Strategic Analysis
Strategic Analysis is the bimonthly journal of the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA), New Delhi. It is published by Routledge, an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, United Kingdom.
For subscription and other details, please visit the Routledge website
The Journal provides a forum for independent research, analyses, and commentaries on national, regional and international security issues that have policy relevance. It seeks to promote a better understanding of Indian thinking on contemporary national and international themes. The Journal reflects a diversity of views from the strategic and international relations studies community both from within and outside India. The flagship in the IDSA stable of publications, Strategic Analysis began as a monthly journal in April 1977 and served as a medium for publishing commentaries on current events. From early 1987, its contents came to include both research articles as well as commentaries on national and international developments. It was transformed into a quarterly, refereed, journal in 2002. Routledge has been publishing the journal in a bi-monthly format since January 2007.
Scholars and analysts are welcome to submit well-researched papers for publication in this refereed journal.
Submissions should be directed to Ms. Rashi Garg, Associate Editor at strategicanalysis.idsa@gmail.com
Guidelines for contributors [+]
Current Issue: July-August 2025
The fourth Issue of 2025 brings together articles that examine a wide spectrum of contemporary concerns and their associated challenges. The lead article, ‘Maldives, Populism and Politicisation of Foreign Policy: India in between India First and India Out?’, analyses speeches by Mohamed Muizzu (2023–2025) and argues that the India factor has been strategically leveraged for politicisation and domestic mobilisation. Another contribution studies China’s narrative influence, describing its global communication ambitions through a three-fold framework. A separate paper evaluates India’s position within the defence industrial ecosystem using Porter’s Diamond Model, while also identifying measures required to sustain momentum towards atmanirbharta.
Among the two Commentaries, the first marks the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and ASEAN, tracing their evolution into a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and assessing how shifting geopolitical dynamics in Southeast Asia on India’s regional outlook. The second Commentary examines the ongoing Russia-Ukraine War, highlighting the Trump administration decision to scale back overseas engagements, including in Ukraine, while reorienting its strategic focus towards competition with China in the Indo-Pacific.
The From the Archives section revisits historical perspectives on border trade contrasting past practices with contemporary realities. It recalls, for instance, the reopening of the historic trade route between Gilgit and Sinkiang, part of the Silk Road, on 24 August 1969. Another archival piece explores the development of China’s air and missile capabilities during the 1960s, emphasising their expansion with Soviet assistance in the aftermath of the Korean War.
Archives [+]
