Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*
LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) - What drives people to extremes? Why do the people behind Wahhabism, Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State (IS) get so charged up and angry?
Perhaps to understand we should go back to the 16th century in Europe and the furious debate about the “divine right of kings”. For decades the royal houses of Europe had been becoming less accessible to their subjects. William of Orange, ruler of the powerful Netherlands, said he had “received his power from God and God alone.”
Philip II of Spain was also a principle protagonist of this theme. Indeed, when Spain conquered Holland, Philip tried to squash the new Protestant “heresy”, using the brutal practices of the Spanish Inquisition.
BERLIN | NEW DELHI (IDN-INPS | WION) - Major Siddharth Chatterjee (Retd), the United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator and the UNDP Resident Representative in Kenya, a humanitarian and development professional, a feminist and a passionate advocate for youth empowerment who has served in many war-ravaged and fragile parts of the world spoke exclusively to WION about his passion for advancing gender equality, his impressions of Kenya, the UN reform, and his transition from the Indian Army to the UN.
Below is the full transcript of the interview, first published on WION on November 15, 2017. It is being reproduced with due permission.
By Alexey Arbatov
Dr. Alexei Arbatov is the head of the Center for International Security at the Institute of Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations. He is a former scholar in residence with the Carnegie Moscow Center’s Nonproliferation Program. Formerly, he was a member of the State Duma, vice chairman of the Russian United Democratic Party (Yabloko), and deputy chairman of the Duma Defense Committee. He is a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and is the head of the academy’s Center for International Security at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations. Following is the complete text of his paper presented to the conference on 'Perspectives for a world free from nuclear weapons and for integral disarmament' at Vatican City on 11 November 2017 – The Editor
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