ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

by Anup Shah Almost half the world — over three billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day. At least 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day. Source1 More than 80 percent of the world’s population lives in countries where income differentials are widening. Source2 The poorest 40 percent of the world’s population accounts for 5 percent of global income. The richest 20 percent accounts for three-quarters of world income. Source3 According to UNICEF, 22,000 children die each day due to poverty. And they “die quietly in some of the poorest villages on earth, far removed from the scrutiny and the conscience of the world. Being meek and weak in life makes these dying multitudes even more invisible in death.” Source4 Around 27-28 percent of all children in developing countries are estimated to be underweight or stunted. The two regions that account for the bulk of the deficit are South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. If current trends continue, the Millennium Development Goals target of...

Global military expenditure stands at over $1.7 trillion in annual expenditure at current prices for 2012. It fell by around half a percent compared to 2011 — the first fall since 1998. (1991 figures are unavailable. Chart uses 2011 constant prices for comparison.) Summarizing some key details from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)’s Year Book 2013 summary on military expenditure : World military expenditure in 2012 is estimated to have reached $1.756 trillion; This is a 0.4 per cent decrease in real terms than in 2011 — the first fall since 1998; The total is still higher than in any year between the end of World War II and 2010; This corresponds to 2.5 per cent of world gross domestic product (GDP), or approximately $249 for each person in the world; The USA with its massive spending budget, has long been the principal determinant of the current world trend, often accounting for close to half of all the world’s military expenditure. The effects of global fi...

By Saman Mohammadi " The Excavator "- This photo is from a protest in Pakistan against US attacks on Syria that was held last September. Since then, Pakistan's government has provided weapons and training to the foreign terrorists in Syria who are kidnapping innocent people and massacring peaceful villagers because of their religious beliefs, or lack thereof, and their ethnicity. The governments in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are controlled by the dumbest, and most short-sighted leaders in the Middle East. Naturally, they won't survive much longer. Their policy of supporting international Jihadist terrorism and religious extremism in Syria will backfire. Syria will not be another Afghanistan. Here are three simple reasons: the people of Syria are more educated, Syria is led by semi-competent leaders, and history is at a different point than it was in the 1980s. So Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are investing time, money, energy, and political capital in a losing cause....

By Eric Margolis  - War fever is in the air. Fifty thousand Russian troops and armor are massed on Ukraine’s eastern border. Europe and Washington worry that the reborn Red Army may sweep west across Ukraine, Moldova, the Baltics – even into Poland. The West is suffering from a bad case of Cold War chills. Not only are the Western powers worried, they are discovering that they likely lack the means to stop possible Russian incursions into what was the former Soviet Empire. They should not be at all surprised that Russia is again showing signs of life. Frederick the Great, the renowned Prussian warrior-king, warned: “he who tried to defend everything, defends nothing.” Every young officers should have Great Fredrick’s words tattooed on his right hand. Soon after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, a small number of strategists, this analyst included, warned NATO, “do not move east. It’s a bridge too far.” Soviet chairman Mikhail Gorbachev had agreed to let rebellious East Germany e...