Strategic Analysis

Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah and his Biographers

Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah (1905–1982) occupies an enigmatic position in Kashmir’s political memory. To his supporters, he remains the Sher-i-Kashmir; to his critics, a symbol of political compromise. Lockwood observed long...

Mohammad Asif Najar , Yasir Hamid Bhat |
November-December 2025 |
Strategic Analysis

Aid, Politics and the War of Narratives in the US–Pakistan Relations: A Case Study of Kerry Lugar Berman Act

Pakistan has longed for external patronage, mainly because of its ambition to achieve parity with its eastern neighbour, India. It has often got external support, for two reasons: firstly, its...

Nazir Ahmad Mir |
November-December 2025 |
Strategic Analysis

Evolution of India’s Polar Policies

As the Polar Regions become pivotal to global politics, is India doing enough to keep up the momentum? This inquiry lies at the heart of Evolution of India’s Polar Policies,...

Rudrani Garg |
November-December 2025 |
Strategic Analysis

Indo-Soviet Relations

Three main points need to be kept in view in a discussion of the background against which Indo-Soviet relations have developed. First, Jawaharlal Nehru enunciated the policy of non-alignment and...

Girilal Jain |
November-December 2025 |
Strategic Analysis

Ayub’s Foreign Policy – From Alliance to Equidistance

The departure of President Ayub from the Pakistani scene after a decade of almost unchallenged supremacy provides us with an opportune moment for the evaluation of his contribution in the...

Mohammed Ayoob |
November-December 2025 |
Strategic Analysis

The US-China Competition in Southeast Asia from the Perspective of Offensive Realism

In the aftermath of the Cold War, the international order has undergone profound transformation with China’s rapid rise posing a challenge to the US hegemony. The competition between these two...

Nguyen Hung Son |
September-October 2025 |
Strategic Analysis

How Does Fear Motivate States to Go Nuclear? The Case of Pakistan

This article examines how fear motivates the states to pursue nuclear weapons, contributing to the growing literature on emotions in International Relations and strategic studies. It reviews the concept of...

Ido Gadi Raz |
September-October 2025 |
Strategic Analysis

Transformation of Islam in Central Asia: From Faith to Traditional Islam

The article contends that the expanding regional and global terrorism, purportedly by the ‘Islamists’, led to the transformation of Islam in post-Soviet Central Asia, from ‘faith’ to ‘traditional’ Islam. This...

Mushtaq A. Kaw |
September-October 2025 |
Strategic Analysis

Maritime Security and Processes in India: A Need for Review/Revamping

India’s maritime sector is central to the country’s security and economic well-being, given its vast coastline and strategic position. India’s approach to maritime security has evolved in response to new...

P.S.S. Uday Kiran |
September-October 2025 |
Strategic Analysis

Legitimising Proactivity: Japan’s Use of the FOIP in Defence Export Policy

Japan’s security policy has transitioned through three distinct phases: passive, active and now proactive. Initially, Japan adhered to a defensive stance, avoiding active engagement beyond its borders. In the active...

Shahana Thankachan |
September-October 2025 |
Strategic Analysis

Dual-Use Satellites and Strategic Ambiguity: Toward Robust Legal and Normative Frameworks

The increasing inability to distinguish between civilian and military uses of satellite systems has created a governance gap that undermines crisis stability and confidence-building measures. Dual-use satellites blur the line...

Akanksha Kalyan |
September-October 2025 |
Strategic Analysis

Saudi-Pakistan Defence Pact and India’s Evolving Engagement in West Asia

The Saudi-Pakistan Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (SMDA), signed on September 17,2025, is a dramatic development amidst a rapidly changing geopolitical landscape in West and South Asia. Pakistan’s strategic elite has...

Deepika Saraswat |
September-October 2025 |
Strategic Analysis

India in SCO: India’s Diplomatic Balancing in a Constrained Multilateral Order

Given the continuing expansion of India’s multilateral experiments and engagements, now is an opportune time to ponder over how India reconciles its cosmopolitan moral principles with strategic pragmatism in multilateral...

Manish , Gayatri Rajpurohit |
September-October 2025 |
Strategic Analysis

Shifting Dynamics: The Fraying Pakistan-Taliban Ties and the Contest for Strategic Influence

In a recent escalation, Pakistan conducted air strikes inside Afghanistan against what it claimed were terrorist hideouts on October 9, 2025. The attack marked a remarkable escalation in the souring...

Shakoor Ahmad Wani |
September-October 2025 |
Strategic Analysis

Indus Waters Treaty: Looking Back, Looking Ahead

On September 19, 1960, in Karachi, the bustling port city and economic hub of Pakistan, two political leaders and a distinguished international banker convened to sign a document that would...

Uttam Kumar Sinha |
September-October 2025 |
Strategic Analysis

Demanding an Inclusive Governance: Nepal’s 2025 Youth Uprising in Perspective

The youth uprising in Nepal in September 2025 must be understood not as an isolated incident but as a striking manifestation of a global trend of increasing visibility and influence...

Sneha M |
September-October 2025 |
Strategic Analysis

India’s Role as ‘Preferred Security Partner’ in the Indian Ocean Region: A Strategic Assessment of Maritime Leadership and Regional Cooperation

Over the last few years India has been progressively attempting to establish itself as a ‘preferred security partner’ in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). This transformation represents a fundamental shift...

Abhay Kumar Singh , R. Vignesh |
September-October 2025 |
Strategic Analysis

The Nehru Years: An International History of Indian Non-Alignment

Originating in the wake of cold war bipolarity, non-alignment became the dominant approach under Nehru, until the early 1960s to navigate India’s engagement with the international system. Faced with volatility...

Mayuri Banerjee |
September-October 2025 |
Strategic Analysis

China’s Air Power and Maritime Strategies Towards the Indian Ocean Region

Joshy M. Paul’s China’s Air Power and Maritime Strategies Towards the Indian Ocean Region offers a detailed account of Beijing’s evolving air and naval posture towards the wider Indo-Pacific region,...

V Krishna Kumar |
September-October 2025 |
Strategic Analysis

Decision Making in Defence

The post-second World War period has seen rapid development of new strategic doctrines, consequent on major technological breakthroughs in weapons systems, transport and communication capabilities. These doctrines in turn have...

K. Subrahmanyam |
September-October 2025 |
Strategic Analysis