WORLD ROUNDUPThe Growing Incentive to Go Nuclear | Paris Tests AI Surveillance Ahead of Olympics | Forget About Chips—China Is Coming for Ships, and more
· Hindu Nationalism Now Mainstream, Thanks to Modi’s Decade in Power
Modi has achieved staying power by making Hindu nationalism acceptable — desirable, even — to a nation of 1.4 billion that for decades prided itself on pluralism and secularism
· The Growing Incentive to Go Nuclear
Biden has inadvertently encouraged vulnerable nations to seek the ultimate shield
· Have Israel and the United States Done Enough to Deter Iran?
U.S. allies intercepted hundreds of Iranian drones and missiles, and then Israeli forces counterattacked in a limited strike—but the threat of regional war remains
· Forget About Chips—China Is Coming for Ships
Beijing’s grab for hegemony in a critical sector follows a familiar playbook
· How Nongovernmental Entities Are Tailoring Their Outreach to Address Nuclear Escalation
Analysis shows there is little consensus in systematically categorizing and assessing the impact of nongovernmental entities on nuclear weapons issues
· Paris Tests AI Surveillance Ahead of Olympics
French police will test AI-supported surveillance at events in the capital to prepare for this summer’s Olympics. Weekend tests will cover two large events and nearby public transport sites
· U.S. to Withdraw Troops from Niger: Officials
More than 1,000 U.S. troops stationed in Niger will leave soon. Niger’s military leaders have been growing closer to Russia since seizing power in a coup last year
· Tajikistan Striving to Convince the World That It Can Contain Terrorism
Dushanbe’s strategy ignores underlying sources of radicalization
· Miscalculation Led to Escalation in Clash Between Israel and Iran
Israeli officials say they didn’t see a strike on a high-level Iranian target in Syria as a provocation, and did not give Washington a heads-up about it until right before it happened
· Switzerland’s Lower House Moves to Ban Use of Nazi and Extremist Symbols That Could Stir Violence
The proposal goes beyond a simple ban on Nazi memorabilia, which had failed in the past in parliament, to include other forms of extremist symbols
Hindu Nationalism Now Mainstream, Thanks to Modi’s Decade in Power (AP / VOA News)
Hindu nationalism, once a fringe ideology in India, is now mainstream. Nobody has done more to advance this cause than Prime Minister Narendra Modi, one of India’s most beloved and polarizing political leaders.
And no entity has had more influence on his political philosophy and ambitions than a paramilitary, right-wing group founded nearly a century ago and known as the RSS.
Modi was a teenager. Like other young men — and even boys — who joined, he would learn to march in formation, fight, meditate and protect their Hindu homeland.
A few decades earlier, while Mahatma Gandhi preached Hindu-Muslim unity, the RSS advocated for transforming India — by force, if necessary — into a Hindu nation. (A former RSS worker would fire three bullets into Gandhi’s chest in 1948, killing him months after India gained independence.)
Modi’s spiritual and political upbringing from the RSS is the driving force, experts say, in everything he’s done as prime minister over the past 10 years, a period that has seen India become a global power and the world’s fifth-largest economy.
At the same time, his rule has seen brazen attacks against minorities — particularly Muslims — from hate speech to lynchings. India’s democracy, critics say, is faltering as the press, political opponents and courts face growing threats. And Modi has increasingly blurred the line between religion and state.
Supporters and critics agree on one thing: Modi has achieved staying power by making Hindu nationalism acceptable — desirable, even — to a nation of 1.4 billion that for decades prided itself on pluralism and secularism. With that comes an immense vote bank: 80% of Indians are Hindu.