The UAE and the Coronavirus Pandemic: Maintaining the Geopolitical Status Quo Will Not Be an Option Over the past decade or so the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has emerged as one of the savviest and most agile geopolitical actors not only in the Arabian Gulf, but… Continue reading The UAE and the Coronavirus Pandemic: Maintaining the Geopolitical Status Quo Will Not Be an Option John B. Sheldon January-June 2020 CBW Magazine
Naval Modernisation in Southeast Asia: Problems and Prospects for Small and Medium Navies edited by Geoffrey Till and Ristian Atriandi Supriyanto Against the backdrop of growing competition between the US and China, maritime security has become a high priority in the strategic policy narratives of most Southeast Asian countries. The book, Naval Modernisation in Southeast Asia: Problems and Prospects for Small and Medium Navies, edited by Geoffrey Till and Ristian Atriandi Supriyanto, analyses the varying problems and challenges faced by small and medium navies in Southeast Asia as they seek to increase their maritime power in response to their perceptions of strategic necessity. Roby Thomas January-June 2020 Journal of Defence Studies
International Trends and the Evolving Role of the Integrated Financial Adviser in Defence The Indian economy’s development over the past decades has given rise to complex challenges. Policy makers thus needed to make institutional changes in financial management systems. In the system of Financial Advice, the Financial Advisers are expected to provide independent financial advice to the administrative authorities in decision making for achieving organisational goals. Allocated resources are to be spent timely and prudently in the prescribed manner to achieve predefined outcomes. Integrated Financial Advice (IFA) in defence has also developed and evolved in recent years. Sumati Kumar January-June 2020 Journal of Defence Studies
COP25: Another Lost Opportunity COP25 was expected to give prominence to science, streamline ambitious targets and raise trust among parties. Even after a marathon two-week talks, issues such as creating an international carbon market and climate financing were pushed to the next year. Rajeesh Kumar January 15, 2020 IDSA Comments
China’s Africa Strategy: Salient Facets and Implications Background G.G. Dwivedi January-June 2020 Africa Trends
Israel’s Changing Africa Relations Israel’s relations with African countries go back to the late 1950s when it began extending significant support to many African countries undergoing decolonisation. Since then the relations have experienced many fluctuations with a major shift seen in the past few years. There has been an accelerated improvement under the premiership of Benjamin Netanyahu, who proactively pursues an African region centric ‘Return to Africa policy’. Jatin Kumar January-June 2020 Africa Trends
James Hamill, Africa’s Lost Leader: South Africa’s Continental Role Since Apartheid James Hamill, in his book ‘Africa’s Lost Leader: South Africa’s Continental Role Since Apartheid” debunks the perception of South Africa as the undisputed leader of Africa and paints South Africa as nothing more than a fragile hegemon. He supports this by arguing that South Africa has been reluctant to assume a hegemonic role, for a range of historical and contemporary reasons. South Africa has generated significant resentment, suspicion and even outright opposition from other African states. It has been unable to popularise its ideals in Africa or build a consensus around them. Aarushi Vikram January-June 2020 Africa Trends
Rising US-Iran Hostilities: Implications for Africa Tension between the US and Iran escalated after the assassination of Iranian military commander, General Qassim Soleimani by the Trump administration on January 3, 2020. Tehran launched a series of missile attacks on a military base that hosts American troops in Iraq. This is the first direct engagement between both the countries since the naval battle precipitating the Vincennes event on July 3, 1998. Nagapushpa Devendra January-June 2020 Africa Trends
Russia’s Re-Engagements in Africa Africa is a geopolitical arena where many big powers have been engaging either due to their own strategic interests or due to the changing dynamics of geopolitics. Russia is no exception. Russia’s interests in Africa are mainly due to heavy investments in raw resource megaprojects and as one of the major suppliers of arms. However, Russia needs to unveil an ambitious and new vision that could satisfy the requirement of African countries and subsequently could be leveraged for tangible rewards for Russia, and the year 2019 set the tone for such actions. Kamala Kumari January-June 2020 Africa Trends
Soleimani’s Killing Redefines US-Iran Rivalry The situation in Persian Gulf has been on the boil with several tit-for-tat actions raising the chances of a direct confrontation. However, Iran will be cautious in choosing an all-out war given its vulnerabilities against the US military might. Md. Muddassir Quamar January 13, 2020 IDSA Comments
