Shifting Strategic Focus of BRICS and Great Power Competition This article builds on extensive debates on the role of BRICS in world order. But instead of focusing on BRICS’ impact on the world order, the article takes a different methodological approach. It traces how much the evolution of BRICS’ rational was prompted by changes of the international system and Russia’s and China’s grand strategies. The key finding is that the BRICS does not determine major world developments, but acclimatizes to the evolving international situation. Igor Denisov , Andrei Kazantsev , Fyodor Lukyanov , Ivan Safranchuk November 2019 Strategic Analysis
The BRICS in the Era of Renewed Great Power Competition The BRICS are at a turbulent crossroads as renewed great power competition intersects with countervailing tendencies in the emerging multipolar arena. Their success depends avoiding the external costs and domestic pathologies generated by great power friction. Emerging multipolarity provides opportunities for manoeuvre, but only if outsized China accommodates the other BRICS as it competes against the United States. The BRICS’ strongest common aversion concerns American hegemony and its weaponization of finance. Cynthia Roberts November 2019 Strategic Analysis
BRICS and Sovereign Internationalism The article outlines four types of globalism contending for hegemony today. The struggle of what effectively represents different types of international order is one reason why international politics today looks so disordered. The BRICS association is firmly located as part of one of these orders, that of sovereign internationalism, but is challenged by the disruptive implications of the Trumpian mercantilist order. BRICS and its members as a result are drawing closer to the liberal internationalist model. Richard Sakwa November 2019 Strategic Analysis
Aircraft Carriers – The Keystone to India’s Maritime Security Considering the wide expanse to be covered on both sides of the Indian Peninsula, and the possibility of concurrent operations on either side, it is imperative that India maintains an operational carrier battle group on both sides, and at all times. Roby Thomas October 30, 2019 Issue Brief
Make-II: Need to Prevent Duplication of Efforts and Backdoor Entry of Import The government’s decision to allow the private sector to undertake the development of complex defence equipment is a step in the right direction. It will help forge a larger innovation system to meet the diverse requirements of national security. However, caution may be required to avoid duplication of efforts and prevent indirect import. Laxman Kumar Behera October 23, 2019 IDSA Comments
Cooperative Security in South Asia: A Mirage? South Asia has a common history and celebrates its great cultural and linguistic overlap. However, the South Asian experience in building cooperative security architecture has been mixed. India on its part remains committed to strengthening cooperative security in the region. Amb. Sujan R. Chinoy October 23, 2019 IDSA Comments
A Conceptual Framework for Assessing Traditional Peace Operations Despite decades of experience in peace operations, most United Nations (UN) operations have faced serious criticism for being unable to implement the mandate. At the same time, while the UN is in the process of establishing a clear framework for performance evaluation, as of now, there are no standard criteria to judge the performance of a peace operation. Therefore, it will be unfair to make only the peace operation missions accountable because of their inability to implement the mandate. A.K. Bardalai October-December 2019 Journal of Defence Studies
Is Imran Khan’s Luck Running Out? With a failing foreign policy and a crippling economy, and growing domestic opposition as well as criticism within the army, Imran Khan and his government is clearly caught between the devil and the deep sea. Zainab Akhter October 17, 2019 IDSA Comments
Why We Fight, by Mike Martin Desire (kama), anger (krodha), greed (lobha), attachment (moha) and ego (ahankar) are the five basic causes of human irrationality. In violence, one of the most significant human irrationality, intertwined strands of all these five factors can be seen. In Why We Fight, Mike Martin, a soldier and scholar, goes beyond these five tenets to look at the root cause of violence in societies. He attempts to describe connections between individuals and their social behaviour. Kishore Kumar Khera October-December 2019 Journal of Defence Studies
Understanding Ethical Behaviour towards Better Institutional Functioning in the Armed Forces At the heart of ethical choices lies the complex interplay between individual intentions and environmental vectors. Factors such as stress, misguided motivations and the failure to handle positional power make the issue so very intriguing. Further, ethical dilemmas are often laden with inherent individual subjectivities, making it difficult to arrive at a singularly agreeable distinction between ‘right’ and ‘wrong’. Why do individuals transgress? Why do individuals give and take bribes? Why is it so difficult to report a course mate? Ankush Banerjee October-December 2019 Journal of Defence Studies
