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Pakistan

Pakistan
commentary
New Pakistan, Old Challenges
Rafiq Dossani, Jalal Awan
Oct 17, 2018
The National Interest
While the United States has been voicing concerns about the destabilizing potential of China's Belt and Road Initiative, Pakistan needs the economic stability that initiative could bring. As long as Pakistan remains a poor country, its democracy will be at risk.
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Afghanistan
q&a
A Way Forward in Afghanistan: Q&A with Laurel Miller
Jun 21, 2018
As the United States approaches its 17th year of military involvement in Afghanistan, Laurel Miller, a senior foreign policy expert at RAND, describes the current situation and hopes for the future.
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Economic Development
commentary
What Next for China-Pakistan Relations?
Derek Grossman @DerekJGrossman, Keren Zhu
Feb 26, 2018
South China Morning Post
The recent downgrade in U.S.-Pakistan relations will present both opportunities and challenges for China. Beijing can use the recent strain to promote a new model of international development, but must be wary of becoming the sole external power responsible for maintaining stability in the region.
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Peacekeeping and Stability Operations
commentary
In Afghanistan, A Protracted Stalemate
Ali Wyne @Ali_Wyne
Feb 26, 2018
The National Interest
The United States has been at war in Afghanistan for over 16 years, at a cost of over $1 trillion. But the Taliban now controls more territory than at any point since the U.S.-led invasion. This should give pause to observers who believe that the United States is, or will soon be, poised to turn the tide in Afghanistan.
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Peacekeeping and Stability Operations
commentary
The United States and Pakistan: Best Frenemies Forever?
Laurel E. Miller
Jan 16, 2018
The National Interest
A realistic approach to dealing with Pakistan does not mean selling out Afghanistan or taking a loss on the substantial U.S. investment in the region. Rather, it is necessary for giving Afghanistan a better shot at a more stable future than the current approach is likely to produce.
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Threat Assessment
commentary
Where Is Assad Getting His Fighters from? (It's Not Just Lebanon and Iraq)
Colin P. Clarke @ColinPClarke, Phillip Smyth
Jan 4, 2018
The National Interest
The Assad regime's defense against insurgents in Syria's ongoing civil war is being provided by forces imported from Afghanistan and Pakistan as well as Lebanon and Iraq. Most of these fighters are being trained and equipped by Iran. Could this network of foreign fighters help Iran establish a greater presence beyond the Middle East?
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International Diplomacy
commentary
Despite Tillerson, U.S. Won't Abandon Pakistan for India
Jonah Blank
Oct 27, 2017
The Indian Express
There is no new U.S. policy towards Pakistan and there won't be one soon. As long as the U.S. has troops in neighboring Afghanistan, it will be reliant on Pakistan for logistical support, transit, and Islamabad's influence with both the Taliban and its affiliated Haqqani Network.
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Infrastructure Finance
commentary
China's Field of Dreams in Pakistan
Rafiq Dossani, Niels Erich
Oct 16, 2017
U.S. News & World Report
China is four years into joint planning and construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a vast economic development package. Beneath the surface, Beijing is testing a new "build it and they will come" model for delivering economic development and foreign aid.
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Nuclear Deterrence
commentary
The Rorschach Test of New Nuclear Powers: Analogies for North Korean Command and Control
Austin Long
Oct 6, 2017
War on the Rocks
Is Pyongyang more like modern Islamabad or Soviet Moscow? The answer must draw on the expertise of scholars of civil-military relations as well as nuclear strategy. Even then analogy is only a starting point—North Korea may be more or less like previous cases, but will certainly be unique.
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International Organizations
commentary
China Will Regret India's Entry Into the Shanghai Cooperation Organization
Derek Grossman @DerekJGrossman
Jul 24, 2017
The Diplomat
Russia first proposed India as a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization likely in part to complement bilateral economic and security engagement, but mainly to constrain China's growing influence in the organization.
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Afghanistan
commentary
How Trump Should Manage Afghanistan
Seth G. Jones
Mar 21, 2017
Foreign Affairs
While media coverage has focused on Syria and Iraq, Afghanistan remains an important frontline state in the fight against terrorism. The Trump administration should aim to prevent the Taliban from overthrowing the Afghan government, encourage political reconciliation, and pursue terrorists that threaten the United States.
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Afghanistan
commentary
The Islamic State-Taliban Rivalry in Afghanistan
Seth G. Jones
Nov 28, 2016
Lawfare
The weakening of the Islamic State is a positive step. But Taliban successes against the group have strengthened the Taliban's power, bolstered its reputation, and complicated U.S. and Afghan government efforts to wind down the Afghan war.
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South Asia
commentary
Could the Kashmir Standoff Trigger Nuclear War?
Rafiq Dossani, Jonah Blank
Oct 10, 2016
Newsweek
Militants trained in Pakistan have been raiding the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir for over a quarter of a century, but the recent attack was the deadliest in years. A short-term return to peace remains uncertain and the longer term is even harder to predict.
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Afghanistan
commentary
The Taliban's Persistent Threat
James Dobbins @Jim_Dobbins
Apr 21, 2016
The Cipher Brief
The United States and its NATO allies have been scaling back their military commitment in Afghanistan. The Taliban, in response, have been scaling up their operations, inflicting unprecedented heavy casualties on Afghan government forces and gaining increased control over much of the countryside.
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Afghanistan
commentary
Pakistan Holds the Key to Peace in Afghanistan
Zalmay Khalilzad, James Dobbins @Jim_Dobbins
Jan 11, 2016
Newsweek
Sustained and intensified U.S. pressure on Pakistan offers the only viable path to advancing the Afghan reconciliation process in a way that does not turn Afghanistan into a launching pad for terrorism and extremism.
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International Diplomacy
commentary
Pakistan and China's Almost Alliance
Jonah Blank
Oct 16, 2015
Foreign Affairs
Policymakers in the United States and throughout Asia should take note of why the Sino-Pakistani relationship has endured for so long, what each partner gets from the other, and what inherent limitations prevent the union from developing into a true alliance.
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