Some Observations Along the Road to “National Information Power”

This thesis consist of the following three papers. Convex hull of face vectors of colored complexes. In this paper we verify a conjecture by Kozlov (Discrete ComputGeom18(1997) 421–431), which describes the convex hull of theset of face vectors ofr-colorable complexes onnvertices. As partof the proof we derive a generalization of Turán’s graph theorem. Cellular structure for the Herzog–Takayama Resolution. Herzog and Takayama constructed explicit resolution for the ide-als in the class of so called ideals with a regular linear quotient.This class contains all matroidal and stable ideals. The resolu-tions of matroidal and stable ideals are known to be cellular. Inthis note we show that the Herzog–Takayama resolution is alsocellular. Clique Vectors ofk-Connected Chordal Graphs. The clique vectorc(G)of a graphGis the sequence(c1,c2,...,cd)inNd, whereciis the number of cliques inGwithivertices anddis the largest cardinality of a clique inG. In this note, we usetools from commutative algebra to characterize all possible cliquevectors ofk-connected chordal graphs.QC 20140513</p

India: Domestic Issues, Strategic Dynamics, and U.S. Relations

[Excerpt] President Barack Obama’s Administration has sought to build upon the deepened U.S. engagement with India begun by President Bill Clinton in 2000 and expanded upon during much of the past decade under President G.W. Bush. This “U.S.-India 3.0” diplomacy was most recently on display in July 2011, when the second U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue session saw a large delegation of senior U.S. officials visit New Delhi to discuss a broad range of global and bilateral issues. Many analysts view the U.S.-India relationship as being among the world’s most important in coming decades and see potentially large benefits to be accrued through engagement on many convergent interests. Bilateral initiatives are underway in all areas, although independent analysts in both countries worry that the partnership has lost momentum in recent years. Outstanding areas of bilateral friction include obstacles to bilateral trade and investment, including in the high-technology sector; outsourcing; the status of conflict in Afghanistan; climate change; and stalled efforts to initiate civil nuclear cooperation. India is the world’s most populous democracy and remains firmly committed to representative government and rule of law. Its left-leaning Congress Party-led ruling national coalition has been in power for more than seven years under the leadership of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, an Oxford-trained economist. New Delhi’s engagement with regional and other states is extensive and reflects its rising geopolitical status. The national economy has been growing rapidly—India’s is projected to be the world’s third-largest economy in the foreseeable future—yet poor infrastructure, booming energy demand, and restrictive trade and investment practices are seen to hamper full economic potential. Despite the growth of a large urban middle-class, India’s remains a largely rural and agriculture-based society, and is home to some 500-600 million people living in poverty. This report will be updated periodically

The US National strategy for maritime security 2005 and its geopolitical implications on Malaysia

This article is written on the assumption that Malaysia---a major littoral state to the Straits of Malacca and the South China Sea---may experience a delicate diplomatic situation resulting from the preemptive character of the US National Strategy for Maritime Security 2005---NSMS 2005---which could motivate rivalry, provoke conflict, and induce war in Southeast Asia. The assumption is such because the US is now perceived to be using NSMS 2005 as its latest geopolitical tool to contain China, to safeguard its energy security geopolitics, and in anticipation of maritime-based resource war in the region. The crux of this article, therefore, is based on the question how will Malaysia maintain its balanced relations toward the US and China in the context of this geopolitical framework. As such, this article attempts to analyze the preemptive character of NSMS 2005, to ascertain the China Factor contained in it, and to examine the impacts and implications of this maritime strategy on Malaysia’s future relations with the US and China. This analysis hopes to enlighten the Malaysian government on the geopolitical consequences of NSMS 2005 and to facilitate the Malaysian government with the appropriate insights on how to mitigate these consequences through foreign policy initiatives at the national, bilateral, and multilateral levels

Considering a war with Iran

The paper is a strategic studies analyis of the war-fronts, weapon systems and political-military tactics of a U.S.-Iranian war, including the U.S. use of nuclear weapons