Strategic Analysis

It is very important for large and populous neighbours such as India and China to have a better understanding of one another’s history, culture and value systems. Perhaps no two peoples in the world are as similar as Indians and Chinese in terms of the agrarian foundations of our societies and many of our traditions with roots in Hindu-Buddhist rituals and philosophy, and even the undue importance attached in the past to the male child.

• Amb. Sujan R. Chinoy |
• March 2019 |
• Strategic Analysis

The state narrative of North Korea, the story that keeps the Kims in power and the population uncomplaining, is built as much around international politics as it is domestic. In the mid-1990s, soon after the first transition of power from Kim Il-sung to Kim Jong-il, the country and the regime was in crisis. Always looking at themselves through the lens of South Korea and the need for reunification, official propaganda had been building an idea that their Southern brothers and sisters were impoverished in comparison and desperate to join with the North once again.

• Jed Lea-Henry |
• March 2019 |
• Strategic Analysis

The ongoing dialogue between the US and the Taliban has generated lot of interest among strategic analysts in the region and beyond. There are indications that the Taliban are hardening their position as the US appears to be in a haste to pull off an agreement.

• Ashok K. Behuria , Yaqoob-ul-Hassan , Sanya Saroha |
• March 2019 |
• Strategic Analysis

India concluded a fresh safeguards agreement (INFCIRC/754) with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 2009. All aspects of safeguards measures including the items to be safeguarded were deliberated upon, to ensure that India’s safeguards agreement does not result in giving any flexibility to India to use safeguarded items for unsafeguarded activities. The safeguards agreement INFCIRC/754 came with many additional features. Some of them are a result of the IAEA’s efforts to bring uniformity to subsidiary arrangements and structure and format for reporting requirements.

• K. L. Ramakumar |
• March 2019 |
• Strategic Analysis

The Directorate General of Inter Services Public Relations (DG-ISPR), or the Pakistan Army’s media wing has perfected the form of subverting democracy and showcasing the dominant position of the Army in the entire Pakistani polity. This article sets out to prove the same in a quantified manner. By analysing almost 25 tweets from the official account of DG-ISPR in the period 2016 ?18, the article tries to quantify, using the Merkel-Croissant model of embedded democracy, the priorities of the Pakistan Army.

• Akshat Upadhyay |
• March 2019 |
• Strategic Analysis

Pakistan as a state has been in constant turmoil since its creation in 1947. Institutions of a modern, functional state could never take root in the country. Consequently, it has been the military that has dominated the politics undermining the space available for democracy and democratic institutions. The politics in Pakistan and the interesting trajectory it has taken since its inception has drawn the attention of many scholars who have analysed various aspects of Pakistan polity, its security dilemmas and its fractious relationship with its neighbours.

• Rajrajeshwari Singh |
• January 2019 |
• Strategic Analysis

This 652-page book has six main sections and in total 21 chapters, including the introduction and conclusion. The basic themes discussed in the book include the prevention and disarmament issues related to the Chemical and Biological Weapons and the possible role for arms control, the ongoing advancements taking place in the field of chemistry and biology and the role of civil society to address various challenges posed by such weapons.

• Ajey Lele |
• January 2019 |
• Strategic Analysis

The process of state-building in China has taken place in phases, beginning with the efforts of the Qing dynasty (1644–1912), the Nationalist government (1928–1949) and later communist rule (1949- present). The literature on the subject has generated a debate on the Chinese endeavours towards state-building with regard to the question of institution-building, the legacy of coercion, intimidation and economic transformation.

• Priyanka Pandit |
• January 2019 |
• Strategic Analysis

Can non-Western sources of classical thought enhance our understanding about issues of statecraft, strategy-making, foreign policy, war and peace? Is it important to study such non-Western sources? And, can such studies contribute towards creating more effective strategies of war and peace in the contemporary world? These questions are particularly significant at a time when there is increasing interest in tapping non-Western sources of international relations theory to identify more effective ways of addressing contemporary strategic issues.

• Akshay Joshi |
• January 2019 |
• Strategic Analysis

The Sykes–Picot Agreement, the Iranian Revolution, the Gulf Wars, and other events that have unfolded after the Arab Uprising (the Arab Spring), have altered the course of West Asian history. Saudi Arabia and Iran are the new architects determining the course and its trajectory; also significant is the presence of foreign powers. As is evident that oil has been a crucial factor behind the West’s interests in the region. The article states that the new Cold War can be explained as a variance between Iran and Saudi Arabia; and the situation manoeuvred by foreign actors.

• Vrushal T. Ghoble |
• January 2019 |
• Strategic Analysis

Over the past four decades, the relationship between Iran and the US has been marked by conflicts, ranging from hostage-taking and sanctions to military confrontation. The present research aims at explaining the dispute by referring to the mindsets of the two countries’ leaders and exploring their epistemological origins. The main question this article seeks to answer is: what are the roots of disputes in US–Iran relationship in the post-Revolutionary era?

• Mohammad Reza Chitsazian , Seyed Mohammad Ali Taghavi |
• January 2019 |
• Strategic Analysis

India–Japan defence ties that began less than a decade ago have witnessed unprecedented progress. Until recently they were dominated by military exercises, training and regular dialogues, but now they are entering a new and crucial phase as they embark on ambitious joint research on advanced technologies and development of systems which will have considerable implications for their strategic partnership as well as to Indo-Pacific security. It is imprudent to surmise that this is entirely due to China; rather, a variety of factors are contributing to the burgeoning defence relations.

• G.V.C. Naidu , Ishida Yasuyuki |
• January 2019 |
• Strategic Analysis

The INSTC formalised by India, Iran and Russia at the start of the new millennium to develope an alternative transport system linking India with Central Asia and Eurasia floundered for long due to scepticism and neglect by its member states. However, the withdrawal of the UN sanctions against Iran, the steady expansion of the Chinese influence in the region through the OBOR, and the urgent requirement of the land-locked Central Asian countries to gain maritime access offer new incentives for the member states to reinvigorate the project.

• Sanjana Gogna |
• January 2019 |
• Strategic Analysis

With the rise of China and the rising tension between the China-South China Sea littoral states, the Southeast Asian region has emerged as a pivot of international politics. Changing US policy towards Southeast Asia in the wake of China’s rise and India’s initiatives to expand its footholds in the region have further mainstreamed the region. China has shown reluctance in accepting the involvement of an extra-regional power in South China Sea affairs. Therefore, it is likely that in the coming years, the region will witness extensive overt and covert competition between two rising powers.

• Vikash Chandra |
• November 2018 |
• Strategic Analysis

Russia’s military intervention in the Syrian civil war in 2015 is seen as a significant milestone in the geopolitics of the Middle East. By establishing stakes on the ground, the Kremlin, which had been virtually absent from the region since the breakup of the Soviet Union, has reinserted itself as a key actor in shaping the region’s strategic landscape. In doing so, it has also pulled itself back into the global geo-strategic consciousness.

• Rajorshi Roy |
• November 2018 |
• Strategic Analysis

Described variously as a ‘garrison’ or ‘praetorian’ state’, Pakistan is the only country in South Asia that has been under military rule for almost three-quarters of its sovereign existence. Even after the restoration of civilian rule, the Pakistani military has continued to call shots on the key domestic and foreign policy issues.

• Aliva Mishra |
• November 2018 |
• Strategic Analysis

This is a candid, stimulating, and highly readable account of Ambassador Maharaja Krishna Rasgotra’s diplomatic life, and through it, also of the evolution of Indian foreign policy since 1947. The bonus for the reader is to have a balanced reflection on India’s diplomacy, peppered with pertinent narratives and observations about important events and personalities.

• Jayant Prasad |
• November 2018 |
• Strategic Analysis

Since taking over power in 2012, the Chinese President Xi Jinping’s key initiative has been to make the Communist Party of China (CPC) relevant in the function of China’s political system. However, when Xi Jinping argues for a ‘unified and absolute leadership of the Party, it has become co-terminous with his absolute control of the Party. What does this centralisation of power signify? Given this context, it is imperative to question under whose control is the Chinese Army. That is, does CPC as an organisation hold absolute command over the PLA or it is Xi Jinping who controls it?

• Amrita Jash |
• November 2018 |
• Strategic Analysis

A flurry of changes in India’s national security apparatus in the recent past have been the subject of public discussion. These include the constitution of a Defence Procurement Committee under the chairmanship of the National Security Advisor (NSA), the replacement of the Cabinet Secretary with the NSA as the head of India’s Strategic Policy Group (SPG), and the appointment of three new Deputy National Security Advisors (Dy. NSAs), and a Military Advisor (only the second such appointment in a period of four years). Further, the mandate of the Dy.

• Zubin Dash |
• November 2018 |
• Strategic Analysis

The question of autonomy or self-determination in Myanmar goes back to the country’s pre-independence era. It is an important historical issue which unified and divided the country. The idea of forming a union government that would grant equal status to all citizens brought together different ethnic groups at the Panglong conference in 1947. However, the country’s conflicts remain and efforts are on to address the decades-old problems. One possible solution widely discussed is federalism.

• Nehginpao Kipgen |
• November 2018 |
• Strategic Analysis