Issue Brief - MP-IDSA

Nepal-China Transit Agreement: An Evaluation

Nepal’s quest for an alternate transit country with a view to reducing its dependence on India succeeded with the finalisation of the text for the Protocol of Transit Transport Agreement...

Nihar R. Nayak |
September 27, 2018 |
Issue Brief

The 2018 Maldivian Presidential Elections: Two-horse Race between Development and Reforms

The forthcoming presidential election is a contest between Yameen’s pledge to bring about a transformational change with mega-projects and Solih’s pledge to end presidential tyranny, injustice and corruption

Gulbin Sultana |
September 17, 2018 |
Issue Brief

Land Ahoy! Debarment Systems in Ministry of Defence start Coming of Age

It is administratively easy and politically appealing to debar an errant entity, but the unintended consequences of debarment can be challenging to handle in high-technology areas such as defence

Sandeep Verma |
September 11, 2018 |
Issue Brief

Examining the Feasibility and Affordability of Raising the Share of Defence Expenditure to Three Percent of GDP

The Brief argues that MoD’s total allocations should be considered for any discussion on defence expenditure since the official defence expenditure does not capture all the expenses that the government...

Laxman Kumar Behera |
August 20, 2018 |
Issue Brief

India and the UAE: Progress towards ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’

The way forward for New Delhi is to seize the momentum and develop a strategic partnership with the UAE to safeguard its core national interests while avoiding regional entanglements.

Md. Muddassir Quamar |
July 05, 2018 |
Issue Brief

Challenges in Implementing JCPOA after the US Withdrawal

While Iran and its European interlocutors (along with Russia and China) can be expected to mount a tough challenge to continue to make the JCPOA work in the light of...

S. Samuel C. Rajiv |
May 17, 2018 |
Issue Brief

South Asian ‘Zombie’: The futility of reviving SAARC

Given the structural fragility of SAARC and its inability to promote South Asian regional integration, an attempt to reboot the organisation would be futile.

Rajeesh Kumar |
May 01, 2018 |
Issue Brief

Implications of CAATSA for India’s Defence Relations with Russia and America

While the provisions of the Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) are unlikely to be imposed on India anytime soon, it is nonetheless likely to prove a dampener on...

Will Great-Power Conflict Return?

Geopolitical competition between the great powers with or without direct conflict will lead to a situation where productive cooperation among them on critical international issues is likely to prove difficult.

Rajeesh Kumar |
April 06, 2018 |
Issue Brief

External Balancing in India’s China Policy

External balancing is re-emerging as an element of policy driven by the yawning power asymmetry between India and China and China’s turn towards assertive behaviour and territorial claims.

S. Kalyanaraman |
March 28, 2018 |
Issue Brief

Xi Jinping’s Extended Presidency and India-China Relations

India should carefully understand the evolving foreign policy strategy of China under Xi Jinping, and notably, his worldview, and try to position bilateral relations accordingly.

Jagannath P. Panda |
March 27, 2018 |
Issue Brief

FATF as an Instrument of CFT Compliance in Pakistan

Pakistan’s desperation to keep itself off the list of defaulting countries maintained by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) underlines the increasing effectiveness of the organisation, which has become the...

Vivek Chadha |
February 26, 2018 |
Issue Brief

Defence Budget 2018-19: Over to the Standing Committee for Scrutiny

This Issue Brief highlights five major issues and concerns that may merit the SCoD’s attention while examining the latest Demands for Grants of the Ministry of Defence.

Laxman Kumar Behera |
February 26, 2018 |
Issue Brief

The Global Race for Artificial Intelligence: Weighing Benefits and Risks

India can play an essential role in mitigating the risks and maximizing the benefits on account of rapid growth of AI enabled technologies.

Munish Sharma |
February 23, 2018 |
Issue Brief

Aerial Drone Swarms: The Next Generation Military Weapon

Affordability, software domination, reduction in mission costs and risk reduction are some of the advantages swarm technology promises in military campaigns.

Atul Pant |
February 15, 2018 |
Issue Brief

Defence Budget 2018-19: The Imperative of Controlling Manpower Cost

Like in the past several years, the defence budget for 2018-19 also grew marginally, with much of the growth being cornered by rising manpower cost.

Laxman Kumar Behera |
February 02, 2018 |
Issue Brief

Defence Budget under stress: Can 2018-19 be the catalyst for change?

Innovative ways will have to be examined and existing systems, practices and procedures need to be questioned for finding optimum solutions to relieve budget stress.

Vinay Kaushal |
January 29, 2018 |
Issue Brief

Post Doklam, India needs to watch China’s bullish economics led cultural embrace of South Asia

Doklam brought into perspective the fractured relationship between India and China on the global stage and increased fears of China’s growing unilateralism as it inexorably broadens its interests and sphere...

Shruti Pandalai |
January 01, 2018 |
Issue Brief

Is it Jerusalem or Jerusalems?

Jerusalem is a theological, geographical, historical, archaeological, political and emotional issue with contested claims and overlapping legacies.

P. R. Kumaraswamy |
December 15, 2017 |
Issue Brief

The Indian Air Force’s Declining Squadron Strength – Options and Challenges

The IAF is not without options, all of which are currently at some stage of realization. What is lacking is a sense of urgency on the part of all the...

Sanjay Badri-Maharaj |
November 03, 2017 |
Issue Brief