Occasional Papers

Trump’s Own “Star Wars” The 2019 US BMD Review and What It Augurs for India?

The Trump administration’s BMDR, released in early 2019, can be described as the most proactive BMD plan since the SDI days with fillip given to areas like directed-energy, addressing gaps...

Pakistan’s Foreign Policy: Trends and Challenges

Pakistan's most critical foreign policy concerns in the last few years relate to the deadlock in relations with India and India's success in isolating Pakistan regionally and internationally due to...

New Evidence on China’s Intent behind Its Approach to the Sino-Burmese Territorial Dispute 1954-1960

This paper features a detailed discussion of a speech by Zhou Enlai on July 9, 1957 which was meant to outline “New China's” approach to the Sino-Burmese border dispute. Hitherto...

Talking About a ‘Rising China’: An Analysis of Indian Official Discourse 1996- 2012

This Occasional Paper looks at the idea of China being a potential security threat as spoken about in India's official discourse that is, as written down in annual reports or...

China’s Territorial Claim on Arunachal Pradesh: Alternative Scenarios 2032

This Occasional Paper analyzes the Chinese territorial claim from futuristic perspective by identifying three drivers of uncertainty that has bearing on future Chinese behaviour, namely, Chinese regime stability and nationalism;...

Managing the Rise of a Hydro-Hegemon in Asia: China’s Strategic Interests in the Yarlung-Tsangpo River

The Paper examines China´s general performance as a hydro-hegemon in Asia, presents the case study on China´s hydro-behaviour in the Yarlung-Tsangpo river basin, and outlines a framework for promoting trans-boundary...

Change in India-US Diplomatic Practices – An Interim Report

During the last dozen years or so, the Indian and American governments have instituted broad policy changes aimed at turning their bilateral relationship into some form of strategic partnership.

Sky’s No Limit: Space-based solar power, the next major step in the Indo-US strategic partnership?

This paper provides a policymaker's overview of a highly scalable, revolutionary, renewable energy technology, Space-Based Solar Power (SBSP), and evaluates it utility within the context of the Indo-US strategic partnership.

India’s Northeast 2020: Four Alternative Futures

This Occasional Paper focuses on the insurgency problem in the Northeast and give policy recommendations to bring about peace and development in the region.

Looking “East” Through India’s North East: Identifying Policy “Challenges” and Outlining the “Responses”

This paper throws light on challenges like lack of infrastructure, crisis of insurgency, the disjuncture between the elites and the social base in the North East regarding the “Look East”...

Maldives Revisited

This Occasional Paper is a brief first-hand personal account of the Tevents, discussions, decisions and the action taken in November 1988 by the Government of India to provide help to...

Mahan and Mackinder: Addressing the False Dichotomy in the Eurasian Pivot theory

Halford Mackinder’s 1904 paper: The Geographical Pivot of History, has been an object of scholarly contention for more than eight decades. Endlessly regurgitated, the process of the Mackinder review has...

Aerial Drones in Future Wars: A Conceptual Perspective

Aerial drones are fast making way into military operations. With further advancement of technology, their role in warfare is set to increase exponentially. The new generation aerial drones promise to...

Makran Gateways: A Strategic Reference for Gwadar and Chabahar

The spirit of 'Connectivity', a salient motif in early-twenty first century international relations (IR), has provided an amenable context for a review of geo-determinism in IR theory and the defence...

The Acquisition of Rafale Aircraft: Facts and Concerns That Ought To Be In the Public Domain

The acrimonious debate in the public space on the acquisition of Rafale aircraft has been primarily focused on a few issues. The debate does not inform the public about the...

Future Warfare and Artificial Intelligence: Visible Path

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is emerging as the most disruptive technology of the current era and is advancing exponentially. AI is growing around the concept of machines acquiring human like intelligence...

National Unity Government in Sri Lanka: An Assessment

At the close of two years, the National Unity Government (NUG) of Sri Lanka has failed to maintain the confidence and trust of the people it enjoyed during the first...

Enhancing Energy Security in Rural Tanzania: Examples of Decentralized Rural Energy Approaches from India

This paper argues that decentralized electrification without local participation is unlikely to yield the desired nation-wide impact, especially for the rural communities. This suggests that the energy policy and institutional...

From Looks to Action: Thailand-India Strategic Convergence and Defence Cooperation

After 67 years of diplomatic relations and two decades of collaboration in connecting India with Southeast Asia in January of 2012, Thailand and India finally signed a Memorandum of Understanding...

Counterinsurgency and “Op Sadhbhavana” in Jammu and Kashmir

Critiques of the Indian Army's counterinsurgency practice have overlooked a critical aspect of “organisational innovation and operational learning” formalised as Op Sadhbhavana. These initiatives have had a limited but salutary...