Dr. Saurabh Mishra is a Research Fellow at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA), New Delhi. Prior to MP-IDSA he was an Associate Professor at the Amity Institute for Defence & Strategic Studies (AIDSS), Noida, preceded by his assignments as Research Fellow at the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), an autonomous think-tank of the Ministry of External Affairs, India and Research Assistant at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. He has acquired his Ph.D. from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India. His areas of interest can be thematically charted as: Indian Defence and Strategy, Indian Knowledge System, International Institutions, Peace & Conflict, Globalisation, and International Relations Theory. In his previous assignments, he has worked on issues regarding United Nations, Africa and the Arthashastra. He has been associated with the indigenous knowledge project at MP-IDSA as well as project Udbhav at the United Service Institution of India. His current projects at the MP-IDSA are on Latin America as well as Indian indigenous knowledge, respectively from the perspectives of Defence Economics and Strategy.
The absence of a credible secular substitute for Assad, a divided opposition, and deadlock in the Security Council, are all acting as stumbling blocks for the US wish to unseat Assad from power.
Article 1 of the United Nations Charter declares the maintenance of international peace and security to be the primary function of the United Nations. This makes the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) the most important organ of the whole establishment. All other functions and engagements of the United Nations are in support of the primary cause.
This book was important when Osama bin Laden was alive and a seemingly never ending hunt was on for him. But, now, in the backdrop of his death due to an extraordinary Commando Operation in the heart of the Pakistani territory by the US navy seals and the United States having announced a withdrawal from Afghanistan by 2014, it helps to understand, the dynamics of the US-Pakistan relationship which is metaphorically a “Deadly Embrace” as the title of the book suggests.
After the death of Gaddafi one may wonder why Syria has had a safe escape from any action by the UN Security Council. There are several reasons why the response to Syria has been different from the Libyan case.
The rare October 4 double veto by Russia and China on the draft resolution against Syria sponsored by France, Germany, Portugal, and UK condemning Syrian action on its civilian population has come to bolster the divide within the Security Council. Russia and China hinted that they may bring their own draft resolution but, at the moment, there is no sign of reconciliation or unanimity among the P5.
The powers in the Security Council and other prominent countries and groupings have hesitated to take action against Syria because of its profile and ability to manipulate events in West Asia.
This book is the product of a collaborative effort by the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi; South Asia Institute, Heidelberg University; and Institute of South Asian Studies, National University Singapore. The volume contains papers exploring Kautilya’s Arthasastra in a transcultural perspective, comparing it with the thoughts of Sun-Zi, Nizam al-Mulk, Barani and Machiavelli.