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North Korea is among the states that stand out for their often defiant behaviour, divergent from typical diplomatic niceties and non-compliant with widely accepted international liberal norms and rules. This ‘uniqueness’ is seen, for instance, in the country’s nuclear weapons development programme, which has been the object of global attention since the early 1990s. North Korea has now extended this behaviour to the cyber domain, marked by

This paper examines Indian policies and decisions on Iran's nuclear programme and reveals a number of critical factors which have influenced New Delhi on this matter in varying degrees.

Nuclear development in Iran has been an issue of great concern, not only to its neighbours in West Asia, but also for the global powers, in the interests of regional and global stability. At present, efforts are being made to find a solution to the crisis. The interim nuclear deal signed between Iran and P5+1 (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany) on 24 November 2013, and the complementary Framework for Coopera

While the regulatory and safety structures of India's civilian nuclear programme have served the country well, they are in need of an upgrade. This paper examines the paths that lie ahead.

This Issue Brief analyses the possible nuclear and radiological threats that India could face. It also examines the various ways in which these threats could occur and the likely actors inclined to carry them out.

In light of the 2014 NTI Index which ranks India 23rd out of 25 countries with weapons-usable nuclear materials, this issue brief highlights problem areas in the Index and proposes suggestions for improving the Indian nuclear security regime.

A closer reading of the joint statement issued by Chinese President Xi Jinping after a meeting with the President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych last month, suggested China was merely offering boiler plate assurances to Ukraine.

The world is experiencing a crucial shift; a new industrial revolution. This time, the colour is green, and the aim is a cleaner, more livable world for future generations. This industrial revolution will require unprecedented access to critical minerals like graphite, cobalt, lithium, and copper, used for some of the most advanced technologies of our time. Many of these minerals are scattered around the globe, and states that do not have the nat

India may be the world’s second largest producer of food, but it has its second largest undernourished population. Further, more than half of women in India suffer from anaemia, which is one of the reasons for the high rate of low-birth weight babies. An unbalanced diet and lack of food is directly linked to high rates of stunting, excessive weight, and death in children under five years of age. The Government of India has implemented programme

The inadequacy of Barack Obama's Afghanistan and Pakistan strategy stems from the exigencies of the calendar of the next presidential elections in America,

All those, who were until the other day shrugging their shoulders and despairing at no "deliverable" packages during the Obama visit, suddenly have a relaxed pensiveness in their eyes which comes from the dawning of realism. In essence, the visit will be directional, not "destinational".

Pakistan's cooperation against extremist groups has been selective, targetting those threatening its own stability but avoiding action against the Afghan Taliban seen as strategic assets for controlling Afghanistan once the US withdrew

Following President Obama's State of the Union address, polls show Obama leading the Republican Presidential frontrunners Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich. The next few months will tell us whether Obama will be able to convert this into another Presidential term.

The Afghan Election Commission has set the next presidential elections for April 5, 2014. This move has been welcomed in the country as well as by the international community as a positive development.

Whoever thought that ¿terrorising¿ the people of one¿s own country through dictatorial methods is equivalent to terrorism, as generally understood, is learning a new lesson in Iraq. With the failure to prove that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass-destruction even months after the despot¿s exit, the US is finding that to the average Iraqi, it is not a ¿liberator¿ but an ¿occupier¿.

The President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has earned the ire of the world by his much publicised remarks about the Holocaust. His logic is convoluted; his indiscretion has not gone un-noticed in Iran and in the world at large. A debate has also surfaced about the language used, its syntax and context.

A week ago, oil giant Chevron-Texaco's Nigerian unit decided to keep its production of 23,000 barrels a day shut till its oil facilities attacked and damaged by members of the Ijaw tribe are found to be in order. Disruption of oil operations, hostage taking, inter-ethnic clashes are not new for Nigeria¿s oil-rich Niger Delta.

There will be no respite from rising international oil prices, according to internationally renowned oil expert Dr. A.F. Alhajji. Delivering a lecture at Observer Research Foundation (ORF), New Delhi, on July 26, 2005,

This Paper examines the existing critiques of China's oil supply diversification strategies in the Asia Pacific. It deconstructs the growing energy relationship between China and the Middle East that has made the security of the Hormuz Strait and the Malacca Strait vital to China's energy security. It also analyses specific geographic and strategic chokepoints in China's oil supply route and concludes that supply diversification motivations are d

Though India and Pakistan have been working on improving bilateral trade, the recent meeting of Experts' Group on Trade in Petroleum and Petrochemical Products come in the wake of the ongoing energy crisis in Pakistan.

In mid-June, the oil giant Shell was forced to declare force majeure in its Nigeria unit excusing it from liability and contractual obligations due to sabotage by local militias on its oil pipelines.

Like the US, India, too, is grappling with its own version of the fiscal cliff, the biggest challenge before Finance Minister P. Chidambaram. The UPA has exhausted its fiscal space even as growth has fallen to a 10-year low. The challenge is to effect a sharp reduction in the fiscal while not adversely affecting quality public investment, which can in turn give a fillip to private investment.

Few days before the fourth anniversary of the Mumbai terrorist attacks, Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT) is planning a two-day training convention at Muridke (near Lahore), its former headquarters from where the terror attack was planned and executed.

Relaxation of China's One Child policy reform proposed in Third Plenum is not a full proof plan. President Xi Jinping has a perfect analogy with Deng Xiaoping in grappling with a compulsion of sorts. Deng was faced with a bulging population; Xi finds the challenge in ageing one.

This brief analyses the impact of the Christchurch Call to Action, issued to gather countries and technology companies to stop the use of the internet for disseminating violent extremist content. The Call was the result of a summit organised shortly after a terrorist attack in New Zealand in March 2019. This brief finds that the Call lacks clear conceptual definitions and is singularly focused on social media platforms. It also raises questions a

The multiple ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the lockdowns imposed by countries as a response, are being felt in sectors ranging from agriculture to healthcare. The global community must now hurdle massive obstacles to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To correctly assess the impact of the pandemic on global sustainability-driven concerns, it is important to understand not only the inter-linkages between the SDGs,

As per the OPEC deal, Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude exporter and OPEC’s biggest producer and the de facto leader had to cut output by 4,86,000 barrels per day (bpd) to a ceiling of 1,00,58,000 bpd.

I am addressing this open letter not only to you, but also to other members of the US Congress, who have expressed their concern over the course of the US-led war against international terrorism in Iraq and have started suggesting, if not demanding, the withdrawal of the US troops from there.

The concept of ‘intelligence’ immediately brings to mind a covert world of spies, secrets, and classified documents. That might have been true in the past, but in the current age, Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) is gaining prominence. OSINT is intelligence based on information that is publicly available and processed by any interested party, and complements traditional intelligence while providing greater situational awareness to a range of

China’s PLA Air Force (PLAAF) has been aiming to acquire strategic and expeditionary capabilities since the Gulf War in 1991, with President Xi Jinping targeting operational proficiency by 2035. The PLAAF has since made strides in hardware, incorporating fourth-generation and stealth fighters into its fleet. It lags in combat experience, however, as well as in operational tactics, military doctrines, and pilot efficiency, particularly when comp

Blue Economy is fast becoming an area of huge interest for African policymakers. Has the rhetoric translated to concrete developmental outcomes? This brief examines the question of how the concept of ‘Blue economy’ should be operationalised nationally and regionally in Africa. It highlights strategic entry points that should be driven by both public and private sectors and supported by South-South cooperation: the development of ports, promot

In March 2023, the foreign ministers of India, Japan, Australia, and the US (that form the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad) announced the establishment of a working group on countering terrorism. While the urgency of counterterrorism cooperation may have arguably faded in political debate in recent years, it remains steady in military-to-military cooperation at the bilateral and multilateral levels. In a fast-changing glo

As global and urban populations continue to grow, and climate change threatens food security, it is imperative that cities—often the largest food consumers—contribute to its production through urban agriculture. Urban agriculture comprises food and non-food products grown for self-consumption or sale. Entrepreneurs, non-governmental organisations, and citizens worldwide are adopting new technologies to optimise production amid space c

The Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi and the Experimental Creativity Centre, Moscow have initiated a collaborative research project on Radical Islam. The first meeting under this project took place in Moscow on the 8th and 9th of October, 2009.

As part of the worldwide launch of the Global Go To Think Tank Index Report 2014, an event was organised at ORF in Delhi on Thursday. According to the Report, ORF has been placed at 8th position amongst the Top 10 think tanks in Asia.

Experts from the BRICS countries and Germany discussed in Delhi 'Supply Side Economics and the Need for Energy Diversification'; 'The Future of Global Energy Systems'; 'Industrial Efficiency and Business Responsibility' and 'Energy Access in BRICS Nations'.

In partnership with the Forum of Federations (FoF), Canada, Observer Research Foundation intends to study various decentralized approaches to Health Care delivery and draw inspiration for an ideal Indian model.This programme aims to provide the Government of Gujarat and other interested parties an ideal model of decentralized delivery of Health Care in India drawing from experiences in India as well as countries such as Brazil, Mexico, Spain, Can

Preparation of a town/city plan is a comprehensive exercise involving collection, tabulation and analysis of data on numerous urban development indicators. The enormous amount of time, labour and resources involved in this process usually go to waste as compliance to plan proposals is often quite minimal.

The killing of Osama bin Laden, one of the most prized assets of Pakistan Army, is likely to exacerbate differences among the top and middle-rung Army leadership which has been quite uncomfortable with the US over the Raymond Davis affair and the Drone attacks. The key question is what effect this event will have on the Army and the ISI.

Lebanon backed by Britain and France introduced the UN resolution on Libya, supported by the US. What next? Not quite clear except that a huge question mark has been placed on the future of east Libyan oil reserves, rather like the one on Kirkuk in Iraq's Kurdish north.

Whether Male likes it or not, India’s proximity is a fact

Against the backdrop of increasing Chinese territorial assertiveness, the logic of geopolitics dictates that both India and the U.S. have vital interests in strengthening defense cooperation. In June, US and India signed a 10-year defence framework agreement.

In May 2016, the Health Secretaries of the States and Union Territories of India gathered in the capital and issued “The Delhi Commitment on Sustainable Development Goals for Health”. Among others, the document acknowledged the need to invest in health data collection, analysis and research so that these can properly inform government policies and strategies necessary to address the various challenges facing India’s healthcare. Such commitm

Digitalisation has the potential to boost local economies and people’s quality of life. However, citizens’ mistrust can prevent large-scale adoption and slow the public innovation curve. This brief categorises public mistrust into three groups and highlights examples. It proposes a cultural framework comprising a number of key actions that public administrations can implement to enhance communication and foster citizen engagement in digitalis

Malik Mumtaz Qadri, the assassin of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, probably may have no links with the ISI, but he is irredeemably part of the web of extremism ISI has woven.

पाणबुडी निर्मितीसाठी भारताने सर्व अडथळ्यांवर मात करणे आवश्यक आहे. देशहिताच्या दृष्टिकोनातून P75(I) या कार्यक्रमात संस्थात्मक पातळीवर पुरेसे प्रयत्न करणे आवश्यक आहे.

The Pakistan Accountability Act, moved in the US Congress this week, lacks the necessary coercive elements required to persuade Pakistan or to alter its strategic calculus in the context of Afghanistan. It very well realises its importance to the US for successful completion of the counter-insurgency campaign and sustaining troops.

As expected, President General Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan announced a major reshuffle of the senior officers of the Pakistan Army of the rank of Generals and Lts.General on October 2 and 3, 2004.

There is only one way in which Pakistan can survive as a nation-state. That is, the Pakistan Army will have to confine itself to being an armed force and not usurp the powers and responsibilities of the legislature and executive branch of the government. The mission objective of an armed force is to safeguard the integrity and sovereignty of the country and not run it. The people of Pakistan have a choice here.