Letter from the Editors

Welcome to the September 2021 issue of The Diplomat Magazine.

This month marks the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The tragedy redefined the way the United States – and much of the world – conceives of national security. The ensuing “Global War on Terror” blurred the lines between civilian and combatant, between war and peace, in ways we are still trying to fully understand.

We’ve long heard the manta that “everything is political,” but the last 20 years have driven home that national security, in particular, touches everything. Politics, diplomacy, basic infrastructure, and even fundamental human rights like freedom of religion and expression have all been unmistakably impacted by security concerns. This issue explores the way national security policy comes to shape other facets of life, even those we would not generally link to military concerns. We also illustrate how initial motivations and strategies evolve over time to suit the needs of the day.

The war in Afghanistan may have been the most direct consequence of the U.S.-led “Global War on Terror,” but the narrative reshaped the countries of the Asia-Pacific in subtler ways as well. Pegged to the 9/11 anniversary, our multi-author cover story looks at the ways the governments of the Asia-Pacific region interacted with the GWOT concept. From Central Asia to India and Pakistan, from Southeast Asia to China, governments discovered they could repurpose counterterrorism narratives to suit pre-existing domestic political goals. The GWOT was used to legitimize Islamophobia in India and China; even in Muslim-majority states in Central and Southeast Asia, the rhetoric of the war on terror provided an excuse for states to exert stronger control over religious and civil society.

Then we turn to the Philippines. In the past 70 years, the Philippine-U.S. alliance – now commonly pegged to the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty – has evolved along with changing conditions in the Indo-Pacific. When it was signed, as Renato Cruz De Castro, a full professor at De La Salle University in Manila, writes, the MDT was never intended to be “the Philippines’ only bulwark against possible foreign threats,” but over time it grew in importance. The MDT’s critical ambiguities have been a strain on the alliance at times, but have also helped maintain the tense peace in the South China Sea. Amid rising China-U.S. tensions, the alliance’s core pillar is more important than ever, even as its ambiguities as to whether and how the U.S. would actually respond to an attack against the Philippines remain.

Next, Ayesha Siddiqa, a research associate at the CISD, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), U.K. and expert on the Pakistani military, explores the complicated relationship between Prime Minister Imran Khan and Pakistan’s generals. It’s been a year of discontent in Pakistan, with mounting disillusionment against Khan and his government. Even Pakistan’s military has cause to be dissatisfied with Khan’s performance on economic issues and pandemic management. But, Siddiqa notes, where it counts he has come through for the generals, letting the military expand and institutionalize its role in Pakistan’s governance – all while keeping the veneer of electoral respectability. That alone may be enough to keep Khan in office.

Finally, we turn to a legacy both painful and political: Soviet water and energy infrastructure in Central Asia. Asel Murzakulova, a research fellow with University of Central Asia’s Mountain Societies Research Institute, writes that the Soviet legacy in Central Asia’s water and energy infrastructure is complex, weaving together conflict and cooperation. Flare-ups on borders between various Central Asian states often have roots in competition over infrastructure once shared and now divided between independent countries. Yet, the interests of all are still best served by finding compromise, seeing national interests satisfied by regional commitments.

We hope you enjoy these stories and the many more in the following pages.