Maldives Development Update, October 2023: Batten Down the Hatches (original) (raw)
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Geostrategic Options for the Maldives
Master's Thesis , 2015
In the power politics of strategic manoeuvring and counter balancing in the Indian Ocean region, smaller states attract the attention of all the major powers and are subjected to external pressure. Maldives, though a small state with limited resources and diplomatic clout, plays a vital role in the regional geostrategic dynamics mainly based on its geographic location. By examining the foreign policy of the Maldives, this study provides insight into the country’s relations with India and China, and attempts to display its political autonomy amid the strategic manoeuvring in the Indian Ocean by the two big states. This study documents the changes in the Maldives’ foreign policy during all its presidencies, from independence till 2015, by taking it as a synchronic case study that could be a useful resource for other small states in articulating foreign policies. By applying Rosenau’s explanatory factors of foreign policy and Knudsen’s variables for maintaining small state autonomy, this study establishes that the Maldives’ exploitation of alliance strategy compounds its insecurities. It also raises concerns for the Maldives’ external behaviour, as the political leadership could be eliciting a higher-than-anticipated cost through a compelled revision of interests. Against this backdrop, this study outlines behavioural and policy changes the Maldives can adopt to mitigate its insecurities, and safeguard its interests and autonomy.
A Socio-demographic Profile of the Population of Maldives
2013
deeply appreciated. The author however is solely responsible for any error that may be contained in the article; the views expressed are his only and in no way reflect the opinion either of the organizations with which he is affiliated or the Government of the Republic of Maldives. The unabated growth of the population will be detrimental to the attainment of the country's cherished socioeconomic development goals It is sometimes assumed that small countries do not have population problems, or face the type of population issues that larger countries do. In this article, an attempt is made to provide a "pen picture" or socio-demographic profile of the population of Maldives using data collected by the country's 1985 and 1990 population and housing censuses. It attempts to bring out some of the issues faced by the Republic of Maldives. An Indian Ocean archipelago located 600 kilometres south of India, Maldives extends from the Equator northward. It consists of 1,190 small islands forming a chain 820 kms in length within an area of 90,000 square kms. For administrative purposes, the 26 natural atolls of the archipelago are divided into 19 groups, also referred to as atolls. The islands are low lying with an average elevation of 1.6 metres above mean sea level. Few of the islands have a land area in excess of one square km and only 201 of them are inhabited. It is estimated that only 10 per cent of the country's total land area is suitable for agriculture. The economic performance of the country has been very impressive in recent years. Gross domestic product (GDP) at 1985 prices grew at the rate (geometric) of 8.77 per cent per annum in the last decade (1984-1994). The GDP per capita was estimated to be around US$727 in 1994, the highest among the countries comprising the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). The country's impressive economic performance was accompanied by changes in the structure of the economy from a predominantly fisheries-based economy to a multi-sectoral economy, dominated by the tourism and fisheries sectors; improved health and living conditions of the people, and universalization of primary education. Population size and growth The 1990 Population and Housing Census of Maldives enumerated a total population of 213,215 persons, excluding foreign passport holders residing in Maldives. This is a large increase from 180,088 Maldivians enumerated in the 1985 census, yielding an exponential growth rate of 3.37 per cent per annum, the highest ever recorded. If this rate of growth continues, it is expected that the current population will double itself within about 21 years. The potential for such growth is inherent in the young age structure of the Maldivian population. All ages 2.86 4.13 4.78 5.41 Standardized for age * 3.92 4.32 4.43 4.41
The Maldives is the only nation-state of South Asia that is exclusively oceanic and coralline. The country comprises a system of atolls, islands, lagoons and reefs as well as the surrounding sea. Since the amount of land is minimal, the ocean traditionally provided most of the daily sustenance as well as valuable export products for hundreds of small and closely-knit communities. From the physiographical point of view the only other area of South Asia that has extensive affinities with the Maldivian archipelago is the Lakshadweep, one of the Union Territories of India. The Chagos group located to the south of Maldives is also part of the coral island chain, but is now uninhabited. Both the Maldives and the Indian Union Territory of Lakshadweep share common geographic features as well as ―to some degree― social, economic and religious patterns.
The Maldives: From Charybdis to Scylla?
Dhivehi Observer, 2005
The Shah left people a choice between Savak and the mullahs. And they chose the mullahs. When thinking about the fall of any dictatorship, one should have no illusions that the whole system comes to an end like a bad dream with the fall. The physical existence of the system does indeed cease. But its psychological and social results live on for years, and even survive in the form of subconsciously continued behaviour. A dictatorship that destroys the intelligentsia and culture leaves behind itself an empty, sour field on which the tree of thought won't grow quickly. It is not always the best people who emerge from hiding, from the corners and cracks of that farmed-out field, but often those who have proven themselves strongest, not always those who will create new values but rather those whose thick skin and internal resilience have ensured their survival. In such circumstances history begins to turn in a tragic, vicious circle from which it can sometimes take a whole epoch to break free."
Rethinking India-Maldives Relations in the 21st Century
Journal of Politics and Governance, 2017
One of the littoral states of India is Maldives, located in the south western tip of the country. A small island country in South Asia, Maldives's relations with India have been cordial and on numerous occasions India as a neighbouring country had assisted Maldives in its trajectory to economic development, welfare and security. However Maldives has strategic significance for India since it is situated in the middle of the Indian Ocean and several internal as well as external factors which are affecting Maldives has an adverse implications on India. Such as the political turmoil which happened from 2008 to 2012 and growing influence of China in the island nation and. The article sets to analyse the relationship between India and Maldives from 1968 onwards when Maldives became a republic till contemporary times with special emphasis on the changing foreign policy approaches of both the countries in the last decade. Also the article examines the concerns which India has for Maldives as neighbouring country.
ISAS Insights, 2020
A decline in the number of tourists to the Maldives due to COVID-19 will severely affect the country's tourism sector. This will also have a negative spill-over on the other sectors of the economy, as most of them are linked to tourism. Many people have already lost their jobs and it is expected that these numbers will only increase. To reduce the economic damage, the Maldives' government announced specific measures to address COVID-19-related damages and challenges, the efficacies of which have to be observed.
The Maldives: Return of Democracy and Challenges Ahead
2019
The 23 September presidential elections sprung a welcome surprise that led to the unanticipated ouster of the much maligned incumbent Abdulla Yameen despite his all-out efforts at subverting the electoral process to his advantage. Yameen’s presidency since 2013, had ushered in an era of excesses – unbridled corruption, subversion of hard-earned democracy through violent repression of political opposition, widespread human rights violations, use of religious extremism and gang-wars for political purposes, and a pandering to China that not only left the Maldives deep in debt, the exact quantum of which the new government led by Ibrahim Mohamed Solih is still grappling to fathom, but also allegedly involved the sale of entire islands at throwaway prices.