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'The year old Indo-Pak rapprochement has now reached a stalemate and is in danger of being hijacked by deeply entrenched bureaucracies and hardliners on both the sides', said Lt Gen Talat Masood (Retd), who was Secretary of Defence Production, Ministry of Defense, Pakistan in early 1990s.

Facing a double whammy — the strategic window closing, and ground situation in Kashmir improving — Pakistan will do whatever it can to create disturbances in J&K to bring the issue back in focus.

It is clear that to reduce the suffering of poor people, there is no better investment than education, specially the quality of school buildings, teaching and other facilities which are not improving at an even pace in all the 28 states.

China's aggressive postures in the disputed South China Sea regions have not only increased the unease and apprehensions of the affected countries but have also drawn it to the US strategic trap, placing China in a no-win situation.

India & China want things to stabilise, but we aren’t close to achieving status quo ante of April in eastern Ladakh.

Whether South Korea builds a nuclear bomb on its own or not, nuclear weapons are gaining greater importance in the national security thinking of many states in the Indo-Pacific.

Trump’s “toned down” stance on the South China Sea issue, his emphasis on “America first” policy and his soft attitude towards China have made many Japanese leaders suspect that the US is retreating from Asia.

India’s engagement with the Central European countries has historically been weak. It’s time for that to change.

भारत-ऑस्ट्रेलिया के बीच प्रगाढ़ द्विपक्षीय संबंध है. हाल के वर्षों में खासकर क्वॉड के गठन के बाद दोनों देशों के संबंधों में बड़ा बदलाव आया है. क्वॉड के गठन के बाद भारत और ऑस्

The recent killings of minorities, migrant workers, and local police officers in the Kashmir Valley have led to an impression that the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir is once again becoming uncontrollable. On ground, however, the situation is said to be firmly under the control of the Indian State. This does not mean that terrorism has been eliminated; small terrorist groups continue to operate and attack soft targets, heightening the sen

Southeast Asia has been one of the key components of Japan's foreign policy in the post-Cold War period. It is one region where Japan's diplomacy has accomplished considerable success in coming to terms with the challenges posed by the legacies of the Second World War. Successive Japanese governments since 1952 have always maintained that the stability and security of ASEAN countries are closely tied to Japan's security and prosperity.

One concrete outcome of the bilateral talks between the visiting Japanese Prime Minister and the US President was that the US was able to get Japan closer to making a commitment to the Trans Pacific Cooperation Agreement which the US has been advocating since 2011.

Japan is facing extremely dangerous situation in North East Asia where North Korea is developing nuclear weapons. It is also witnessing China's excessive assertiveness in the East China Sea and the South China Sea. So, situations like these will influence the way Japan will shape its security policy, says eminent Japanese scholar Prof. Shinichi Kitaoka.

While New Delhi’s desire to cultivate closer defense ties with Tokyo is clear, its overall strategic approach is much less so.

The expanding engagement with the Japanese navy, one of the strongest in the world, should give a boost to India's maritime diplomacy in Asia. If New Delhi's interests in the Pacific are growing, Tokyo's naval profile in the Indian Ocean has begun to expand.

Increasingly, many countries that have traditionally maintained a defensive and pacifist posture, like Japan, are having to reconsider their options.

A detailed study of Japan's role in the peace settlement of the Cambodian issue is important as it was one of the earliest political efforts made by Tokyo in a region which had been known for its antipathy to Japan due to the strong historical memories of the Second World War. Southeast Asia posed one of the most serious challenges to Japan's post-war diplomacy which had to wrestle not only with the bitter legacies of the war, but also with the r

While China's engagement strategy appears to operate on a quid pro quo basis, India's approach seems to be driven by its objectives

The visit of America’s Defence Secretary earlier in June has prepared the ground for the the Indian Prime Minister’s U.S. visit next week, which could see some big ticket announcements

New Delhi has  geopolitical opportunities in China rethinks underway in Germany and other countries

Current discussions around the macroeconomic impacts of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) and its effects on the future of work tend to be sensationalist. Unlike previous waves of automation, GenAI has the capacity to affect tasks and professions of capital holders—or white-collar workers—as well as blue-collar workers—and can also contribute to a widening of the gender gap. Capital holders must strengthen the human aspects of work

India and Japan’s shared concerns about China are a key driver of their growing relationship.

The law makers from the government should know that the removal of two contentious provisions from the 2013 Land Act (LARR) would not end all the trouble facing land acquisition. Given land is a State subject, much would depend on how different states create "enabling conditions" for smooth acquisitions.

Wikileaks has not only knocked open the door on 250,000 secret diplomatic cables, it may also have inaugurated an era when audacious discourse will not be placed under the stifling blanket of that expression - "Conspiracy Theory".

For Brazil, there are multiple opportunities within BRICS, not limited to the economic sphere. In many ways, the grouping brings Brazil from the left corner of the world map to the center, where the geopolitical theatre is most active; in Asia and the Indo-Pacific.

France and India have shared a common belief in the importance of multilateralism and have a common respect for international rules and regulations. These shared beliefs can form the basis for a cooperation agenda.

COVID-19, which is a highly infectious disease of zoonotic origin, serves as a serious reminder that human-nature interactions need to be based on sustainable development pathways. The recent surge in zoonotic infections in different parts of the world—among them, H1N1, Nipah virus, Zika virus, and Lyme disease—can be attributed to the intensification of human-animal contact through wildlife trade and livestock production. Reducing the rates

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) constitutes 23.82 percent of the global disease burden but less than one percent of health expenditure.[1] The region has a severe shortage of trained medical personnel[2] and health delivery has low coverage. This brief outlines the most crucial challenges facing SSA’s healthcare system, and describes the footprint of Indian health companies in the region, especially in the context of the failure of the public sector t

Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Global South is being threatened by the mounting challenges facing developing countries due to the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic and the prolonged Russia-Ukraine war, and receding aid from traditional donor countries. As the achievement of the SDGs remains more relevant than ever, this brief proposes the creation of a Global South Development Assistance Committee (D

How have nuclear weapons affected Indian foreign policy? Has India been able to leverage its status as a nuclear weapons state to further its foreign policy objectives? This issue brief examines these questions by first analysing how India’s foreign policy objectives have been affected by its possession of nuclear weapons. It then posits two strategies that India can pursue to leverage its status as a nuclear weapons state. The first strategy d

With the Gaddafi regime in Libya becoming history, great care must now be taken to prevent the prospects of a dark, chaotic future being realised in the oil-rich North African country. If the wealth is used to create infrastructure, facilities and economic opportunities, then Libya can look forward to a stable and prosperous future.

China’s maritime economic initiative, the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (MSR) that is part of the larger One Belt One Road (OBOR), has been under considerable international focus recently. India, for its part, has remained non-committal despite China’s charmed offensive. However, with the signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, both of which exclude the growing economies of I

Adapting health interventions to the social, economic, political, ecological, and cultural contexts of local communities increases trust and acceptability for policies and programmes. Locally led initiatives entrust local stakeholders with providing insights into grassroots-level realities and community-sensitive approaches. Global and country-wide evidence also highlights that granting authority and accountability to local stakeholders improves

Growing economic protectionism and recurrent geo-economic and geo-political tensions in recent years are testing the resilience of the global economic order. Erstwhile proponents of globalisation such as the United States and the European Union are themselves recoiling from the global value chains that are over-reliant on China. As the localisation of goods and services has become more critical, it calls to question the viability of a globalised

China’s failure to condemn the Ukraine war raised concerns on the future of the rules-based international order not only in the European Union (EU), but also in India and Taiwan. While their respective relationships with China and Russia are characterised by different complexities, the EU, India, and Taiwan are all vulnerable to authoritarian threats. All three recognise that China’s continued rise will have strategic implications for

This monograph makes an assessment of the prospects of India’s inclusion to the export control regimes. It begins by analysing the technical parameters for membership and whether or not India meets them. This includes an examination of India’s domestic export control system — both control list and legal framework. The next chapter delves into the political debates on India’s membership to the four export control regimes. This takes i

Despite last year’s quadrilateral Malabar exercises and the recent announcement of new working groups, Quad cooperation on naval interoperability, critical technologies, and Covid-19 had been manifest previously.

Madrasas in India offer basic literacy to millions of mostly poor Muslims, generally free of cost; they also serve as safe spaces for the preservation of Islamic culture. In many areas across the country, madrasas are the only option for poor Muslim families to provide their children basic education. This brief evaluates current madrasa education in India and identifies specific weaknesses that hamper its modernisation. It recommends remedial mea

As the Indo-Pacific region becomes an arena of strategic contestations, India and Australia’s interests are converging. Two large maritime states from two different continents, India and Australia were mutually indifferent for a long time. Today, however, their relationship is on the upbeat: not only is their bilateral trade on the rise, but they also have common concerns to balance an assertive China and uphold order in the region. By year-end

LEMOA permits US and India to use each other’s facilities and provides for easier access to supplies and services for military forces of the two countries.

A nightmare scenario facing the world today is that of nuclear weapons in the possession of terrorists. As US President George Bush remarked during his recent UK trip, ¿the greatest threat of our age is nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons in the hands of terrorists.¿ Terrorist groups, as they have proved time and again in the past with conventional weapons