Mara Caputo

This week in ISN Insights and Podcasts, you can look forward to the following content:

• On Monday, Salma M Siddiqui, a Lecturer at the University of London International Program in Islamabad , examines the rising tensions between Pakistan and its neighboring states in the wake of bin Laden’s death.

• Ankara-based Researcher for the International Strategic Research Organization, Francesco Milan, takes a closer look at Turkey’s growing defense ambitions on Tuesday.

• The tension between India’s search for ‘strategic autonomy’ and its growing relationship with the US is analyzed by Dr Harsh V Pant, Reader in International Relations at King’s College London, on Wednesday.

• On Thursday, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, Dr Dean Baker, opines about the economic dangers of ECB austerity policies in countries like Greece.

• Barbara Haering will discuss explosive weapons in our Friday podcast.

And in case you missed any of last week’s coverage, you can find it here on: resolving the Kuriles conflict; US military ‘brain drain’ and retention problems;  enhanced US-India space cooperation; the efficacy of bin Laden’s assassination; and a podcast on Nigeria.

Coming up this week in our ISN Insights coverage:

On Monday, Washington, DC-based intelligence analyst Anna Dunin takes on the thriving business of mercenarism in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Jamestown Foundation’s Roman Muzalevsky analyzes the potential impact of the Arab uprisings on Central Asian authoritarianism, on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, The Graduate Institute’s Paolo Cravero examines Italy’s sagging democracy under the weight of Berlusconi.

Dr Rupakjyoti Borah of Manipal University takes a closer look at India’s thirst for nuclear energy despite the cautionary tale of Fukushima – and how Australia could help quench it, on Thursday.

And in case you missed any of last week’s articles, you can find them here on: Gaddafi’s influence in sub-Saharan Africa; controversy over UNESCO’s declaration that Rachel’s tomb is a mosque; the case for UN reconsideration of the Zimbabwean matter; and a podcast on asylum seekers’ rights and states’ responsibilities to them.

With the Easter holiday behind us, ISN Insights returns to our weekday coverage starting today:

• Tuesday’s article was researched on the ground in Kigali by Jon Rosen, who examines Gaddafi’s legacy as a steadfast patron of sub-Saharan African governments.

• Dr Shalva Weil of Hebrew University explores the ancient history surrounding the Tomb of Rachel on Wednesday – a site that UNESCO declared a mosque last year, further heightening tensions.

• On Thursday we welcome an opinion piece about why the UN should reconsider punitive measures against Zimbabwe, by Michael Walsh of Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

• And Susin Park, head of the UNHCR Office for Switzerland and Liechtenstein, discusses the UNHCR’s mandate to safeguard the rights and well-being of asylum seekers and refugees in our Friday podcast.

You can also catch-up on last week’s articles here: on the Libyan ‘test‘ for India’s foreign policy; the growing attraction of more community health workers in the developing world; the power and dangers of Rio’s new Police Pacification Units; and the fiscal policy shenanigans of Europe’s central bankers.

In keeping with the Swiss national holiday that marks Easter weekend, The ISN will be on publishing hiatus from Friday, 22 April-Monday, 25 April. We look forward to resuming our regular publishing schedule on Tuesday the 26th.

From all of us at the ISN, a happy spring weekend to you and yours!