Mainstream Weekly

Af-Pak: The World's Most Dangerous Place

Manan Dwivedi — 2009-09-26T13:46:14Z

One out of a myriad Political Contest Models developed by the arcane theorists, the present one posits a sanguine and diligent comprehension of the notion of a state actor pitted against the non-state actor in a Gladiatorial contest of gargantuan proportions. This used to be a quintessential mode of analysing the arcadia of conflict zones in the international statecraft. The Model delineated a Blitzkrieg scenario, wherein the non-state actors in a given nation-state strive to assess the (…)

- September 2009

Presidential Elections in the US

Manan Dwivedi — 2008-07-22T19:17:08Z

The American President, Thomas Jefferson, in one of his observations, is known to have stated that “If I am given an opportunity to survive with a Government without newspapers or with newspapers without a Government, then, I would opt for the second option.” The utterance reflects the all-significant strain that freedom of all kinds, including the freedom of press and expression, underlies the American democratic experiment.1 This saying lies nailed on the walls of offices of various (…)

- July 19, 2008

The US Elections: Excellent Spectacle and Jamboree

Manan Dwivedi — 2008-03-01T18:23:00Z

This article reached us some time ago, but could not be used for unavoidable reasons. It is now being published as its contents have not yet lost their validity. —Editor
Jean Kirkpatrick, the former Ambassador of the United States to the United Nations, once gave a be-all and end-all definition of democratic practice in any godfearing and citizen-loving nation-state. She is known to have commented that, “Democratic elections are not merely symbolic....They are competitive, periodic, (…)

- March 1, 2008

A Secular Pope, a Scapegoat or a Secretary-General

Manan Dwivedi — 2007-10-09T14:14:31Z

“I am the soothsayer, I am the debt collector, I am the father confessor, and I am the cheerleader, the salesman and the promoter, too. There are yet many aspects of my character and my role which I am yet to discover.” These are the apt and illustrative words of the anointed Secretary-General, Kofi Annan,1 of the United Nations Organisation as he delivered his second inaugural speech while initiating discussion at the United Nations General Assembly session in the year 2002. This too (…)

- October 6, 2007