The last few years have seen an increase in the intensity of the conflicts that have been endemic in West Asia between states as well as of sectarian strife. The region has also seen non-state actors and non-regional powers coming centre stage. Terrorism, including suicide terrorism, seems to have become the strategy of choice. Perhaps as important as the conflicts themselves is the recurrent failure of all efforts and initiatives to bring peace and stability.
Traditional established elites are facing mounting pressure for change. Minority and women’s rights have suffered. Failure to develop accommodative and representative political systems that might have provided good governance as well as provided an outlet for these pressures for change have been held responsible for much of this deterioration. This failure seems to have been mirrored at the inter-regional level with the lack of viable regional institutions.
This volume, the result of an international conference organized by the Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi and the Rosa Luxemburg, Foundation, Germany looks at a range of issues, including from two critical countries—Iraq and Iran—to understand the emerging security situation in West Asia and how it can best be handled. Among the themes examined are the patterns of political opposition in West Asian countries and the constraints on political expression and participation.
The volume attempts to identify the desirable objectives in West Asia mutually shared by Europe and India, the policies that might help to attain these objectives and actions that could be taken by Europe and India to help to stabilise the security situation in West Asia.
The views expressed above belong to the author(s). ORF research and analyses now available on Telegram! Click here to access our curated content — blogs, longforms and interviews.
PREV
