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India’s ‘deep-sea mining’ capability gets a fillip

India’s acquisition of a deep-sea exploration ship ‘SamudraRatnakar’ is a noteworthy development. ‘Deep-sea mining’ has now been officially recognised as a future frontier of scientific research, a notion first outlined by a National Security Council paper in 2012.

Abhijit Singh
November 01, 2013
IDSA Comments

India’s Nuclear Policy: The Year After

On 11 May 1998, two events took place:

(1)India carried out nuclear tests; and
(2)India declared itself to be a state with nuclear weapons.1

R.I.P. Air Commodore Jasjit Singh AVSM, VrC, VM, IAF (Retd) (1934–2013)

Air Commodore Jasjit Singh, AVSM, VrC, VM, IAF (Retd), aged 79, passed away on August 4 2013 after a brief illness. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in his condolence message, described Jasjit Singh as ‘an inspirational military leader, a brilliant strategic thinker and a prolific author on military affairs’. Tributes poured in from all corners of India and abroad. Having inspired a large number of young researchers, military personnel, diplomats and academics in strategic thinking, Jasjit Singh had a large following.

Interventions: A Life in War and Peace

Post-Cold War structural change (from bipolar to unipolar) brought about by the demise of the Soviet Union, redefined the role and responsibilities of the United Nations (UN). The constraints imposed by the Cold War rivalry in the UN were removed. On one hand, it ensured the smooth functioning of the UN, but on the other hand, state failure and civil strife posed challenges and provided new opportunities as well. At this crucial juncture, fortunately, the UN was led by qualified secretaries-general: Boutros Boutros Ghali (1992–1996) and his successor Kofi Annan (1997–2006).

King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India

King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India by Patrick Olivelle is an annotated translation of Kautilya’s Arthasastra. It has 15 chapters and three appendices, which allow the author to stay close to the original text.

Prospects and Challenges of ASEAN

Regionalism has been an important force in international relations since 1945. The aim of this article is to make an assessment of one of the major regional organisations from the Asia Pacific, the ASEAN, or Association of South East Asian Nations. The article attempts to give readers an overview of the problems and prospects of the ASEAN. Although the ASEAN has been successful to a large extent as a regional body, regionalism in South East Asia has been considerably undermined by a number of factors since its creation in 1967.

Keeping Capstone in Context: Evaluating the Peacekeeping Doctrine

The United Nations (UN) peacekeeping ‘Capstone doctrine’ is the first attempt by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations/Department of Field Support (DPKO/DFS) to formulate a coherent doctrine for peacekeeping/peacebuilding missions beyond Boutros-Ghali’s An Agenda for Peace and the Brahimi Report, which set out a very general approach as opposed to a doctrinal mandate. In the document, the UN lays down a framework for approaching peace operations, and also defines contemporary UN peacekeeping operations.

Taming India’s Maoists: Surrender and Rehabilitation

This article seeks to make a preliminary assessment of the surrender and rehabilitation policy being adopted towards Naxalites. The examples/experiences cited in this paper refer largely to cadres and leaders of Communist Party of India (Maoist), or CPI (Maoist). It is part of a multi-pronged conflict management and resolution strategy and is required to be implemented along with firm action by police against those who follow the path of violence.

The Afghan Game: Interests and Moves

In Afghanistan, the third Great Game is still on. The end of US–NATO combat operations in Afghanistan by the end of 2014 will be read by many as ‘Obama’s Vietnam’, but the retention of a small number of troops and several military facilities by the US in that country will be a source of worry for countries such as Russia, Iran and Pakistan who are concerned about US motives and moves in regard to the region, especially Central Asia’s energy resources which are already a target of international competition.

Why is the UN Security Council Discussing Climate Change?

The G8, Pakistan and the Pacific island states have pushed for a discussion in the United Nations (UN) Security Council on the security dimensions of climate change. As the issue gains momentum at the global and regional levels, India as an emerging power that continues to use energy and other natural resources, at the cost of stressing other countries, particularly its neighbours, will need to formulate a response.