Strategic Analysis

Conflicts in Sunni Political Islam and Their Implications

Traditionally, the Shi’a–Sunni divide and the associated dynamics of the geopolitical struggle for power and dominance, between the minority Shi’as and the majority Sunnis, have defined intra-Islamic relations. Often sidelined were the political differences between and among groups and movements within Shi’a as well as Sunni Islam.

State-Building in the Steppe: Challenges to Kazakhstan’s Modernizing Aspirations

The Republic of Kazakhstan seeks to undergo modernization over the course of the next several decades and transform into one of the world’s top 30 economies. To fulfil this aim, the Kazakhstani government has designed a programme known as the ‘100 Steps’. If faithfully implemented, this package of reforms will gradually revolutionize the nature of Kazakhstani state–society relations, by remaking Kazakhstan into a more economically dynamic and politically pluralistic country.

India’s Stance and Renewed Commitment to UN Peacekeeping

The United Nations (UN) adopted UN Peacekeeping, during its initial years, to restore international peace and security. As the world body celebrated 70 years of its existence in 2015, UN Peacekeeping continues to play an important role in maintaining peace and security, by protecting civilians and preventing human rights violations arising from violence and conflict. India has emerged as one of the frontrunners in the shared responsibility of ushering in peace and stability in the world, under the umbrella of the UN.

Impact of Political Economy on Economic Strategy Making in India (1947–1991)

What has been the impact of Political Economy and ideational factors such as formative experiences of a State, ideas of strategic thinkers and history on the strategic economic choices made by nation-states? While many authors have used the political economy framework to analyse global and domestic change, it is surprising that not many scholars have adequately explored the impact of political economy and ideational factors on economic strategy making in the Indian context.

Japan’s Proactive Pacifism: Investing in Multilateralization and Omnidirectional Hedging

Since 2012, Japan’s foreign policy under Prime Minister (PM) Abe has been characterized as assertive, welcome or provocative. By employing the fear of abandonment/entrapment theory as the analytical framework, this article finds that Japan’s regional foreign policy under Abe is characterized by consolidation and investment in broad-based multilateralism, proactive engagement with partners in the region, including China, and strategic hedging.

China’s Naval Base(s) in the Indian Ocean—Signs of a Maritime Grand Strategy?

The article assesses China’s Indian Ocean strategy against the backdrop of its naval base development in Djibouti. It argues that China’s naval force posturing stems from a doctrinal shift to ocean-centric strategic thinking and is indicative of the larger gameplan of having a permanent naval presence in the Indian Ocean. China’s maritime strategy comprises four key components. First, to channel naval reinforcements for securing its maritime trade and economic interests in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR)—even as it strengthens the Maritime Silk Road initiative.

India’s look east to act east policy: tracking the opportunities and challenges in the Indo-Pacific

The 21st century is known as the Asian Century, and the Indo-Pacific is the most dynamic region of this century in terms of economics, security challenges and demographics. Against this backdrop, the book is a timely publication that focuses on the issues that are relevant to this region and analyses as well as proposes Indian policy responses to these emerging challenges. The book is divided into four themes: dynamics of India’s engagement with the Indo-Pacific region; key regional developments in the Indo-Pacific; maritime security challenges and cooperation; and conflict resolution.

India’s war: the making of modern south Asia (1939–1945)

Srinath Raghavan’s India’s War: The Making of Modern South Asia (1939–1945) is a welcome addition to his previous volumes on South Asia, in particular on Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister, in War and Peace in Modern India (Palgrave Macmillan, 2010), and the struggle on the creation of Bangladesh and sub-continental historiography in 1971: A Global History of the Creation of Bangladesh (Harvard University Press, 2013). This book has captured the fundamental elements of India under British colonial rule, and the extraordinary changes that occurred during the Second World War.

India–China relations: politics of resources, identity and authority in a multipolar world order

Jagannath P. Panda’s India–China Relations: Politics of Resources, Identity and Authority in a Multipolar World Order is a welcome addition among the plethora of scholarship available on India–China relations, by bringing analysis of the bilateral relationship into the second decade of the 21st century.

Neoclassical realist theory of international politics

In the mid-1990s, Colin Elman cited a maxim horses for courses meaning ‘every horse is suited to a particular course’ to underscore the inherent weakness of neorealist theories in that they ‘cannot be used as theories of foreign policy’. In response, Kenneth Waltz had unequivocally admitted the weakness: ‘My old horse (Neorealism) cannot run the course and will lose if it tries.’ But since then, discourse in International Relations (IR) theory has entered a new phase.

Stress-Test for Chinese Restraint: China Evaluates Russia’s Use of Force

The article discusses if China will be inspired by its strategic partner Russia to use force as an instrument of its foreign policy. After a pro et con discussion the authors find that the disincentives created by the Russian example are likely to convince China that it should continue to show restraint under the ‘peaceful development’ formula, and avoid military adventures. The East Asian Peace is thus not seriously threatened, at least not by China—for now.

Green growth: ideology, political economy and the alternatives

By the 1970s, the idea of development had lost much of its swagger and bite. Environmental degradation, in particular, ballooned into a global anxiety. Soon enough, development enthusiasts found themselves in a bind. Could economic prosperity be pursued ‘as if nature did not matter’? The World Commission on Environment and Development (also known as the Brundtland Commission) in a much celebrated report in 1987 sought to overcome the development–environment impasse by talking up the term ‘sustainable development’.

UNSC Resolution 2321 and the DPRK?

In a strong response to the nuclear warhead test of Pyongyang on September 9, 2016, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) at its 7821st meeting, held on November 30, 2016, adopted Resolution 2321 (2016)—officially known as S/RES/2321—imposing fresh sanctions on the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea). The Resolution specifically imposes restrictions on the DPRK’s exports that assist Pyongyang in generating revenue for its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership: India’s Contribution to Strengthening Nuclear Security

In the 21st century, nuclear security (NS) risks are more tangible with the probability of nuclear weapons and materials falling into the hands of terrorists becoming more real. The NS threat scenario presents a complex matrix of violent terrorism, Islamist militancy, a proliferation network originating from Pakistan (A. Q. Khan Network) and its spread to Iran, Libya and North Korea. To mitigate nuclear risks and inspire global nuclear confidence, an institutionalized structure is critical for strengthening NS.

Globalization of the Jihadist Threat: Case Study of Trinidad and Tobago

Despite a well-integrated Muslim population, and an environment where there is no tangible discrimination or lack of opportunity, the Jihadist ideology has succeeded in taking root in Trinidad. Links with organized crime have helped fuel the movement and strong links have been forged with ISIS and Al-Qaeda with the result that at least 89 Trinidadians are now in Syria. It is also argued that some Trinidadian Muslims have succumbed to the messages broadcast by ISIS and that the lure of fighting for an Islamic Caliphate has found resonance.

Cambodia–Thailand Sovereignty Disputes: Implications for Cambodia’s Strategic Environment and Defence Organization

This article analyses two security challenges facing the Royal Cambodian Government (RGC) and the Cambodian Defence Organization at the strategic level for the next decade. The first obvious challenge relates to the stalemated territorial dispute along the Cambodia–Thailand border, particularly the question of ownership of the Preah Vihear (called PhraViharn in Thailand) temple and its surrounding area since October 2008.

Smart diplomacy: exploring China-India synergy, by P.S. Suryanarayana

In Smart Diplomacy: Exploring China-India Synergy, P.S. Suryanarayana has sought to answer the questions: ‘Will China and India live at peace with each other? Will they be able to overcome the deficit of trust between them? Will they be able to find amicable solutions to their disputes over their borders, Pakistan, Tibet, rivers, and trade, etc.?’ (p. iv). These questions, raised by Ambassador Tommy Koh in his foreword to the book, concern all those who want a stable and productive future for the two countries that Suryanarayana characterizes as the sunrise powers of the 21st century.

New south Asian security: six core relations underpinning regional security, by Chris Ogden

Theorising about international relations in South Asia is a daunting task for any scholar of International Relations. The challenge lies in explaining the causal forces behind state behaviour, in order to illuminate a pattern for arriving at an understanding of these relations in a parsimonious manner.

Medha Bisht |
January 2017 |
Strategic Analysis

Unheeded hinterland: identity and sovereignty in northeast India, by Dillip Gogoi

Partly the result of a political and physical isolation compounded by decades of conflict in the region, Northeast India is often viewed through the prism of security studies, institutional performance or developmental governance. While important contributions in themselves, a state-centric focus often overlooks the complexity of the causes and dynamics. It ignores the consequences of regional societal forces’ articulation of identity, nationalism, separatism and sovereignty that can shape political boundaries in the region, thus overlooking the salience of subaltern narratives.

Brexit: Harbinger of an Unexpected New World Order

The stunning British vote of June 24, 2016, to quit the European Union (EU)—dubbed Brexit—has triggered a major realignment of economic and political forces across the globe, strengthening the template of a new world order tilted towards Moscow, Beijing and the rising powers of Asia and Africa. As Washington nervously recognizes, there will be a decline in the influence of the US, EU and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the latter two having served as instruments of US global domination.

Sandhya Jain |
January 2017 |
Strategic Analysis