Strategic Analysis

Digital Public Diplomacy and a Strategic Narrative for India

States articulate their identity and foreign policy interests in the international system, seeking to influence the perceptions of others and to create an environment in which their goals and efficacy...

Malaysia–India Defence Cooperation: Need for a Paradigm Shift before Strategic Partnership

The objective of this article is to discuss defence cooperation between Malaysia and India in the post-Cold War era (1991–2012), mainly from Malaysia’s perspective. The article is divided into four...

India’s South Asia Dilemma and Regional Cooperation: Relevance of Cultural Diplomacy

This article highlights the current relevance of cultural diplomacy not as a panacea for the problems in India’s relations with its South Asian neighbours but as a way of dealing...

Rabindra Sen |
January 2014 |
Strategic Analysis

Factoring the RCEP and the TPP: China, India and the Politics of Regional Integration

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) are not necessarily two contending trade liberalising models, but their import and arrival have posed stiff political challenges for...

Federalising India’s Neighbourhood Policy: Making the States Stakeholders

The politics of coalition has posed new challenges to India’s foreign policy. This problem becomes particularly evident in India’s neighbourhood, which inevitably becomes intertwined with domestic politics. The rise of...

Beyond the Indo-Naga Talks: Some Reflections

More than 16 years have passed since the government and the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah faction, or NSCN(IM))

Dalai Lama Central to Resolution of the Tibet Issue

Since June 2013, there has been a spate of activity on the Tibet controversy. Sparking it off was the interview of Professor Jin Wei1 from the Central Party School in...

Elections in Pakistan: Perspectives from Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir

In the run-up to the May 2013 elections, the political scene in Pakistan was absorbed in electoral rhetoric, active campaigning and a hectic poll process. It culminated with an expected...

Interventionism and Human Security

The conflict in Syria is inexorably turning into a quagmire as more entities get dragged into the sludge. From a hands-off policy to one of humanitarian support, the West has...

Politics, Security and Nuclear Abolition: Beyond the Idealist Rhetoric

Disarmament and non-proliferation are rightfully viewed as two sides of the same coin: the two imperatives that need to be met if the prospect of the complete elimination of nuclear...

India’s Nuclear Policy: The Year After

On 11 May 1998, two events took place: (1)India carried out nuclear tests; and (2)India declared itself to be a state with nuclear weapons.1

Jasjit Singh |
November 2013 |
Strategic Analysis

R.I.P. Air Commodore Jasjit Singh AVSM, VrC, VM, IAF (Retd) (1934–2013)

Air Commodore Jasjit Singh, AVSM, VrC, VM, IAF (Retd), aged 79, passed away on August 4 2013 after a brief illness. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in his condolence message,...

Arvind Gupta |
November 2013 |
Strategic Analysis

Interventions: A Life in War and Peace

Post-Cold War structural change (from bipolar to unipolar) brought about by the demise of the Soviet Union, redefined the role and responsibilities of the United Nations (UN). The constraints imposed...

King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India

King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India by Patrick Olivelle is an annotated translation of Kautilya’s Arthasastra. It has 15 chapters and three appendices, which allow the author to stay...

Prospects and Challenges of ASEAN

Regionalism has been an important force in international relations since 1945. The aim of this article is to make an assessment of one of the major regional organisations from the...

Keeping Capstone in Context: Evaluating the Peacekeeping Doctrine

The United Nations (UN) peacekeeping ‘Capstone doctrine’ is the first attempt by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations/Department of Field Support (DPKO/DFS) to formulate a coherent doctrine for peacekeeping/peacebuilding missions beyond...

Taming India’s Maoists: Surrender and Rehabilitation

This article seeks to make a preliminary assessment of the surrender and rehabilitation policy being adopted towards Naxalites. The examples/experiences cited in this paper refer largely to cadres and leaders...

P. V. Ramana |
November 2013 |
Strategic Analysis

The Afghan Game: Interests and Moves

In Afghanistan, the third Great Game is still on. The end of US–NATO combat operations in Afghanistan by the end of 2014 will be read by many as ‘Obama’s Vietnam’,...

J.K. Baral |
November 2013 |
Strategic Analysis

Why is the UN Security Council Discussing Climate Change?

The G8, Pakistan and the Pacific island states have pushed for a discussion in the United Nations (UN) Security Council on the security dimensions of climate change. As the issue...

Mukul Sanwal |
November 2013 |
Strategic Analysis

Australia’s Defence White Paper 2013: Seeking a Fine Balance

On 3 May 2013, Australia’s former Prime Minister Julia Gillard released the Defence White Paper (DWP) 2013, making it the sixth White Paper on defence in the history of Australia,...

Rahul Mishra |
November 2013 |
Strategic Analysis