As India enters into poll on 7th April, 2014, analyst Arafat Kabir examines what this election mean to Bangladesh? He dismisses a widespread speculation that argues India’s support to present government of Bangladesh would change if BJP comes into power in India. Arafat states, “Delhi requires a stable and cooperative administration in Dhaka in order to maintain the regional equilibrium of power. Taking this into account, BJP may not find any trouble if Hasina’s Awami League government vows to work with BJP the same way it did with Congress.”
Peter Ramage discusses the problems with the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) – a free trade agreement between New Zealand, Australia and 10 other Asia-Pacific countries including the USA. A TPPA would be an agreement that guarantees rights for foreign investors & would restrict a nations sovereignty and regulate what policies and laws the government can make. Peter argues the most concerning fact however, is why for such an important agreement has it been kept so publicly quiet?
This is the first part of a four part series where Alochonaa East Asia Editor, Scott Musgrave looks at the tide of hostility in East Asia between Korea, China and Japan. Scott argues that it is the engagement, or the lack of engagement of the US, that affects how these states interact with each other, particularly in regards to Japan and the Republic of Korea.
In this powerful analysis, Professor Ali Riaz explains the legacy, logic and construction of Indian foreign policy to Bangladesh and South Asia. In this article, Dr. Riaz argues that India and Bangladesh have mispercieved each other and that an accord between the two states is possible, even as India persues great power status.
Nishadee Liyanage reflects on her identity disconnect of growing up in Australia and being raised to be Sinhalese Sri Lankan. As the daughter of Sinhalese Sri Lankan immigrants to Australia, Nisha critically evaluates the current Australian asylum seeker policies.
Drawing from his own experiences in Timor Leste, Simon Katterl critically evaluates the structural flaws of the volunteer aid and tourism trend, known as ‘voluntourism’. The author argues there is a lack of accountability available to the recipients of aid – if the aid organisation fails, there is no recourse for aid recipients. While aid organisations must self-impose such regulations, it is currently unclear what ethos prevail in ‘voluntourism’.
Alochonaa (Dialogue) 