Sri Lanka as an Outreach Partner of the G-7: Issues and Concerns It appears that in order to earn the trust of China and the G7 countries, Sri Lanka has de-emphasised its relationship with India for the time being. Gulbin Sultana July 01, 2016 Issue Brief
BREXIT: Complications, Repercussions, and Implications Just as Pandora opened the box she was warned not to open, Cameron went for a referendum that common sense would have told him not to go for, or to do it later K. P. Fabian July 01, 2016 IDSA Comments
India in Japan’s Geo-strategic Outlook Japan’s long-standing alliance with the US is the key feature of its defence and security policy. However, China’s rise and impact on shaping the regional security architecture, and the vigour of US commitment in the backdrop of a G2 formulation, is making Japan diversify her options. Thus, India now features in the Japanese idea of Asia while it struggles to cope with the fluidity of the regional security landscape. This article critically analyses the increasing space accorded to India and the variables behind Japan’s courtship of it. Titli Basu July 2016 Journal of Defence Studies
Why India matters, by Maya Chadda Few issues have drawn as much attention and have been debated as intensely as the rise of India. There has been a plethora of literature that almost dissects various factors that have contributed to India’s rise and what the future holds for the country. Will India emerge as a major player in the international system? Will it be able to compete with a rising China as an Asian power? These are some of the questions that have confronted scholars of international relations and security. Smruti S. Pattanaik July 2016 Strategic Analysis
India’s relations with Indonesia, by Navrekha Sharma and Baladas Ghoshal The process of active collaboration between the practitioner and the scholar can sometimes result in desirable policy outcomes. The book under review is one such commendable initial attempt. Ambassador Navrekha Sharma retired from the Indian Foreign Service (IFS); her assignments included Joint Secretary (JS) South (1999–2001) and Ambassadorial posting to the Philippines and Indonesia. In fact, she had two postings in Jakarta, first as Minister-Counsellor (1993–1996) and later as Ambassador (2006–2008). Udai Bhanu Singh July 2016 Strategic Analysis
Prisoners of geography: ten maps that explain everything about the world, by Tim Marshall Maps, world atlases, and travel books have always been invaluable sources of geographic knowledge. These sources, and their pedagogical significance, are a powerful tool used by geopolitical actors to control territories, peoples, and discourses. Thus, world leaders, even leaders of weak nations, are acutely aware of their geography’s importance. This is crucial in the assessment of a state’s geopolitical strengths and weaknesses in relation to its national progress and survival. Necati Anaz July 2016 Strategic Analysis
The Decision to Intervene: First Steps in India’s Grand Strategy in the 1971 War One of the most popular anecdotes of the 1971 war is Field Marshal Manekshaw’s tale of how he restrained an impatient Indira Gandhi from ordering an unprepared Indian army to march into East Pakistan in April. The Field Marshal’s prowess as a raconteur fully matched his military skills but exceeded his grasp of the political and diplomatic dimensions of the grand strategy shaped by Indira Gandhi and her advisors. Chandrashekhar Dasgupta July 2016 Strategic Analysis
The Role of India and China in South Asia India is often perceived as a regional power, but a closer look reveals that it is in a disadvantageous position vis-à-vis China in South Asia. The first reason is that Indian governments never had the political, economic, and military capacities to pursue their regional power ambitions with their neighbours in the long run. South Asian countries could always play the China card in order to evade India’s influence. Second, India’s new South Asia policy with the focus on trade and connectivity has improved regional cooperation since 1991. Christian Wagner July 2016 Strategic Analysis
The International Community’s Intervention during the Conclusion of the War in Sri Lanka This article explores the backdrop of the engagement between the International Community (IC) and the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) over the conduct of the military during the last stages of its engagement with the secessionist Tamil militants which (especially from January to May 2009) led to a humanitarian crisis. The efforts of the IC to persuade the GoSL to halt the military operations and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to concede defeat, to ensure human security, were a failure. Ramya Chamalie Jirasinghe July 2016 Strategic Analysis
A Failed US Peace Building Project in Afghanistan: Exploring Cause–Effect Relationship This article argues that while the concept of peace building proved beneficial to Western society, it drew flak in pre-2014 Afghanistan for its inbuilt faults, the overarching US–Taliban conflict and the state failure towards meeting the prerequisites of the coalition strategy. It also argues that peace building in the immediate future of post-2014 Afghanistan is improbable due to the existing and likely conflicts between and among the Afghan government, the Taliban and the newly emerging Daesh or IS group for power, group and ideological domination. Mushtaq A. Kaw July 2016 Strategic Analysis
