Strategic Analysis

Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir on the Periphery

Christopher Snedden, The Untold Story of the People of Azad Kashmir, Hurst & Company, London, 2012, xxi + 435 pp., £50, clothbound, ISBN 97818490041508

The Arab Spring and its Implications for India

The ‘Arab Spring’ is the popular rejection of the political and economic scenario that has prevailed across the Arab world from Morocco to Yemen over the last 100 years. In...

Talmiz Ahmad |
January 2013 |
Strategic Analysis

Do the Changes in Myanmar Signify a Real Transition? A Response to the Debate

Myanmar's complexity makes it difficult to find agreement on its multiple facets. What makes it doubly confounding is that the country is passing through a phase of transition. My initial...

Myanmar’s Transition: A Comment

Myanmar's reforms have generated much debate among scholars, both inside and outside the country. One of the key questions asked is: do the changes in Myanmar signify a real transition?...

K. Yhome |
January 2013 |
Strategic Analysis

Contours of Change in Myanmar—and Future Prospects

Dr. Udai Bhanu Singh astutely raises multiple questions in his article in order to trigger a debate. But his take on today's Myanmar is evident from the first paragraph (‘This...

Rajiv Bhatia |
January 2013 |
Strategic Analysis

Response to Udai Bhanu Singh’s Essay, Do the Changes in Myanmar Signify a Real Transition?

1. In general terms, it is my impression that the author is far too optimistic about what recent changes in Myanmar can lead to. Power is still in the hands...

Do the Changes in Myanmar Signify a Real Transition? A Critique/Response

Dr. Singh's article summarises parts of Myanmar's reform process. However, he misses out the historical background that led to the current reforms and he does not unpack some of the...

Marie Lall |
January 2013 |
Strategic Analysis

Do the Changes in Myanmar Signify a Real Transition?

Myanmar is in the midst of a phase of historic transformation, both in the domestic sphere and in its external relations. This time the change that is occurring is substantive,...

Mahinda Rajapaksa’s India Policy: Engage and Countervail

Mahinda Rajapaksa has emerged as perhaps the only Sri Lankan leader who has managed to secure some strategic autonomy in conducting his country's foreign policy vis-à-vis India. He engaged India...

The ‘Ethnic Question’ in India–Sri Lanka Relations in the Post-LTTE Phase

The ‘ethnic question’ in Sri Lanka, even after the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), evokes a sense of suspense, uncertainty and even a possible conflict of...

Human Security and the Arab Spring

The Arab Spring was ignited by an undeniable human security goal of achieving freedom from want, freedom from fear and freedom to live in dignity. This article analyses how human...

Kazakhstan: Continuous Improvement or Stalemate in its Relations with China?

Over the last two decades Kazakhstan has implemented foreign policies aimed at improving relations with many new geopolitical actors, as well as longstanding common partners such as Russia, on which...

The Arctic: An Antithesis

The Arctic ice is melting faster than predicted. In August 2012, calculations based on the satellite imagery indicated that the summer sea ice loss was 50 per cent higher than...

Iran and India: The Need for Constructive Re-engagement

Since the Islamic Revolution, Iran and the United States have been locked in a bitter conflict. Although it has not yet degenerated into a war, as has been the case...

Relevance of Kautilya’s Arthasastra

The community of scholars needs to study Kautilya's Arthasastra and apply his concepts to political theory and other fields of enquiry, such as intelligence, internal security, war, foreign policy, sociology,...

P. K. Gautam |
January 2013 |
Strategic Analysis

Peak Oil and Implications for India

The basic point is that crude oil is a finite resource. Hence, the issue is not ‘if’ crude oil peaks and availability declines, but ‘when’ it peaks and starts its...

S.C.N. Jatar |
January 2013 |
Strategic Analysis

India’s Growing Energy Woes

The power blackouts on 30 July 2012, first in north India and again in north, north-east and eastern India, which plunged seven northern Indian states into darkness for several hours,...

Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir—A Buffer State in the Making?

One cannot deny the inexorable advantage that geography has given Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Being the only link between the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) and Pakistan, PoK is truly the...

Mandip Singh |
January 2013 |
Strategic Analysis

Introduction

In the two decades since the end of the Cold War, the Islamic Republic of Iran has emerged as one of the two most debated, contested and commented upon foreign...

Israel: The Non-Parallel Player

Political tensions and rivalry between Iran and Israel have cast a shadow over India's bilateral relations with both these countries. While one offers energy security, the other provides military–security capability...