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In March, a "matrix" between the two Sudans set conditionalities and dates both countries must respect. It was an insurance against political vagaries and deep deficit budgets. But with oil revenues falling into Machar's hands, the entire ambit of monies and transit fee from Juba could come unstuck one more time!

There is hope among the politicians of various political groups in Kashmir as well as the people of Kashmir that Narendra Modi as Prime Minister would take some decisive action in keeping with their expectations. Modi himself has moderated his stand to that there should be a discussion on Article 370.

The recently concluded 19th Party Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) brought the world’s attention to the future direction of the CPC. As the proceedings of the Party Congress revealed, sustaining the legitimacy of the CPC’s hold on power is an overriding concern for the country’s political leaders. The Party Congress addressed the corruption plaguing the CPC and the Chinese state writ large, which has deep, long-term consequen

General elections of 2014 could well be the most interesting election they will witness in their lifetime. Several developments suggest that the elections could mark a big shift of the political paradigm and, in that sense, they could well mark the true beginning of 21st century politics in the country.

Little is known and even less understood about the 2,00,000-strong Bangladesh Army's corporate interests. The importance of the subject owes itself to the fact that the army has been a veritable power of stability in a country that has been dogged by decades of unending political turmoil. The fact that the Army had to step in to keep the country from slipping into a political abyss in 2006 underlines the criticality of its role in providing stabi

The task of developing a regional framework for the governance of a shared natural resource is fraught with challenges. It requires political will and stability, consistent funding, and clear goals and indicators. In the Bay of Bengal, institutionalisation efforts are so far defined in the BIMSTEC–a high-level governmental organisation working on broad economic objectives for the region. This brief speculates on a new framework that is quasi-go

A major reason for the BJP’s latest posture is that it has nothing to offer by way of a political dialogue.

Right-wing populism has been the most influential political movement in Europe for the last few years.  Far from being a newcomer on the political stage, it has managed to shape political discourses as never before since the end of World War II. This paper identifies what right-wing populism is and why right-wing populist parties have again become relevant in almost every European country.  It argues that it is an expression of, and a reaction

Whoever wins will have the task of steering Canada amid domestic and foreign policy constraints

The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc across the globe since the first outbreak in 2019, causing massive losses in lives and livelihoods. This brief examines the nature of the threat, the blind-spots in global health security that were revealed by the pandemic, and why a values-based geopolitical order is critical for the world’s future. It makes a case for the global community to treat health crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, as global

This Issue Brief aims to deconstruct the Centre-State fiscal relationship by describing the current status quo and the criticisms. It gives recommendations to correct and update the relationship such that it reflects the changed fiscal structure of the country, its States and its people.

Recent geopolitical disruptions and India’s geoeconomic and geopolitical ambitions necessitate the building of new, more reliable multimodal trade corridors. This report examines the strategic importance for New Delhi of the ten-year agreement on Chabahar Port in Iran, and how it aligns with India’s ‘Connect Central Asia Policy’ and historical ties with the region. The Chabahar Port, along with the International North-South Trade Corridor

Mohamed Muizzu was sworn in as the seventh president of the Maldives in November 2023 after intense electoral competition with seven other candidates and a highly competitive second round. However, his administration’s five-year term will not be without challenges. Muizzu’s rise to power comes at a time when the archipelago is experiencing significant domestic and strategic challenges. As the Maldives gears up for parliamentary elections in l

Bhutan has historically maintained a neutral relationship with China, to its north, and a more special relationship with India, whose states border its west, east, and south. Over the past two decades, however, many factors are forcing Bhutan to settle its longstanding territorial disputes with China and diversify its relations. These factors include its own changing economy and transition from an absolute monarchy to a democracy, a gener

In the evolving geopolitical dynamic after Covid, India should side with democracies.

China’s role in reshaping the political milieu in many countries is causing a sense of unease

New Delhi seems to be signalling that Bejing’s rise in the Indo-Pacific has to be tackled politically and economically

The Indian government’s “Smart Cities Mission” aims to drive economic growth and improve quality of life through “smart” solutions for the delivery of infrastructure and services. This is expected to transform living spaces, enhance quality of life, and provide employment opportunities, in turn helping reduce crime rates and promoting law and order. Among the challenges to the “Smart Cities” programme is terrorism—especially in ur

ISIS, as an ideology and group, has also attracted many crossovers: ideologically radicalised, predominantly youth, leaving behind more regional and hyper-local entities to join ISIS’s brand of pan-globalist jihad is a trend that continues even today.

The Maghreb, often considered part of the Arab world, straddles the Euro-Mediterranean region, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Arabian Peninsula—a location that has given it a distinct history, political landscape, economy, and development trajectory. It is also emerging as an arena for great-power contestations, and is rich in natural resources critical for green transition. Historically dominated by former colonial powers, the countries in the re

Russia is now the world’s most heavily sanctioned country, with unprecedented punitive action targeting its energy exports, central bank, and other sectors. Given Russia’s economic resilience amid such economic restrictions and India’s dependence on Russia for its defence and energy requirements, this issue brief highlights the economic rationale for New Delhi to maintain existing trade ties with Moscow despite continued geopolitical pressu

The impact of Indo-Russian relations on the domestic and foreign policies of India from the 1960s is difficult to underestimate. The USSR was instrumental in helping independent India industrialise, develop its scientific potential, and defend its territorial integrity. The Indo-Russian relationship developed a level of trust between two independent countries that was unprecedented in international affairs. The collapse of the USSR negatively aff

Brussel’s faith in China fulfilling its end of the pact reveals a myopia that will weaken the EU geopolitically

An imprisoned Imran Khan directing street protests is a thorn in Pakistan army’s side. The political instability deepens Islamabad’s ‘polycrisis’

What does it mean to speak of an ‘Indian’ approach to international affairs? Indian International Relations (IR) is commonly presented as merely a derivative of ‘western’ disciplinary traditions in Europe and North America. This obscures the vast body of work on political science and international thought that emerged from the beginning of the 20th century amongst South Asian intellectuals, scholars, and activists. This forgotten history

The rapid growth in military cyber capabilities of the countries in the Indo-Pacific combined with the use of assets from the cyberwarfare toolbox—in domestic and interstate contexts—is adding uncertainty to already competitive political, military, and economic relations. This issue brief assesses the cyberwarfare context in the Indo-Pacific, and reviews the military cyber capabilities of the region’s countries and their commitment to inter

The rapid growth in military cyber capabilities of the countries in the Indo-Pacific combined with the use of assets from the cyberwarfare toolbox—in domestic and interstate contexts—is adding uncertainty to already competitive political, military, and economic relations. This issue brief assesses the cyberwarfare context in the Indo-Pacific, and reviews the military cyber capabilities of the region’s countries and their commitment to inter

In August 2021, Kabul fell to the Taliban, marking their return nearly 20 years since they first ruled Afghanistan in the mid-1990s. This report examines the prospects of restarting India’s engagements in Afghanistan under the current Taliban regime. It builds on the insights shared during an exclusive, virtual roundtable organised by ORF’s Centre for New Economic Diplomacy (CNED) in September 2021, and makes a case for India to consider the

The global climate finance architecture tends to restrain emerging economies from mobilising and accessing global private commercial capital for energy transition. This brief explores the different global financial regulations that influence climate capital flows between countries, and argues that institutions must enhance their role in facilitating the optimal allocation of capital. It evaluates the role of Multilateral Development Banks from a

Amid disruptive international crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing war in Ukraine, ensuring a secure energy supply for development requires focused efforts by individual countries and the international community. This report examines the global governance of the energy transition from the perspectives of the Latin American and Indo-Pacific regions. Despite their geographic distance, the two regions share similarities in their econ

Asia’s growing space race is indicative of the larger geopolitical competition in the region. China’s rise and the strategic uncertainties it has created are particularly worrying to India and Japan, leading to surprisingly fast-growing India-Japan strategic cooperation.

The idea was to capture the different dimensions of the war on terror as has been perceived and to locate the war in the larger geo political context in order to appreciate and understand the consequences, according to Dr Ashley Tellis, a well-known senior US policy analyst.

The political funding reforms are an embarrassment to India’s claims of heralding a transparency revolution

How Delhi can make the most of its ties with Dhaka

The Ministry of Human Resource Development in late June floated the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) Bill, 2018, to repeal the seven-decade-old University Grants Commission (UGC) Act, 1956. The HECI, when established, will replace the UGC that has been the bedrock of India’s higher education system. This brief analyses the draft bill and examines its deficiencies. It suggests that the present bill fails to address the shortcomings of

Hypocrisy of the political leadership of all hues in Tamil Nadu is completely exposed if we focus on the refugee issue. There are presently over 1,20,000 Tamil refugees living in India. Of this, nearly 70,000 still live either in the hundred odd general (open) or the three special (closed) refugee camps in Tamil Nadu.

India, currently the chair of IBSA (India, Brazil and South Africa), is responsible for steering the agenda for trilateral collaboration. In its capacity as chair, it is incumbent upon India to revitalise the geopolitical group, which has been so central to the construct of "South-South Cooperation" that engages most political thinkers today.

The fallout of this election forefronts the fault lines in the Bengali identity whose syncretic political and cultural climate has now been marred by religious insecurities.

Over the years, India has attempted to find political as well as legal solutions to its border dispute with China; these efforts have met with little success. This paper argues that the reason a resolution to the India–China border issue remains elusive is the inadequate understanding—and enforcement—of International Law. It examines the sustainability of China’s position, as well as its general approach to International Law, its interpre

The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad)—comprising Australia, India, Japan and the US—has outlined a collective vision that recognises each country’s peculiarities in their approach to the Indo-Pacific while building upon the areas of convergence. Maritime security will continue to be a key pillar in this vision, although there is a shift towards making the Quad’s objectives more broad-based and relevant to the emerging global geopolit

Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki faces challenges to his power not only from receding American support but also from political rivals like the Sadrists and the al-Iraqiyya bloc, and the rise of Sunni insurgent groups like the Islamic State.

With a Muslim population of over 200 million, the third largest in the world next only to Indonesia and Pakistan, India was thought of by analysts to be fertile ground for the recruitment of foreign fighters for the Islamic State (IS). The country, however, has proven such analysts wrong by having only a handful of pro-IS cases so far. Of these cases, the majority have come from the southern state of Kerala. This paper offers an explanation for t

This paper dissects the history and politics of Gilgit-Baltistan, a part of Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), from the 1980s to the present day. It analyses the policies implemented by Pakistani leaders in the region and how successive political parties have attempted to justify Pakistan’s administrative control of it while disregarding any democratic, secular or moral principles in the ruling of its supposed subjects. The pap

Karachi, on an average, witnesses close to 800 killings per year, mainly the result of ethnic/political violence. This year, the city has been extremely violent. More than 800 people have lost their lives till the first week of August.

King Gyanedra¿s decision to give audience to the various political parties in early January 2004 preferred the ray of hope that the continuing political deadlock in Nepal might end soon.