Diamer Bhasha Dam: Pakistan’s new Achilles heel Delayed implementation of the DBD project has led to cynicism and angst amongst the people of Pakistan. In spite the government’s assurance, it is feared that the DBD could meet the same fate as the Kalabagh project which was shelved after getting embroiled in inter-provincial politics. Priyanka Singh October 21, 2013 IDSA Comments
Prime Minister’s Visit to Moscow: Need to Revitalise the India-Russia Partnership India-Russia ties will continue to be mutually beneficial. While defence cooperation remains the mainstay, the two countries can explore common synergies in co-developing more weapons platforms with cutting edge technology and organise more joint military exercises. Rajorshi Roy October 21, 2013 IDSA Comments
PM’s Visit to Russia and China: Need for Smart Diplomacy Clubbing the visits to Russia and China is a smart move. But the prime minister will also need to indulge in smart diplomacy to deal with a number of ticklish issues and will have to convince his counterparts that Indian foreign policy is independent and follows national interests. Arvind Gupta October 21, 2013 IDSA Comments
Maritime Security in the Indian Ocean: A Changing Kaleidoscope The Indian Ocean Region (IOR), though considered an important maritime region, has not yet been accorded the due importance of a geo-strategic entity. One attributable reason is the ‘sandwiching’ of the IOR between two ‘hotspots’—the South China sea and the Persian Gulf that divert the attention of nations from this area. While there are commonalities like ‘Freedom of Navigation’, the divergences—caused by varying strategic interests even while addressing common security issues such as piracy—have resulted in a sectoral view of the maritime security paradigm in the IOR. Sarabjeet Singh Parmar October 2013 Journal of Defence Studies
Syria and the OPCW: Taking a Stock of the Situation The joint OPCW-UN team mandated to assist Syria with the elimination of its chemical weapon programme by mid-2014 may not be realistic. As in the case of Russia and the US, the deadline for the destruction of stockpile of chemical weapons has shifted considerably. Sudarshan Bhutani October 17, 2013 Issue Brief
US-India Defence Technologies for Transfer: Cultural Change India-US defence ties are shifting away from a ‘buyer-seller’ path to one of co- development and co-production. In Washington this is viewed as a change from a ‘culture of presumptive no to one of presumptive yes’. Vivek Kapur October 15, 2013 IDSA Comments
India and Central Asia: Need for a Pro-active Approach India has traditionally attached great importance to its relations with Central Asia. But, unfortunately, the relationship faces several constraints including the lack of direct access to Central Asia; the unstable situation in Afghanistan and a problematic India-Pakistan relation. Arvind Gupta October 14, 2013 Policy Brief
India-Australia Maritime Cooperation: Raising the Pitch Both India and Australia are trying hard to shed their traditional reticence and engage in the maritime domain, with both sides agreeing to a drastic overhaul of the existing exchanges. Abhijit Singh October 14, 2013 IDSA Comments
China’s ‘Three Warfares’ and India For the past decade, China is known to have actively used ‘three warfares’ (3Ws) strategy—media, psychological and legal warfare—to weaken its adversaries in regions constituting what it perceives to be its ‘core interests’. While a wide range of tools have been deployed, the attacks have remained mostly confined to Taiwan and South-East Asian states involved in the territorial disputes in the South China Sea. But with Beijing’s influence in South Asia and the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) growing, there is evidence emerging of the 3Ws strategy being put to use against India. Abhijit Singh October 2013 Journal of Defence Studies
The Rational Believer: Choices and Decisions in Madrasas of Pakistan, by Masooda Bano The Rational Believer is a result of three years of research and field trips in Pakistan by the author and examines the post-9/11 image of madrasas in Pakistan. The findings are correlated with socio-economic theories and explain the logic of the teachings of Quran, where appropriate. Analyses of what makes a believer endure hardships, why jihadis attack fellow Muslims and what makes them martyrs (shuhada) are also carried out. Y.M. Bammi October 2013 Journal of Defence Studies