THE FALL OF KABUL
THE COSMOPOLITAN GLOBALISTS An exchange of letters among the editors about the West’s defeat in Afghanistan.
Asia-Pacific
CENTRAL ASIA RETURNS
VIVEK Y. KELKAR, MUMBAI The US and EU have neglected Central Asia for the past three decades. Russia and China have quietly filled the gap with investments and security ties. They are more than happy to work together to further their joint interests in the region.
IRAN’S DEADLY FIFTH WAVE
ALI KHEYROLLAHI, LONDON Iran is in the grip of a deadly fifth wave. A mere four percent of its population is fully vaccinated. Why did the government fail to import vaccines?
BIDEN BETRAYS AFGHANISTAN
MICHAEL FUMENTO, MANILA It didn’t have to be this way. We could easily have blunted the Taliban’s attack. Our Afghan allies just needed to know we wouldn’t abandon them-but that’s just what we did, leaving those who risked the most for us to have their heads lopped off.
THE AFGHANISTAN DISASTER
VIVEK Y. KELKAR, MUMBAI Afghanistan’s past remains its present and its future. Beyond the obvious humanitarian catastrophe unfolding before our eyes, Afghanistan’s collapse is a geopolitical disaster in progress, threatening not only its neighbors but every major global power.
THE LONG ROAD TO MYANMAR
VIVEK Y. KELKAR, MUMBAI Maps are the key to understanding Myanmar’s geopolitical significance. India, China, and Russia have a stake in the country’s stability—and the US, UK, Japan, and Australia should pay attention.
SILENCING INDIA’S ACADEMICS
AKSHAYA ELIZABETH JOSE, PARIS Sympathizing with student protests in India proved costly for one leading academic. The world’s largest democracy is stifling dissenting voices, and it is not just business as usual.
THE SOUTH ASIAN GORDIAN KNOT
VIVEK Y. KELKAR, MUMBAI Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Russia, and the Taliban form the strands of a tangled geopolitical knot. Untangling these twisted ropes is the key to peace in Asia. But there’s no sword.
WHAT DOES US DECLINE MEAN FOR THE WORLD? PART II
THE COSMOPOLITAN GLOBALISTS Part II of our discussion about the ramifications of declining American power: The view from India, Latin America, and the Balkans via Vivek Y. Kelkar, Simon Franco, and Tomaz Zaniuk.
WHAT DOES US DECLINE MEAN FOR THE WORLD?
THE COSMOPOLITAN GLOBALISTS What will the world will look like when the United States is Number Two? Part I of a discussion among the Cosmopolitan Globalists about the ramifications of American geopolitical decline.