Peshawar Massacre and the Afghan Endgame The Peshawar school massacre does not appear to be a simple tit-for-tat game; it has an intricate link to the Afghan endgame in which Pakistan wants to be the victor. P. Stobdan | December 22, 2014 | IDSA Comments
Egypt’s Uneasy Transition: Internal and External Dynamics and Challenges for India Amidst the ‘Arab Spring’ nations, the most keenly watched and followed developments have been in Egypt. Being one of the largest Arab nations, lynchpin of peace treaty with Israel, key US ally and a nation of potent and modern armed forces, Egypt deserved the attention. And so, the success or otherwise of the Arab revolutions hinged on the success or failure in Egypt. However the transition in Egypt has been far from smooth so far. Rajeev Agarwal | 2014 | Occasional Papers
The Indian Ocean Zone of Peace: Sifting ‘Facts’ from ‘Illusion’ In the event that a ZOP is announced, it is India that will stand to lose the most because its proposal will be seen as a ‘backdoor’ manoeuvre to limit the Chinese presence and an effective abdication of leadership and responsibility in the IOR. Abhijit Singh | December 19, 2014 | IDSA Comments
Status of India’s Border Trade: Strategic and Economic Significance Border trade is trade in local products of limited value by the people residing within a few kilometres on either side of the international border. Although the contribution of border trade in India's economy is negligible, it has substantial impact on its relations with its neighbours as well as on the people living on the border. Pushpita Das | | Occasional Papers
Defence Innovations in India: The Fault Lines The Occasional Paper examines India's defence innovation performance, especially of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the defence industry. The paper argues that the innovation performance of these two players is constrained by lack of a higher organisational structure which could provide direction and required thrust to the indigenous R&D. Laxman Kumar Behera | | Occasional Papers
Need for Inclusive Governance Structures in the North-East The Centre must reiterate its commitment to uphold the Constitutional provisions enshrined in Article 371, expand the scope of the Sixth Schedule, and empower the autonomous council institutions in the North-East. Gautam Sen | December 17, 2014 | IDSA Comments
The Islamic State’s Forays in North Africa: Libya, Tunisia and Egypt China, like Russia, suffers from domestic terrorism (the Uyghur East Turkestan Islamic Movement). Daesh leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has put China on a list of countries accused of persecuting Muslims, thus making it a target for jihad. Tuva Julie Engebrethsen Smith | December 17, 2014 | IDSA Comments
The 2014 Mid-term Elections in the United States There are many reasons for the decision of the people to vote for the Republican Party in these elections ranging from economy, governance, foreign policy decisions, the mid-term factor and mostly President Obama's unpopularity Aakriti Sethi | December 17, 2014 | Backgrounder
Strategic Materials: A Resource Challenge for India Publisher: Pentagon Press2014 There are a few minerals which are categorized as ‘strategic’ because of their importance for the industries and owing to natural and man-made difficulties in their procurement. There has been an attempt here to contextualize the importance of strategic materials from a national security perspective. This study presents a macro view with regard to India’s strategic minerals architecture and undertakes analysis to understand current and futuristic challenges and opportunities in this sector, and offers a few recommendations based on the assessment undertaken. Issues related to Rare Earth and new materials are also discussed. ISBN 978-81-8274-786-9, Price: ?. 795/- E-copy available Ajey Lele , Parveen Bhardwaj | | Book
Sri Lankan Presidential Elections: India’s Stance It will be in India`s interest to adopt a neutral posture vis-à-vis the contestants in the January 2015 Sri Lankan Presidential elections. Gautam Sen | December 15, 2014 | IDSA Comments
