Acknowledging the fact that military victory over the LTTE is not the final solution, Mahinda Rajapaksa has promised to restore the rights and dignity of the Tamils through a political solution.

North Korea is unlikely to abandon its nuclear weapon development programme which has deterrence value especially considering that it does not trust China to come to its rescue in case of a threat to its security.

The death of Osama bin laden, is not the end of al Qaeda. It may disable it, but will not kill ‘al Qaeda the idea or movement’. We need to remember that bin Laden and al Qaeda articulated a political grievance which will not disappear with his elimination. The 'war of ideas' is still on.

This Brief outlines the practical and ideational role that BRICS can play as a grouping, in reforming the global financial system and in the norm-setting processes in world politics. The Brief also discusses some challenges BRICS countries are facing to realise their goals in the short to medium term.

Since there was no clarity about the end goals of this operation, it would have been difficult for the Indian government to communicate and justify its support for this resolution to its domestic constituency.

The ongoing protests against undemocratic regimes in West Asia and North Africa have sent shockwaves throughout the region. This Brief analyses the protests in the Arab world and their implications for the region and India.

While erstwhile authoritarianism and absolutist rule may no longer be possible, it would be naïve to expect that the Middle East will undergo a metamorphosis.

Internal threats to national security have assumed centre-stage in the debates on Indian security. They have a pan-Indian presence and are no longer confined to India’s north and north-eastern frontiers.

While the Arab Revolution might or might not prove as seminal as the French or the Russian, it has changed the geopolitics significantly and irrevocably.

The United States faces a budget crisis of proportions with no precedent in its recent history. The country’s economic dominance since the end of World War II has supported a military posture with global reach and influence.