With Us and Against Us: How America’s Partners Help and Hinder the War on Terror Stephen Tankel, Columbia University Press, New York, 2018, 424 pp., US$ 30.00 (Paperback), ISBN: 9780231168113 P. R. Kumaraswamy July 2020 Strategic Analysis
Making of India’s Northeast, Geopolitics of Borderland and Transnational Interactions Dilip Gogoi, Routledge (South Asia Edition), Oxon, 2020, i-275 pp., Rs. 995/- hardback, ISBN 978-0-367-89832-8 Pushpita Das July 2020 Strategic Analysis
India–Vietnam Relations through the Prism of the Indo-Pacific Concept As influential actors in the regional security architecture, India and Vietnam share common political and security interests and their bilateral cooperation plays a crucial role in contributing towards shaping a safe and secure Indo-Pacific region. Both the countries share an identical value perspective on the Indo-Pacific and hence augmenting their strength in the regional order would facilitate maritime security, reviewing opportunities and challenges in the region, as well as building an equitable and open trade and investment system. Sanghamitra Sarma July 2020 Strategic Analysis
Re-categorisation of High-Enriched Uranium and Plutonium for Safeguards Verification: Is It Necessary? What are the Other Options? The desirability and necessity of having a relook into the re-categorization of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) defined High-Enriched Uranium (HEU) and Plutonium (Pu) by focussing on the relevance of strategic value/isotopic composition of the materials for re-categorization, for example, creating an intermediate category between the existing Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) and weapons-grade uranium (U-235 > 90 per cent) and re-categorizing plutonium into Weapons-Grade Plutonium (WGPU) and Reactor-Grade Plutonium (RGPU), specifying the content of Pu-240 in each case, had been sugges K.L. Ramakumar July 2020 Strategic Analysis
Discursive (De)legitimization of the Iran Nuclear Deal in Donald Trump’s Tweets On May 8, 2018, President Trump withdrew the US from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Since the JCPOA is endorsed by a United Nations Security Council Resolution and supported by the international community, Trump has had to justify this controversial decision. Based on data extracted from Trump’s Twitter account and taking advantage of Theo van Leeuwen’s (2008) discursive construction of the legitimation model, this article addresses the following question: How has Donald Trump attempted to delegitimize the JCPOA? Hossein Nourani , Afsaneh Danesh , Mohammad Reza Nouri , Farzaneh Latifi July 2020 Strategic Analysis
Emerging Contours of India–US Fossil Fuel Trade The value of India’s oil and gas trade with the United States rapidly increased in size over the last two to three years. Efforts by New Delhi to build better bilateral relations with Washington helped to energise the fossil fuel trade. India, as a consumer, can expect to buy oil and gas at reasonable prices in the mid-term, ensured not least by competition among suppliers. However, India’s import of coal from the US suppliers is projected to decline due to recent decision of the Indian Government to become self-sufficient in coal. Sujata Ashwarya July 2020 Strategic Analysis
Xunzi’s and Kautilya’s Thoughts on Inter-state Politics Xunzi and The Kautilya Arthasastra are full of rich philosophical thoughts on inter-state relations. This article undertakes a comparison between them in terms of their methods of writing, views on the nature of inter-state systems and arguments about a state’s comprehensive power. This article finds that the leadership’s determination and emphasis on morality are two important shared mentalities between Xunzi and Kautilya. Both attribute the rise and fall of a state mainly to state leadership rather than material factors or the political system. Yan Xuetong July 2020 Strategic Analysis
Pakistan’s CPEC Obsession: Boon or Bane? While the ruling elite including army in Pakistan considers CPEC a boon, many analysts view it as a Chinese game-plan to turn Pakistan into a permanent colony, a rentier-cum-client state. Yaqoob-ul-Hassan June 30, 2020 IDSA Comments
Time to Leverage the Strategic Potential of Andaman & Nicobar Islands A focused development plan for the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which provide India with a commanding geostrategic presence in the Bay of Bengal and access to South and Southeast Asia, could greatly enhance the country’s geopolitical leverage in the Indian Ocean Region. Amb. Sujan R. Chinoy June 26, 2020 Policy Brief
Dichotomies in Pakistan’s Approach Towards Pakistan-occupied Kashmir Pakistan has not allowed a genuine democratic system of governance to emerge in PoK, as it interferes with its pursuit of absolute control over the occupied territories. Priyanka Singh June 26, 2020 Issue Brief