Politics

Societies in Exile: Power, Estrangement, and the End of Universalism

Societies in exile may not yet find their way home. But exile, once recognized, need not end in disappearance. It can become watchfulness, and watchfulness, has often been the difference between mere survival and quiet renewal.

A Reply to Shahidul Alam on Performative Governance

A government that reduces VIP protocol but continues to evict vendors without rehabilitation has merely exchanged one performance for another.

The Demise of International Law

International law appears to bind only the weak nations but not the powerful, mighty ones. Afghanistan, Gaza, Guantanamo Bay, and targeted actions against foreign leaders all show how rules can be bypassed without consequence.

The Hormuz Gamble: What Washington Risks by Waging a Forever War

Iranian leadership has demonstrated remarkable resilience, shaped by the mosaic defence, the bolster policy of Iran after the death of Kashem Soleimani.

Kharg Island and the Fragility of the World’s Energy Order

Modern warfare increasingly targets economic infrastructure rather than traditional military formations. Oil terminals, pipelines, power plants and ports have become instruments of pressure in conflicts across the world. The objective is not merely to defeat an enemy army but to weaken an adversary’s economic foundations.

Democracy Without Teeth

Ensuring accountability is the key, and a state cannot design a system, cannot create an institutional design where the only protection is a party's or an individual’s goodwill. A state’s guiding operational principle cannot be to be ruled by the angels.

Myanmar’s Civil War and the Expanding Shadow of Global Rivalry

Myanmar stands as a stark reminder that in today’s world, geography is destiny only until strategy intervenes

Behind Sufism and Politics

A class of divinely chosen people has the power, endowed by God, to read the esoteric meaning of the Quran and the capacity to guide their own path and that of their followers to connect to the ultimate reality through a mystic journey, which is the foundation of the doctrine of Sufism.

From the Strait of Hormuz to Dhaka: Oil, Remittances and Geopolitical Aftershocks

International law and global stability are not distant abstractions for Bangladesh but essential pillars of economic resilience and national planning.

The Strategic Risks of the Iran Conflict

For the first time in decades, the United States risks strategic isolation within its own alliance network. If the United States is perceived as an unreliable negotiating partner, future mediation efforts -- both in the Middle East and beyond -- may suffer.

A Relationship Deeper Than Headlines Suggest

Unlike many bilateral relationships in South Asia that are defined by rivalry, the India-Bangladesh relationship began with cooperation and solidarity. That legacy continues to shape perceptions and policy even today.

Call the War by its Name

Since 1945, and specifically since colonizing Palestine with Israel and taking the baton of Empire from Britain, the US has been waging imperial domination around the globe, with the safety of claiming the distinction of not being an overt colonial force.

The Iran Trap: Why War Could Become America’s Costliest Gamble

Instead of a single battlefield, the United States could find itself managing simultaneous crises across several countries, dramatically increasing the complexity and cost of military operations. Recent history offers sobering lessons about the limits of military power in such environments.

Memory, Myth, and the Performance of War in Bangladesh’s Media

Bangladesh deserves better than slogan-driven geopolitics. It deserves journalism that can critique American power without romanticizing Iranian power, question Israeli policy without indulging conspiracy, and evaluate Russia, China, or Pakistan without reflexive alignment.

Nepal Election: Youth Learn a Lesson of a General Nature

This isn’t just a normal switch in power. It’s a clear rejection of two parties that spent decades swapping control, making deals, and getting caught up in scandals while the country struggled.

Trusting the Elders: How a Youth Party Got Talked Out of Power

In the end, that is what happened to NCP. It let itself be persuaded that the bravest thing a youth party can do in its founding election is to make itself small.