year-long journey to Khorog, a town in the south-eastern part of Tajikistan, to research cross-border trade along the Afghan-Tajik border. As part of my fieldwork, I recently drove to the local bazaar to talk to the owners of Khorog’s second-hand clothes businesses. […]
Read more4. Apr 2020
The time to “sober up” has arrived: Could COVID-19 provide the global wake-up call the world needs?
InFocus
By Saba Karim Khan, NYU Abu Dhabi Last week, my brother sent me a video from the China Global Television Network. The video opened with a warning, addressed to no one in particular but to the world in general: “Sober up. Covid-19 respects no national borders, no social bounds, no political systems and no cultural […]
Read more11. Apr 2011
Thailand’s Political Conflict – A Jasmine Revolution? by Christian Stampe Jensen
InFocus
The revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt and the political unrest that it has sparked in neighbouring countries throughout the Middle East has raised the question how these events influence popular uprisings and struggles for democracy in other parts of the world. In Thailand, political unrest and conflict between ‘Red Shirts’ and ‘Yellow Shirts’ have been […]
Read more18. Jan 2011
Controversial Chinese activist receives the Simone de Beauvoir prize for Women’s freedom
InFocus
On January 11th, in Paris, the Simone de Beauvoir prize for Women’s freedom 2010 was awarded to two Chinese women, GUO Jianmei 郭健梅, a lawyer in Beijing and Prof. AI Xiaoming 艾晓明 from Sun Zhongshan University (Canton). The Simone de Beauvoir Prize is an international human rights prize for women’s freedom, awarded since 2008 to […]
Read more21. Jul 2010
Hva er det med Nord Korea?
InFocus
For 60 år siden brøt krigen løs i
Korea. Bare fem år etter verdenskrigens slutt ble den kalde krigens trusler til
virkelighet. Katastrofen var enorm, landets ødeleggelse total, våpenhvilen er
aldri avløst av en fredsavtale, og sårene etter krigen er ennå ikke leget.
Etter krigen ble Korea offer for verdens fortsatte ideologiske deling. Da
Sovjetunionen brøt sammen, Tyskland og Europa atter ble samlet, og Kina åpnet
for markedsøkonomien, fastholdt de koreanske statene status quo. Sør-Korea er i
11. Jun 2010
The Ethnic Crises in Burma/Myanmar: 2010 and Beyond Dilemmas & Opportunities for the International Community
InFocus
Burma/Myanmar is a very ethnically diverse country, with ethnic
minorities comprising about 40 percent of its estimated 56 million population. Burma has been
afflicted by ethnic conflict and civil war since independence in 1948, exposing
it to one of the longest running armed conflicts in the world. Ethnic
minorities have long felt marginalised and discriminated against. The situation
worsened after the military coup in 1962, when minority rights were further
curtailed. The military government, which now calls itself the State Peace and
7. Jun 2010
Be reminded, it is co-creation that we should understand?
InFocus
By
Sudhanshu Rai
8th June 2010
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25. May 2010
The (new) North Korean Crisis: what can be expected and what should be done as a response to the sinking of the Cheonan corvette
InFocus
by Mikael Weissmann and Linus Hagström, The Swedish Institute of International Affairs
29. Apr 2010
The Path of Bliss
InFocus
By Stig Toft Madsen April 23, 2010 The Ananda Marga – the Path of Bliss – was founded in 1955 by Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar as a socio-spiritual organization. In 1959, Sarkar added the political wing, known as Proutist Universal, where PROUT stands for Progressive Utilization Theory. Sarkar was born a Bengali in Bihar in 1921. […]
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