Strategic Analysis

This article examines the main drivers of Norway’s High North policy towards the new Asian stakeholders. The High North became a foreign policy priority for Norway in 2005, and Norway is building on the foundations of this policy by engaging new Asian stakeholders in Arctic affairs. An aspiration to impact Asian states’ views on Arctic developments early in their policy-making processes, including on the legal and institutional framework for the Arctic through diplomatic dialogue, is one factor explaining Norway’s engagement policy.

• Jo Inge Bekkevold , Kristine Offerdal |
• November 2014 |
• Strategic Analysis

As global warming and melting of the ice is making the Arctic increasingly accessible, the region’s hydrocarbon riches are attracting international interest. Thus far, despite the presence of vast untapped energy and mineral resources, the Arctic is not considered a geopolitical hotspot. In fact, many of the Arctic states have dismissed the possibility of conflict over the region’s spoils due to the collaborative governance model that has been established.

• Shebonti Ray Dadwal |
• November 2014 |
• Strategic Analysis

The ongoing climate-induced changes in the Arctic have resulted in prospects for exploiting resources, use of the Northern Sea Route for movement of goods, and new destinations for the cruise liner industry. These activities have the potential to impact the fragile eco-system of the Arctic as well as the livelihoods of the indigenous people.

• Vijay Sakhuja |
• November 2014 |
• Strategic Analysis

Transit traffic on the Northern Sea Route (NSR) has increased considerably in the last few years, in relative terms. There is no clear pattern of transit cargo on the NSR and little indication that cargo owners or shipping companies have committed themselves to use of this sea route for the longer term. An important exception to this picture is the Yamal LNG (liquefied natural gas) project, which will be based on year-round use of the NSR. Administrative procedures have improved and escort fees have become competitive, but are not transparent.

• Arlid Moe |
• November 2014 |
• Strategic Analysis

Building on stakeholder management theory, this article examines the salience of Asian stakes in three key areas of Arctic governance: management and use of natural resources; shipping; and environmental protection. The Asian states that are now permanent observers in the Arctic Council have significant stakes in Arctic governance, but their salience varies considerably across these issue areas.

• Olav Schram Stokke |
• November 2014 |
• Strategic Analysis

Kautilya: The True Founder of Economics is a unique contribution to the subject of Kautilya’s Arthashastra (KA). Arthashastradiscusses at length governance, diplomacy, military science and political economy.1 However, never has such a strong case been presented for Kautilya’s inclusion in the economic community. Given the degree of quantitative sophistication that economic science has achieved in the 21st century, it is all the more difficult to introduce abstractions of Kautilyan thought within the modern economic framework.

• Divya Malhotra |
• September 2014 |
• Strategic Analysis

Propelled by its rapid economic growth, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is undergoing multitudes of transitions simultaneously. These transitions are substantially transforming state–society relations in China. The conventional wisdom about China in the reform era has been that the Communist Party of China’s (CPC’s) legitimacy to rule comes from its continued economic performance; in other words, the Chinese people will not bother with the kind of regime they have if they are well fed and their economic aspirations are taken care of.

• Avinash Godbole |
• September 2014 |
• Strategic Analysis

This is Jaswant Singh’s eleventh known book, and here he keeps his focus on experiences rather than rhetoric to deal with the complex design of India’s security challenges. While relying judiciously on first-hand experiences, the author justifies his long eventful overtures in public life and also as an avid researcher, who has spent decades participating in and observing India’s security establishment from close quarters.

• Atul K. Thakur |
• September 2014 |
• Strategic Analysis

Ever since India and Pakistan went overtly nuclear in 1998, a plethora of studies by scholars, both from the subcontinent and outside, have pondered the issues of ‘deterrence stability’ and ‘escalation control’ in South Asia. While the majority of them extrapolated the Cold War type of scenario to the South Asian nuclear discourse, the book under review stands out—for not attributing ‘the primary dangers … to a lack of professionalism on the part of those responsible for nuclear stewardship’ (p. 9).

• Sitakanta Mishra |
• September 2014 |
• Strategic Analysis

At a time when the Republic of Korea (South Korea) occupies considerable space in India’s foreign policy, particularly in its ‘look east’ policy, it is incongruous that there is no corresponding awareness among the people about the country and the India–Korea relationship. Knowledge and understanding about the Korean peninsula and India’s engagement with the region are limited to academia and the miniscule endangered scholarly tribe in elite universities like Jawaharlal Nehru University or Delhi University.

• Rup Narayan Das |
• September 2014 |
• Strategic Analysis

Relying on a wide range of archival material, the author draws our attention in this thoughtful book to the lesser known yet rich historical dimension of India–Japan relations. He investigates the presence of Indian troops as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces (BCOF) in Japan during 1945–1947 and relates the fascinating story of Justice R.B. Pal’s dissenting judgement at the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE). The author also explains why India did not sign the Japanese peace treaty at San Francisco in 1951 despite being sympathetic to its terms.

• Arvind Gupta |
• September 2014 |
• Strategic Analysis

Three verities appear to underwrite contemporary environmentalism. We live in an interdependent world. The earth is fragile. And good science is our best bet to ‘save’ the planet. When strung together, these views can speak forcefully for responsibility, restraint and hope. But what appears as today’s clinching common sense had very little intellectual purchase among decision makers for much of the recent past.

• Rohan D’Souza |
• September 2014 |
• Strategic Analysis

At the outset, it is important to put on record the epistemological root of the reading of Chanakya’s Arthashastra applicable to this commentary. The main text is from the translated volume by L.N. Rangarajan, titled Kautilya: The Arthashastra published by Penguin in 1992. Rangarajan has himself stated that he was guided by two versions of the original treatise of R. Samasastry and R.P. Kangle.

• Pinak Chakravarty |
• September 2014 |
• Strategic Analysis

With water concerns growing increasingly urgent, the global community will benefit from a treatment of the lessons learned and best practices in water dispute resolutions and approaches to water management. This report discusses the outcome of a working group of water experts from the Near East and South Asia (NESA) region,1 set up by the Strategic Studies Network, National Defense University, Washington DC.

• Uttam Kumar Sinha |
• September 2014 |
• Strategic Analysis

On November 7, 1950, Vallabhbhai Patel wrote his celebrated letter to Jawaharlal Nehru on India’s China policy. ‘The Chinese Government has tried to delude us by professions of peaceful intention’, he stated, referring to Beijing’s decision to move troops into Tibet. A new challenge confronted India as a result of the ‘disappearance of Tibet, as we knew it, and the expansion of China almost up to our gates’. ‘Chinese ambitions … not only cover the Himalayan slopes on our side but also include the important part of Assam.

• Chandrashekhar Dasgupta |
• September 2014 |
• Strategic Analysis

The increasing dependence on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) has unleashed a whole new genre of cyber terrorism. Cyber attacks on critical infrastructure, online hate propaganda and use of the internet for recruiting, planning and effecting terrorist attacks have become new frontiers of terrorism. The ubiquitous cyberspace has expanded terrorism structures and transformed their operations.

• Swaran Singh , Jayanna Krupakar |
• September 2014 |
• Strategic Analysis

This article examines Iranian contentions on three issue areas that exemplify the politicised nature of its interactions with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). These include access to military facilities, information credibility and the ‘nuclear activism’ of US-based non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

• S. Samuel C. Rajiv |
• September 2014 |
• Strategic Analysis

Engaging with a multilateral body requires constructive foreign policy forethought, especially for a country that is not a fully fledged member of that body. China’s overtures to the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) exemplify this approach. The Indian Ocean and India are the two most immediate elements in China’s policy approach to the IORA. With 20 member states, extra-territorial major powers as important dialogue partners, and the increasing importance of energy politics in the region, the IORA today is a significant multilateral body in China’s calculus.

• Jagannath P. Panda |
• September 2014 |
• Strategic Analysis

The foreign policy of a country generally changes incrementally but in the case of Bangladesh it changes dramatically towards India depending upon which political party or alliance is in power. The ideological cleavage prevailing in the country affects not only its domestic politics but also its relationship with its neighbour India. In this article an attempt has been made to explain why and how the domestic politics of Bangladesh affects India–Bangladesh relations.

• Anand Kumar |
• September 2014 |
• Strategic Analysis

Growing international concerns about human rights violations in the last phase of the Eelam war and the continued surveillance and intimidation of the Tamils in Sri Lanka have drawn the attention of their co-ethnics across the world. The southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, which had detached itself from the political events in Sri Lanka after Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, has renewed its interest. In the post-war phase, the plight of Sri Lankan Tamils has become an emotive issue.

• Smruti S. Pattanaik |
• September 2014 |
• Strategic Analysis