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Terror attack in Kenya: resurgence of Alshabaab?

The recent terror attack in Nairobi has brought focus on Kenya's involvement in Somalia and indicates that despite the African Union forces' successes last year the Somalia based terrorist group, Al Shabaab, may have regrouped and emerged stronger.

Ruchita Beri
September 2013
Africa Trends

China in and Beyond the Headlines

The book China in and Beyond the Headlines is a collection of 16 contributions written by scholars and experts on various aspects of Chinese politics, society and economy. Considering that China has undergone a major transformation over the past decades since it opened its economy, this book provides a much-needed insight into the contours and extent of these changes and their impact. The most promising aspect of the book is that it provides information and analysis on almost all the aspects of changes within China.

The China Fallacy: How the US Can Benefit from China’s Rise and Avoid another Cold War

There have been many studies on US foreign policy towards China dwelling specifically on the efficacy of the US strategy of containment. Donald Gross’s book is an addition to this genre. It basically challenges the wisdom of the current US policy of containing China and offers a ‘new paradigm’ for ‘stable peace’ as an alternative approach for dealing with China and yet keeping US dominance in the Asia-Pacific intact. This new paradigm provides for greater cooperation, co-existence and accommodation with the rising dragon to ensure long-term peace in the international system.

The Untold History of the United States

Filmmaker Oliver Stone and historian Peter Kuznick’s The Untold History of the United States is an uncompromising and riveting account of the uncomfortable aspects of American history. The book studies the period from the beginning of the 20th century right up to the present regime of Obama and highlights the extent to which democratic ideas have been abandoned by the world’s largest democracy.

Debacle to Resurgence: Y.B. Chavan, Defence Minister (1962–66)

Relatively little is known about Y.B. Chavan, India’s defence minister from 1962 to 1966. He replaced the controversial Mr. Krishna Menon on 19 November 1962, when India’s war with China was still going on. Chavan was also the defence minister when India fought its second war with Pakistan in 1965. The present book is an attempt to throw light on the shaping of Y.B. Chavan as defence minister of India during 1962–1966.

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter: A Global Snapshot

The United States dominates global defence markets, but the nature of this dominance is shifting. Strategic and budgetary considerations—the latter being constantly restructured by the rising relative cost of defence labour—drive US defence production towards international collaboration. In this essay, I examine the politics of a high-calibre international collaborative programme that has made headlines in recent years: the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). What motivated the US government to take on partners, and what influence, if any, have the partners had on the programme so far?

Beyond the Rhetoric of Trilateral Cooperation

Over the past few years, ‘trilateral economic cooperation’ and ‘vibrant bridge’ have become buzzwords in Nepal’s foreign policy discourse, and have also caught the popular imagination at home in India. These proposals have generated both curiosity and anxiety in Delhi’s diplomatic and academic circles that are otherwise largely indifferent to Nepal. The Chinese diplomats in Delhi also raising the issue with the Indian officials has added to India’s anxiety all the more. With some notable exceptions (e.g., C.

A Compromise with India’s Sphere of Influence

Integrating the restive Tibetan minority with China has been the primary domestic challenge for Beijing. Thus far, its Nepal policy has been crafted essentially to address the Tibetan question. The idea of trilateral cooperation between India, Nepal and China apparently floated by Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda) in April 2013 was, in effect, first made by the former Chinese ambassador to Nepal, Yang Houlan, in 2012.

Neither Feasible nor Desirable

Trilateral cooperation between India, Nepal and China needs to be seen from the perspective of how beneficial it is for all three countries. However, such cooperation cannot be divorced from India’s security concerns and its close relations with Nepal. Moreover, there are several issues that come into question, too. Are there any objectives behind this proposal? Does it involve only developmental cooperation? Does it undermine India’s security interests?