Faultline Global

The Cheong Wa Dae Curse: Cross-Examining South Korea's Most Ominous Political Tradition

Nine presidencies. One recurring outcome. Five rival explanations. Since 1987, seven of eight elected South Korean presidents have left office to face prosecution, impeachment, or worse — and the ninth has already said he expects to be next. This case study tests the popular "curse" narrative against the actual legal record, president by president, and lands somewhere messier and more interesting than either "South Korea persecutes its leaders" or "South Korea simply holds them accountable."

Ashwani Kumar Aug 1, 2026 22 min read

Briefings

Ebola Outbreak in Congo: Fastest on Record

Congo’s Health Ministry said Ebola cases have reached 3,262, with 1,437 deaths reported, putting the outbreak close to the scale of the country’s largest previous Ebola crisis.

Ashwani Kumar Jul 28, 2026 1 min read

History

145 Years of Hans Fischer: The Nobel Chemist Who Linked Blood and Chlorophyll

On the 145th anniversary of his birth, revisit how Hans Fischer's 1930 Nobel Prize-winning work proved that the pigments in blood and chlorophyll share the same chemical structure.

Ashwani Kumar Jul 27, 2026 4 min read

From the Archive

Faultline Global publishes one brief a day. Every so often, an older one is still worth a second look.

Case Studies

The Hollowing of the Union: A Multi-Dimensional Case Study of India's Transition from Cooperative to Coercive Federalism (1992–2026)

Has India transitioned from cooperative to coercive federalism? This comprehensive case study explores three decades of constitutional, fiscal, and political developments that have transformed Centre-State relations, raising critical questions about the future of India's federal democracy.

Ashwani Kumar · July 3, 2026

Recent Stories

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History

11 Years Since APJ Abdul Kalam: Remembering India's Missile Man

On the 11th anniversary of his death, revisit the life of APJ Abdul Kalam, the scientist behind India's early satellite and missile programs who became its most beloved President.

Ashwani Kumar Jul 27, 2026 3 min read

Analysis

The Mekong River Commission: Basin Governance Without the Basin's Largest Player

The Mekong River Commission stands as the sole treaty-based organization for the transboundary basin, yet China's absence and internal sovereignty constraints leave the river's ecology vulnerable to uncoordinated upstream development.

Ashwani Kumar Jul 26, 2026 5 min read

Analysis

India's Pharmaceutical Reckoning: How Regulatory Compromise in Drug Manufacturing Still Put Lives at Risk

India is the third-largest pharmaceutical producer in the world, yet its quality-assurance system is dangerously strained. A new wave of compliance deadlines is forcing a long-delayed reckoning.

Ashwani Kumar Jul 25, 2026 12 min read

Analysis

The Urea Subsidy Trap: How India's Fertilizer Policy Keeps Wearing Out the Soil It Was Built to Protect

India spends more than a lakh crore rupees a year keeping urea artificially cheap. The imbalance it creates has gotten so bad that the government's own Economic Survey is now arguing to undo it.

Ashwani Kumar Jul 12, 2026 7 min read

Case Studies

The Hollowing of the Union: A Multi-Dimensional Case Study of India's Transition from Cooperative to Coercive Federalism (1992–2026)

Ashwani Kumar Jul 3, 2026 18 min read

Analysis

India's Gaokao Problem

The question everyone asks is which exam is harder. The question nobody asks is what happens to the person who fails. In China, they likely still get a seat. In India, they get nothing.

Ashwani Kumar Jun 19, 2026 9 min read

Recent Stories

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