Strategic Analysis

My Years at IDSA

This year, the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses celebrates 50 eventful years of its existence. In my association with the Institute, between 2005 and 2011, an effort was made...

N. S. Sisodia |
September 2015 |
Strategic Analysis

IDSA Years: A Personal Recollection

It is a privilege to be invited to contribute to the special issue commemorating the 50th anniversary of the IDSA. The institution and the time span are respectively multi-hued and...

C Uday Bhaskar |
September 2015 |
Strategic Analysis

The Original Gurukul of Strategic Analyses in Modern India: My Reminiscences of IDSA

Established to fill a gap between policy research and policy innovation, the IDSA is the original gurukul of strategic analyses in modern India. My reminiscences of IDSA in the seventies...

Swadesh Rana |
September 2015 |
Strategic Analysis

Interaction of Foreign and Domestic Factors in the International Political Process: The Case of Russia

The foreign policy of a state is determined by its domestic policy, the internal balance of power. The domestic political configuration of any state has a predominant role in understanding...

An East German Perspective on Korean Reunification

While we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the reunification of Germany and remember more than 25 years of the Peaceful Revolution towards the end that took place in Leipzig and...

Conrad Rein |
September 2015 |
Strategic Analysis

The Problem of Expertise in Strategic Studies

Strategic geniuses are natural strategic thinkers even without much guidance. While the complexity of strategy makes it extremely difficult to formulate and execute, geniuses like Prussian General Carl von Clausewitz...

India–Africa: Perspectives on Development in Africa—Trade and Investment

The realisation that trade and investment are key to development is backed up by development theories and empirical studies. This article identifies existing patterns of trade and investments between India...

Implementing the Peace, Security and Development Nexus in Africa

Peace, security and development are inextricably linked. Peaceful, democratic and well-governed societies are believed to promote levels of growth, employment and prosperity. This article first defines the terms peace, security...

Amanda Lucey |
September 2015 |
Strategic Analysis

Global Governance and the Need for ‘Pragmatic Activism’ in India’s Multilateralism

While global governance is all about creating an international order that addresses the interests of the big and small nations and people, non-government and corporate entities, the foreign policy of...

Arpita Anant |
September 2015 |
Strategic Analysis

India’s Economic Opportunities and Energy Security: Analysing Prospects Within SAARC and Beyond

It has been extensively debated whether India should prioritise relations with its immediate or extended neighbourhood. Put into the framework of energy security and competition with China, it will be...

Anna Juhos |
September 2015 |
Strategic Analysis

Northeastern India and its neighbours: negotiating security and development by Rakhee Bhattacharya

The insurgency movement in Northeast India, demanding various forms of autonomy including independence, is a constant concern for the maintenance of the country’s unity. It is further complicated due to...

India’s ocean: the story of India’s bid for regional leadership by David Brewster

Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan once stated: ‘Whoever attains maritime supremacy in the Indian Ocean would be a prominent player on the international scene. Whoever controls the Indian Ocean dominates Asia....

Sri-Yantra and the geophilosophy of India by Niraj Kumar

The book, as the title suggests, has Sri-Yantra and geophilosophy as its central themes. Sri-Yantra is a powerful positive energy symbol that is known for bringing peace, prosperity, harmony and...

Cyber war: the next threat to national security and what to do about it? by Richard A. Clarke and Robert K. Knake

War, in the age of the ‘Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA)’ has changed its nature and tactics. Use of sophisticated systems has made it difficult to penetrate defences. Cyber war,...

Role of Historical Legacy in India’s Relations with Territories to its East

The ability of history to intrude into the present has often been underestimated. Nowhere is this more evident than in India’s relations with territories to its immediate east. Colonial rule...

Harnessing Opportunities and Overcoming Challenges: Maritime Security in the Indian Ocean Region

Based on the work of the Maritime Security Working Group within the Strategic Studies Network (SSN), this report provides both diagnosis and prescriptions regarding security threats in the Indian Ocean...

Boko Haram: The Multifaceted Story of Terror and Cultism

Nigeria is currently going through a very delicate phase. The kidnapping of more than 275 Chibok schoolgirls by the terrorist organisation Boko Haram shocked not only Nigeria but the international...

Boko Haram: Insurgency and the War against Terrorism in the Lake Chad Region

The Boko Haram insurgency has emerged as one of the greatest threats to human security in Africa, and the Lake Chad region in particular. This is a region with a...

Bringing Fear to the Perpetrators: Humanitarian Cyber Operations as Evidence Gathering and Deterrence

Humanitarian cyber operations would allow democratic states to utilise cyber operations as a humanitarian intervention to capture information and create a foundation for decision making for collective international action supported...

Interpreting China’s Third Plenum

Xi Jinping’s new reformist approach of 2013 is a close reflection of Deng Xiaoping’s prescription of 1978. The Chinese political leadership is tightening its political grip and loosening economic control....

Keshab Chandra Ratha , Sushanta Kumar Mahapatra |
July 2015 |
Strategic Analysis