Papers by Muhammad Taimur F . Khan
ISSI Islamabad Papers 2019, Nov 25, 2019
This paper argues that the world is heading towards another era
of ‘great power politics’, where ... more This paper argues that the world is heading towards another era
of ‘great power politics’, where United States, Russia and China will
compete for hegemony and influence. The era of unipolarity is over
and policymakers in Washington have realised that current global
order is changing, which has compelled American policymakers to
make tough choices sometimes compromising its core interests. The
argument proceeds as follows. First, arguing that the United States is
an empire in decline; its broad coalition is under threat, while
complex societal changes are underway. Second, there also exists
issue of multiple intelligence failures which severely hampered
projection of American power. Third, the waning US power also
faces threat from resurgent Russia and silently progressing China, as
both have expanded their economies and achieved exponential
military modernisation. The core objective of this paper is to
highlight the emerging Cold War between US, Russia and China and
assess how the power transition might unfold implicating global
peace and stability.
Strategic Studies, Nov 5, 2019
Since the end of the Cold War, the world entered the era of economic interdependence and cooperat... more Since the end of the Cold War, the world entered the era of economic interdependence and cooperation. In contemporary times, no country in the world can exist in isolation. After a long period of hostile relations and negative foreign policy postures towards each other, Pakistan and Russia have acknowledged the need for pragmatic yet friendly relations with different states, globally in general and regionally in particular. They have realised that bilateral cooperation is extremely necessary to achieve their national security and foreign policy objectives. Russia, realising its global power status and its renewed drive to regain its past glorified position in international affairs, has made big changes in its foreign policy. It has adopted a new holistic foreign policy orientation towards South Asia while abandoning the country-specific policy that it had in the past. Pakistan on the other hand, after many tests and trials, have come to realise that it cannot depend on a single country in particular (to achieve its national security and foreign policy objectives) and have to expand its list of countries on whom it can depend on for support and have good relations with. Over the last decade, Pakistan and Russia bilateral relationship have commenced on the path of improvement, with both countries entering into multiple deals of cooperation in the domains of military, politics and economics. It is high time that Pakistan and Russia realise and accept the realities of international relations, learn from their past and further build upon the positive developments to solidify their bilateral relations for mutual benefits and for the good of the entire region.
Strategic Studies, Aug 1, 2018
It is argued that there are no permanent friends or foes in the realm of international relations,... more It is argued that there are no permanent friends or foes in the realm of international relations, only interests are primary and supreme. Every nation-state in the world adheres to this rule and Pakistan is no different. Given the roller-coaster nature of Pak-US relations, the former's foreign policy orientation has always remained buoyant with and peripheral to that of the latter. However, with the world shifting from unipolarity to multi-polarity, Pakistan needs to modify its foreign policy orientation according to the changing international and regional circumstances. Significant global player such as Russia has emerged, who has a revisionist stance towards the contemporary state of affairs. Recently, Russia has managed to reassert its significance globally as well as regionally. It is also rethinking its policy towards South Asia. Therefore, being a strategically important country in this region, it becomes imperative for Pakistan to forget the Cold War baggage and look towards a different relationship with the regional power based on cooperation and mutual trust while maintaining stability in its bilateral relations with the US. This research aims to surmise the bilateral relationships of Pakistan with both, the US and Russia, the recent emerging trends in these relationships and what options does Pakistan have for balanced and stable relations with Russia and the US to achieve and secure its foreign policy objectives.
Strategic Studies , Jan 12, 2018
The purposefulness of the Indian foreign policy is already questionable due to its lack of clarit... more The purposefulness of the Indian foreign policy is already questionable due to its lack of clarity and direction, which afflicts the neighbouring countries through its affirmative and hegemonic regional policies. Smaller nations of the South Asia region feel threatened and bigger countries remain wary of India's dubious demeanour. Even with such designs, the Indian foreign policy goals remain unfulfilled. This is due to two important reasons. Firstly, the principles underlining the Indian foreign policy have been left ambiguous and idealistic ever since its inception. Secondly, the execution of the Indian foreign policy is most definitely not along the lines of its stated objectives. This disparate nature of policy execution has led to the perpetration of chaos in the region, which India has quite swiftly 'managed' through perception management. This is where the utilisation of Chaos Theory and perception management comes into play, which is analysed in this research paper. If India wishes to achieve its desired position in the region, as desired, then it is imperative that it revisits both the principles and implementation of its foreign policy to match the changing regional and global atmosphere.
Book Reviews by Muhammad Taimur F . Khan
Strategic Studies, Jul 15, 2019
The book, The Making of Pakistani Bombs, written by Khuram Iqbal, offers a multi-level analysis o... more The book, The Making of Pakistani Bombs, written by Khuram Iqbal, offers a multi-level analysis of the factors influencing suicide terrorism in Pakistan. The book is divided into seven parts. The first part traces the history of suicide terrorism in Pakistan, followed by an introduction to research problems and methodology adopted by the author. The book further goes into an in-depth analysis of the factors influencing formation of human bombs taking into account three levels of study: environmental, organisational level and individual. The author has incorporated personal, demographic, economic and marital characteristics of the Pakistani human bombs. As the discussion unfolds, the author wraps up in the conclusion that Pakistan, like many other theatres, is another classic example endorsing multi-causal approaches.
Strategic Studies, Oct 5, 2018
The Pragmatic Superpower is a latest work produced by two of Washington’s renowned foreign policy... more The Pragmatic Superpower is a latest work produced by two of Washington’s renowned foreign policy experts ─ Ray Takeyh and Steven Simon. The book spread over 10 chapters and deals with re-framing the legacy of the US involvement in the Middle East from the end of the World War II till the disintegration of the United Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1991. The book sheds light on the making of the contemporary Middle East from a new perspective. The authors provide undaunted reexamination of how the US was able to spread its influence in this region during the Cold War era.
Strategic Studies, Jul 6, 2017
War by Other Means: Geo economics and Statecraft is an assessment of
Geo economics directly aimed... more War by Other Means: Geo economics and Statecraft is an assessment of
Geo economics directly aimed at the policy makers and academia. The
primary focus of the book is China’s use of Geo economics as a tool of
statecraft, and how this tool has been neglected by the US to achieve its
foreign policy and national security objectives.
Strategic Studies, Nov 1, 2016
Danial Byman‟s latest book, Al Qaeda, the Islamic State and the Global
Jihadist Movement: What ev... more Danial Byman‟s latest book, Al Qaeda, the Islamic State and the Global
Jihadist Movement: What everyone needs to know, comes at a crucial
juncture in time when new terrorist outfits have been evolving out of the
old ones. This piece of writing by Daniel Byman qualifies more as a
handbook on Al Qaeda than an analytical attempt to ascertain how the
terrorist organisations have developed over time. It may as well have
been a detailed presentation of facts and figures if it were not for the
author‟s personal but biased take on certain matters. It starts with a
historical account of the pre 9/11 world and evolution of Al Qaeda long
before that. In this section, the author explains how 9/11 was
instrumental in bringing Al Qaeda from the periphery of global politics to
its white hot centre. The author takes the readers back to the era of
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. According to him, this time around, Al Qaeda was slowly establishing its organisational structure which was
upgraded with time. But the only thing more effective than the concrete
structure of the organisation was the idea behind its very existence. An
idea that made a small band of people powerful enough to terrorise the
world was the real ideology of this organisation. However, this premise
is based on a false assumption as these organisations are not merely
composed of a few adulterated minds and wrongly interpreted religious
notions. The truth, which the author completely ignores, is that there has
been substantial evidence which points to the bigger powers that have
funded such organisations.
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Papers by Muhammad Taimur F . Khan
of ‘great power politics’, where United States, Russia and China will
compete for hegemony and influence. The era of unipolarity is over
and policymakers in Washington have realised that current global
order is changing, which has compelled American policymakers to
make tough choices sometimes compromising its core interests. The
argument proceeds as follows. First, arguing that the United States is
an empire in decline; its broad coalition is under threat, while
complex societal changes are underway. Second, there also exists
issue of multiple intelligence failures which severely hampered
projection of American power. Third, the waning US power also
faces threat from resurgent Russia and silently progressing China, as
both have expanded their economies and achieved exponential
military modernisation. The core objective of this paper is to
highlight the emerging Cold War between US, Russia and China and
assess how the power transition might unfold implicating global
peace and stability.
Book Reviews by Muhammad Taimur F . Khan
Geo economics directly aimed at the policy makers and academia. The
primary focus of the book is China’s use of Geo economics as a tool of
statecraft, and how this tool has been neglected by the US to achieve its
foreign policy and national security objectives.
Jihadist Movement: What everyone needs to know, comes at a crucial
juncture in time when new terrorist outfits have been evolving out of the
old ones. This piece of writing by Daniel Byman qualifies more as a
handbook on Al Qaeda than an analytical attempt to ascertain how the
terrorist organisations have developed over time. It may as well have
been a detailed presentation of facts and figures if it were not for the
author‟s personal but biased take on certain matters. It starts with a
historical account of the pre 9/11 world and evolution of Al Qaeda long
before that. In this section, the author explains how 9/11 was
instrumental in bringing Al Qaeda from the periphery of global politics to
its white hot centre. The author takes the readers back to the era of
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. According to him, this time around, Al Qaeda was slowly establishing its organisational structure which was
upgraded with time. But the only thing more effective than the concrete
structure of the organisation was the idea behind its very existence. An
idea that made a small band of people powerful enough to terrorise the
world was the real ideology of this organisation. However, this premise
is based on a false assumption as these organisations are not merely
composed of a few adulterated minds and wrongly interpreted religious
notions. The truth, which the author completely ignores, is that there has
been substantial evidence which points to the bigger powers that have
funded such organisations.
of ‘great power politics’, where United States, Russia and China will
compete for hegemony and influence. The era of unipolarity is over
and policymakers in Washington have realised that current global
order is changing, which has compelled American policymakers to
make tough choices sometimes compromising its core interests. The
argument proceeds as follows. First, arguing that the United States is
an empire in decline; its broad coalition is under threat, while
complex societal changes are underway. Second, there also exists
issue of multiple intelligence failures which severely hampered
projection of American power. Third, the waning US power also
faces threat from resurgent Russia and silently progressing China, as
both have expanded their economies and achieved exponential
military modernisation. The core objective of this paper is to
highlight the emerging Cold War between US, Russia and China and
assess how the power transition might unfold implicating global
peace and stability.
Geo economics directly aimed at the policy makers and academia. The
primary focus of the book is China’s use of Geo economics as a tool of
statecraft, and how this tool has been neglected by the US to achieve its
foreign policy and national security objectives.
Jihadist Movement: What everyone needs to know, comes at a crucial
juncture in time when new terrorist outfits have been evolving out of the
old ones. This piece of writing by Daniel Byman qualifies more as a
handbook on Al Qaeda than an analytical attempt to ascertain how the
terrorist organisations have developed over time. It may as well have
been a detailed presentation of facts and figures if it were not for the
author‟s personal but biased take on certain matters. It starts with a
historical account of the pre 9/11 world and evolution of Al Qaeda long
before that. In this section, the author explains how 9/11 was
instrumental in bringing Al Qaeda from the periphery of global politics to
its white hot centre. The author takes the readers back to the era of
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. According to him, this time around, Al Qaeda was slowly establishing its organisational structure which was
upgraded with time. But the only thing more effective than the concrete
structure of the organisation was the idea behind its very existence. An
idea that made a small band of people powerful enough to terrorise the
world was the real ideology of this organisation. However, this premise
is based on a false assumption as these organisations are not merely
composed of a few adulterated minds and wrongly interpreted religious
notions. The truth, which the author completely ignores, is that there has
been substantial evidence which points to the bigger powers that have
funded such organisations.