World Politics News   Articles for World Politics Course

Juan Cole is one of the most experienced and insightful analysts of Middle Eastern events, and he has authored an essay for the Nation which urges us to rethink the way we think about the Islamic State (which he prefers to call by its Arabic name, Daesh).   His analysis is compelling:  the metaphor of war is inappropriate for actions against the group.  Treating the Islamic State as a “state” legitimizes the group in the eyes of its followers and potential adherents.

One of the mysteries of the power of the Islamic State is how it gets so much money.  We know that it is selling oil, but it has never been clear how it transports the oil out of Syria and Iraq, who sells the oil, and who buys the oil.  El Araby,  a newspaper out of Qatar, has tracked down these questions and the answers explain a great deal.  It appears as if much of the oil is sold to Kurds (a purported ally of the US), shipped and refined through Turkey (another purported ally of the US), and much of it is sold to Israel (another purported ally of the US–the Islamic State oil accounts for as much as 75% of Israel’s oil consumption).  In other words, American allies are helping to subsidize the Islamic State to the tune of about $50 million a month.  Interestingly, one of the people who figures prominently in this web is Bilal Erdogan, the son of the Turkish Prime Minister, the country that opposes both the Kurds and the Islamic State.

India has maintained a blockade of Nepal since last September.  The immediate cause of the blockade is the Indian displeasure with the new Nepalese constitution after almost ten years of living under an interim constitution.  India’s concern is that the constitution does not accord full rights to the Nepalese Madheshis who live right on the Indian border.  But the blockade almost represents an effort by India to exercise greater control over Nepalese affairs which it regards as necessary to prevent Chinese influence in Nepal.   The blockade is causing a serious humanitarian crisis to the landlocked country since virtually all trade to and from Nepal flows through the border.