The world has watched as Iran has rather rapidly devolved over the last month. As a civilization that is known to prize its democracy and for a people that fiercely value the exercise of their franchise, it appears to the entire world that the Iranians have now been robbed of its promise. While the media, the governments of various countries, the heads of various states, the blogosphere, and numerous social networking sites have been inundated with views and reviews about the status quo, the United States has been beyond cautious and measured; wait and watch has been their mantra. 

When President Anwar Sadat signed the peace treaty with Israel in 1979, he said that Egypt would never go to war again except to protect its water resources. King Hussein of Jordan said that he will never go to war with Israel again except over water and the former United Nation Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali had warned that the next war in the area will be over water. 

As the countdown to the Copenhagen UN Climate Summit begins, India’s role in building a framework for the new global climate change regime becomes pertinent for two reasons. First, India is the fourth largest carbon dioxide emitter after United States, China and Russia. Hence, with rising global temperatures, the pressure is mounting on India to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. Any binding emission reduction measures will have a significant impact on India’s economy given the strong linkages between energy consumption, economic growth and environmental pollution. Second, the impact of climate change will be detrimental on the livelihoods of people and on food security. Given this conundrum, what are India’s options to effectively mitigate greenhouse gases and at what costs to the economy? 

In the wake of global problems such as growing water scarcity, teeming populations, increasing demand for food and bio-fuels, and climate change impacting arable land and its productivity, governments around the world are purchasing land for agricultural purposes in developing nations. It is a question of food security and it is abundantly clear that food is no longer a soft policy issue. 

Sundeep Waslekar examines one of the biggest questions of the 21st century: what will happen to the Treaty of Westphalia when it celebrates its 400th anniversary in 2048 ?

In 2002 when we set up Strategic Foresight Group, the main objective was to provide forward looking analysis on social, economic, geopolitical futures. In the last year, we have added a heavy component of environment, especially water to our portfolio. This has raised some questions. Why does an organization that is focused on geo-politics look at water related issues? How is the future of water going to change socio-economic factors? Is water scarcity going to lead to conflict over water? And ultimately how is water going to change the future of our world?

In the past hundred years, the world’s population has doubled and the demand for water has increased seven fold. With almost half the population of the world located in and around 261 shared river basins, it is a major cause for concern. These major basins cover approximately 45% of the global surface area, and account for 60% of the global water flow. Water is one of those vital resources for which there is no substitute, and experts have been predicting that it will be the most pressing concern of the century. Yet each area for potential conflict is also an opportunity for cooperation, if viewed through a different lens. 

Piracy in the Gulf of Aden continues to thrive despite international efforts at joint maritime patrols along the Somali coastline. Combating the menace has proven futile, with international laws ill equipped to address what is fast becoming a threat to the lives of crewmen and global trade.