Europe and Eurasia
About Centre
Members:
IDSA’s Europe and Eurasia Centre conducts its research both topically and regionally, focusing on the key strategic importance of Europe and the Eurasian region – covering Russia and the former Soviet Republics – to India’s security and foreign policy. While the European continent itself is no longer a major source of threats to India, European involvement and outreach on the global and regional arenas demand active attention to the security and defence policies of European countries and the efforts of major multilateral institutions such as NATO and EU. The Centre continues to host visiting European policy makers, academics, military personnel, diplomats and political leaders for conferences, seminars, lectures, workshops, and informal briefings.
In addition, the Centre focuses on the security and foreign policies of Russia as well as of the post-Soviet republics. India continues to depend on Russian defence supplies and benefits from Russian cooperation in the fields of hydrocarbon and nuclear energy. In the past, India and the erstwhile Soviet Union had invested heavily in a strategic relationship. That continues to be an important goal in official pronouncements. Russia is still politically, diplomatically and militarily important for India.
The Centre has published several books, reports, articles and policy papers on a wide variety of issues in the region. It has been conducting a series of security dialogues with the countries of the region at the bilateral and multilateral levels. The Centre also focuses on security and strategic issues in Central Asia that impact on India. Attention is also directed towards the energy security and economic linkages between India and Central Asian States.
No posts of Books and Monograph.
Geopolitics has always had a global dimension even since the time of H.J. Mackinder. In the current context, understanding of a region like Central Asia would be incomplete without comprehending the global military and political transformations that are taking place.
Russia's evolving 'energy ideology' and its approach to defining its role in the global energy markets with the particular focus on the interests in and intentions for Asia have drawn considerable attention. Russia's claim for the role of 'global energy security provider', advanced with much aplomb in the context of the G8 chairmanship, is, however, undermined by the stagnation in the oil and gas production and increasing shortages of electricity.
The unique feature of the Indian economy over the past few decades has been a combination of high growth and stability. It has proved its strength and resilience through this period. India’s economic diplomacy with the Central Asian and South Asian nations also shows a continuing positive trend. High-level visits are exchanged on a regular basis.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Moscow from December 4-6, 2005 highlights the continued importance of Indo-Russian cooperation in a changing geopolitical scenario. Beginning with President Vladimir Putin’s first visit to India in October 2000, bilateral summits between the Indian Prime Minister and the Russian President, alternatively in each other’s capital, have become an annual feature. In contrast, President Putin’s predecessor, President Boris Yeltsin visited India only once, in January 1993.
The paper attempts to analyse the issues in Central Asia in the context of India’s security. The paper poses a question as to what the region of Central Asia means for India today. The author argues that international attention is being focused on redefining the importance of Central Asian in the changing regional and international context. Since its reappearance, many suitors have been seeking affinity, proximity and legitimacy with the region on political, strategic, cultural and economic grounds.
Kremlin’s increasingly assertive stance on the troop build-up along the Russia–Ukraine border can be viewed as not just prompted by Ukraine’s potential NATO membership but also as Russia underscoring its place as a stakeholder in shaping European security architecture.
With few convergences among partners, the path of the “traffic light coalition” headed by Olaf Scholz is laden with challenges, but also offers spaces for positive action. With several new faces in key positions, its success would lie in maintaining continuity, and tweaking it to accommodate necessary changes when required.
President Putin’s short but highly consequential visit to India and the launch of the 2+2 format have imbued new dynamism into the bilateral partnership. There might be a few areas of divergence between the two sides but spheres of convergence are much greater.
Nord Stream 2, a Russian undersea gas pipeline project that intends to deliver natural gas from Siberia to Germany, currently sits at an intersection of several geopolitical and geo-economic cross-currents that determine the economic security as well as the geostrategic balance of Europe.
While the international community has maintained a cautious stand vis-à-vis the Taliban, Tajikistan has decisively thrown its weight in support of the resistance movement against the Taliban and has made a clarion call for an inclusive government in Afghanistan.
The 2015 terrorist attacks in France have seriously tested the nation’s faith in liberal and secular values as well as its tolerance for Political Islam. Taking a hands-on approach to combat terrorism, France has initiated what is being described as the “biggest trial” in its modern history.
The May 8, 2021 India-EU Summit in Portugal is expected to further invigorate and provide a fresh direction to the bilateral relationship, even as both sides grapple with bilateral, regional and global challenges.
Even as China has emerged as one of Russia’s pillars to tackle the perceived Western threat, it is unlikely that their ongoing entente will morph into a military alliance.
India’s vision of the Indo-Pacific not only accommodates Russia’s clamour for ASEAN centrality but also complements its Greater Eurasia construct.
Public perception in the European Union (EU) has perceptibly changed against China due to its aggressive aid diplomacy and propaganda efforts during the pandemic
