Transformation of Indo-Bangladesh Relations: From Insecurity to Cooperation in Northeast India Bangladesh and India are enjoying increasingly close relations in the latter’s northeastern region. This represents a transformation in the two countries’ past relationship, which was characterised by suspicion, distrust and insecurity. This recent change, which began with the arrival of Bangladesh’s current regime in 2009, has resulted in a sense of cooperation, mutual interest and connectivity. This article aims to explain this transformation. Md. Sohel Rana | November 2018 | Strategic Analysis
India’s First Step Towards Regulating Drones The Civilian Aviation Requirements for Unmanned Aircraft Systems, though fairly well drafted, constitute only a stop gap measure for regulating drone operations in the civil sector. Atul Pant | October 31, 2018 | IDSA Comments
Making Private Companies Accountable For Breach of User Private Data Mega data breaches of user’s private digital data in the last two years has drawn the world’s attention towards protection, safe custody and management of this extremely valuable commodity. Ashish Chhibbar | October 24, 2018 | IDSA Comments
Pakistan-Saudi Arabia Relations – the drivers and challenges While Pakistan clearly seeks to maintain cordial relations with Iran, it is unlikely that it would be willing to incur the displeasure of Saudi Arabia with which it has greater economic and strategic links. Nazir Ahmad Mir | October 24, 2018 | IDSA Comments
Khashoggi Affair Unlikely to Affect US-Saudi Strategic Ties Two factors explain Washington’s lack of enthusiasm for sanctioning Saudi Arabia over the Khashoggi affair despite domestic and international pressure. Md. Muddassir Quamar | October 23, 2018 | IDSA Comments
The Jamal Khashoggi Affair Riyadh committed a crime and blunder; its communication strategy, so far, has been an unmitigated disaster. MbS is facing a challenge, to put it mildly. K. P. Fabian | October 23, 2018 | IDSA Comments
India-Russia Summit: Reading Between the Lines The 19th bilateral summit has left a mixed feeling about the current state of the Indo-Russian relationship and its future prospects. Aleksei Zakharov | October 18, 2018 | IDSA Comments
How India Sees the World: Kautilya to the 21st Century, by Shyam Saran One of the first lessons a student of international politics is introduced to is that foreign policy is a compendium of continuity and change, of static and dynamic co-existence, mired in the national interest of the nation state. In the Indian context, in particular, the first political theorist the same student studies is the realist ancient thinker Kautilya. These elementary but indispensable lessons form the basis of Shyam Saran’s riveting work, How India Sees the World: Kautilya to the 21st Century. Shrabana Barua | October-December 2018 | Journal of Defence Studies
Repatriation of Rohingya Refugees: An Aberration on India’s Humanitarian Legacy To force all Rohingyas to return on the grounds of “threat to security” is against India’s humanitarian heritage. The government and its agencies are capable of sifting out Rohingya elements who might actually have links to terror organisations from the rest of the group. D. Padma Kumar Pillay | October 16, 2018 | IDSA Comments
United Nations Peacekeeping Operations: Causes for Failure and Continuing Relevance Decades after the deployment of the first peacekeeping operation (PKO)—United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO)—in 1948, the United Nations (UN) cannot boast of too many successes. The continued relevance of UN PKOs has thus come under criticism. In order to determine whether UN PKOs are still relevant, it is necessary to obtain a clear understanding of the reasons/factors for their success and failure, and thereafter assess their performance. A.K. Bardalai | October-December 2018 | Journal of Defence Studies
