Internet Infrastructure in Africa: Status and Opportunities
There is a major information gap in Africa, where access to information is structurally disabled.This study was conducted taking the University of Dodoma in Tanzania as a case study. The causes for poor internet access were identified as: Lack of alignment between last-mile, middle-mile, and long-range network infrastructure; Tyranny of bad on-premises network design; Up to 15 network hops just to leave on-premises network architecture; Lack of best-practice templates and benchmarks for on-premises, middle-mile and national backbone network architecture in emerging and developing markets; and local operators charging exorbitant bandwidth prices. The US Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) definition of broadband is 25 Mbps per host. The World Bank defines broadband as 12 Mbps per hundred consumers.According to the United Nations, broadband is a basic human right and an absolute necessity for productivity and sustainable growth
-
Internet, Infrastructure, Africa, Bandwidth, University
-
(1) Muhammad Tehsin
Assistant Professor, Department of Defence % Strategic Studies, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
(2) Muhammad Muntazir Mehdi
Works at Microsoft.
China's Grand Strategic Response over Global Unipolarity
The USA, the victor of the Cold War, became supper power in 1992 and started to exercise its hegemony in the world. China, a Cold War ally of the US, became a stronger economy and came forward to encounter the Primacy of the US in Asia. In the name of peaceful development and cooperation, China has become the supreme exporter of the world and the second economy of the world. The advancement PRC has made in the arena of technology, military, space technology, its engagements in different regions, its soft balancing strategy in the world displays that China wants to perform as a forthcoming hegemon of the world. This paper analyze both the soft and hard balancing tactics of China to counter the omnipotence of the US in different regions of the world. The strategies of China illustrates that it is searching for a multipolar world.
-
China, United States, Middle East, Soft Balancing, Africa
-
(1) Shabnam Gul
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.
(2) Aftab Alam
PhD Scholar, Centre for south Asian studies, University of Punjab, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.
(3) Muhammad Faizan Asghar
MPhil, Peace & Counter Terrorism Studies, Minhaj University Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.
Bilateral relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia: Implications for Regional Stability in the Middle East and North Africa
The Middle East's geopolitical terrain has historically been marked by tensions and conflicts, with the relationship between Saudi Arabia and Iran being one of the most consequential factors. The global powers, particularly the US and China, should mediate the potential rapprochement between these regional powers. A study of the US and China's potential role as facilitators in the Iran-Saudi Arabian reconciliation reveals a complicated web of geopolitical, strategic, and economic variables. The changing global power structure and the possible alteration of regional dynamics are both significant. The paper delves into the changing relationships between Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Turkey in Northeast Africa. It explores the historical connections,recent developments, and each country's motivations in the region. Explaining the future course of Middle Eastern politics and the larger field of international relations requires understanding the subtleties of the policies formulated by the US, China, Saudi Arabia, and Iran.
-
Middle East, North Africa, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Regional Stability.
-
(1) Muhammad Tehsin
Assistant Professor, Department of Defense and Strategic Studies, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
The Racial and Gender Discrimination in Contemporary Afro-American Novel: A Study of Morrison’s Song of Solomon (1977)
This study focuses on racial and gender discrimination in the contemporary African American world, analyzed through Toni Morrison’s novel Song of Solomon (1977). A feminist theoretical framework has been applied to examine the selected text. The primary aim of this research is to explore the impact of black and white cultural dynamics on African American women in modern society. The study further investigates key issues such as physical violence, the challenges posed by a Eurocentric society, the racial and gender divide faced by black women, the struggle against black male hegemony, the emergence of black female desire, and generational conflicts. Through a thematic analysis, the research critically examines Morrison’s narrative for its realistic portrayal of the lived experiences of black women, shedding light on the complex interplay of race, gender, and power in African American communities.
-
Racial and Gender Discrimination, Contemporary African American, Feminist Literary Theory, Cultural Dynamics, Thematic Analysis
-
(1) Sonia Gul
Lecturer, Department of English, National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad, Pakistan.
(2) Fariha Tariq
Lecturer, Department of English, National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad, Pakistan.
