The Chemical Disarmament and the United States The United States, having been the sole country indicating its struggle to eliminate its declared chemical weapons within the set timeframe, declared on July 7 that it had successfully destroyed… Continue reading The Chemical Disarmament and the United States Rajiv Nayan | January-June 2023 | CBW Magazine
National Unity Government in Sri Lanka: An Assessment At the close of two years, the National Unity Government (NUG) of Sri Lanka has failed to maintain the confidence and trust of the people it enjoyed during the first three months of its tenure. Having said that, political crisis or instability in Sri Lanka remains unlikely. The NUG is likely to complete its full term, but it will not be a cakewalk. Gulbin Sultana | | Occasional Papers
Role of Semiconductors in India’s National Security The Indian government has rightly given a clarion call for India to be a Chip Maker rather than a Chip Taker. The requirement of semiconductors in India's national security domain has become critical since they form the substrate of every important activity in the country - from the economic to the military domain. Akshat Upadhyay | | Occasional Papers
Prospects of Maritime Cooperation between India and Russia in Indian Ocean Region, Arctic and Russian Far East The India-Russia partnership is longstanding and time-tested, one of steadiest of the major relationships in the world. Although the relations between the two countries have remained exceptionally warm and cordial, their full potential has not been realised. Anurag Bisen | | Occasional Papers
Mahan and Mackinder: Addressing the False Dichotomy in the Eurasian Pivot theory Halford Mackinder’s 1904 paper: The Geographical Pivot of History, has been an object of scholarly contention for more than eight decades. Endlessly regurgitated, the process of the Mackinder review has become a niche within International Relations theory that has evolved over time but retained a number of core themes. Philip Reid | | Occasional Papers
Aerial Drones in Future Wars: A Conceptual Perspective Aerial drones are fast making way into military operations. With further advancement of technology, their role in warfare is set to increase exponentially. The new generation aerial drones promise to be at the centre stage of military operations in future warfare, in both lethal and non-lethal roles. Atul Pant | | Occasional Papers
Trump’s Own “Star Wars” The 2019 US BMD Review and What It Augurs for India? The Trump administration’s BMDR, released in early 2019, can be described as the most proactive BMD plan since the SDI days with fillip given to areas like directed-energy, addressing gaps in boost-phase interception and harnessing the space frontier. Besides analyzing the BMDR threadbare, this Volume uses a hitherto unexplored cache of documents to reconstruct the anatomy of the India-US BMD dialogue so to ascertain why it failed and what the BMDR augurs for India’s BMD future. A. Vinod Kumar | | Occasional Papers
Pakistan’s Foreign Policy: Trends and Challenges Pakistan's most critical foreign policy concerns in the last few years relate to the deadlock in relations with India and India's success in isolating Pakistan regionally and internationally due to its support for terrorism. The success of its peace overtures to Afghanistan are constrained by various complexities arising out of the unpredictable situation in Afghanistan and the role of external powers like the US, China and Russia in the ongoing peace process. Sumita Kumar | | Occasional Papers
Makran Gateways: A Strategic Reference for Gwadar and Chabahar The spirit of 'Connectivity', a salient motif in early-twenty first century international relations (IR), has provided an amenable context for a review of geo-determinism in IR theory and the defence of classical geopolitical models as analytical frameworks. No contemporary case study is perhaps more admissible in this regard than the scramble for connectivity leadership in Central and South Asia. Philip Reid | | Occasional Papers
The Acquisition of Rafale Aircraft: Facts and Concerns That Ought To Be In the Public Domain The acrimonious debate in the public space on the acquisition of Rafale aircraft has been primarily focused on a few issues. The debate does not inform the public about the long, arduous and complex nature of the programme and the joint effort invested in it. The uniqueness of this programme is also not in the public domain. It does not specifically inform the lay person as to the rationale for restricting the numbers to two squadrons, and carries on oblivious of the collateral effect it may have on future acquisition programmes. Vinay Kaushal | | Occasional Papers
