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While the state continues to exercise its regulatory capacity over digital spaces — a task it will likely keep in the coming years — the internet has magnified the rights and responsibilities of the private sector and end users across the world.

Ties between Qatar and the three GCC members went downhill after uprisings in Arab countries that began in Tunisia, the beginning of the so-called “Arab Spring”.

The next steps towards peace with Pakistan need to be thought out carefully to prevent the dialogue process from getting derailed or losing steam - two possibilities which seem to be staring in the face of policy makers on either side of the border.

NGOs that deter economic progress or infrastructure growth have to be actively discouraged. The agenda and priorities have to be Indian and not determined in some remote western city. The government, in turn, has to be transparent and active in providing solutions to environmental and human problems.

The concept of non-alignment originated during the Cold War as a ‘third way’ for nations wanting to remain neutral between the capitalist liberalism of the United States (US) and the communism of the Soviet Union. Officially founded during the Bandung Conference in Indonesia in April 1955, the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) today has 120 member nations, all of them from the Global South. Every African country, except for South Sudan, is a member

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

‘New Quad’ members Israel and UAE have good ties with China

India is commonly — and rightly — considered as a reluctant democracy promoter. But while sceptical about the motives behind Western attempts to promote democracy and about the effects of their democracy promotion efforts, India has since the mid-2000s moved warily to involve itself in “democracy assistance”. This article argues that New Delhi has engaged in these activities in the context of a wider shift in strategy, in parallel with t

The treaty reflects Cold War realities. It is increasingly irrelevant in a new multipolar world, marked by asymmetry

India’s young women, now more educated and healthier than ever, are entering a phase of significant socio-economic progress. Many of these women also aspire to become social innovators. With gender parity in education and an increasing number of women in STEM fields, they have increased potential for social innovation. However, barriers such as gendered social norms, domestic and care responsibilities, the digital divide, safety concerns, limit

President Obama is definitely more confident and on a high note, though mindful of the fact that his political capital will not last long into his second term; that he has very little time and leeway in which to enact and achieve some of the priorities he stressed during his address.

It might be an interesting detail for a US President who has come up the Civil Rights ladder. The role caste politics in India has played in boosting Indo-US ties in recent years.

While health outcomes have greatly improved, tribal communities still lag behind

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.

The latest round of Trump tariffs got a tough response from Beijing. Chinese authorities declared that they would fight back against US plans at any cost.

In the aftermath of the serial train blasts in Mumbai on July 11, in which 179 people were killed and 772 wounded, the question uppermost in public mind is ¿why has India become the most affected target of terrorism?¿ Ever since June 1985, when Air India¿s ¿Kanishka¿ was blown up over the Ireland coast, India¿s share of terrorists¿ incidents and civilian casualties has risen to become the highest in the world.

It would be premature to blame any one party or organisation for the violence in Muzaffarnagar. Though it is apparent that, once the violence erupted, parties have been trying to make political capital from it. Primary blame must fall on the Samajwadi Party which has been ruling the state for the past one year.

The coming together of cognitive computing, digital devices with capabilities to touch, feel, smell and hear and super-speed Internet is poised to transform telemedicine.

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

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

Since being initiated by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe formally in 2016, Tokyo’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) vision has become the preferred framework for diplomatic engagement among like-minded countries in the Indo-Pacific. This paper undertakes an assessment of FOIP. The motivation is threefold: first, it creates an understanding of Tokyo’s vision of maintaining a stable global order; second, because FOIP has become inclusive—it

The study urges urgent action to improve the state of sanitation and demands facilities comparable to those at airports

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

The demand for basic needs has outpaced supply in many cities of the world. This fact is observed in the urban housing sector. High economic growth along with urbanisation has created a huge demand for housing, and according to recent estimates, there is a massive shortage of dwelling units in many urban areas of the world.

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.

Waziristan last month ostensibly to hunt down al Qaida and Talibanelements has been a visible failure which could dramatically alterthe already existing fault lines in the force divided betweenloyalty to Musharraf, nation and religion.South Waziristan is one of the seven areas -Khyber, Kurram,Orakzai, Mohmand, Bajaur, North and South Waziristan - which wereclubbed together as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA)by the British who wanted

How Pakistan deals with Kulbhushan Jadhav’s case after the ICJ verdict and to what extent it makes serious attempts at convicting Hafiz Saeed will be test cases for Islamabad’s commitment to seeking normalisation of ties with New Delhi.

Pakistan, over the past six decades, has been the recipient of repeated bailout packages from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The 2024 IMF programme is the country’s 24th. While the loan provided temporary financial relief, Pakistan failed to use the opportunity to implement structural reforms, such as expanding the tax base and addressing chronic political instability. Austerity measures, as required in the IMF bailout plan, have only e

In early February when Pakistan was seen as the epicenter of nuclear trade, the United States decided to downplay the entire episode by terming it ¿a part of the past¿. When A.Q. Khan was given a ¿pardon¿ by General Musharraf for all his proliferation activities, for the US, it was merelya ¿matter between Mr. Khan and his government¿.

n July 2018, Pakistanis voted in what was the third consecutive transfer of power from one civilian government to another in the country’s 71-year history. The elections may be called a success in that winners had been declared. However, the months leading up to the elections demonstrated the power of the military, and its ability to influence election outcomes and control sections of the media. As Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Imran Khan see

Saudi Arabia's recent $1.5 billion grant to Pakistan re-affirms the depth of the relationship that the two countries share. It has also brought into focus their expanding defence ties and raised concerns about Pakistan's possible role in the Syrian civil war.

Although concrete evidence about Saudi intentions to acquire nuclear weapons' capabilities is not there the story continues to attract international commentary

Pakistan's first democratic transfer of power should have been a moment of hope and triumph. But, as it stands, widespread violence has marred the historic elections and all but halted the public campaigning by several prominent parties outside of Punjab.

Madrasas are Islamic religious seminaries, which were originally meant to train young persons, who wanted to take to religion as a profession. They wanted to work as clerics in mosques and as members of the staff in Islamic charitable institutions. In view of the limited career opportunities open to the students of the madrasas, only those who were keen to become religious clerics joined them. Till 1977,

Both India and France are guided by fiercely autonomous foreign policies that are paying their dividends in today’s transactional and volatile world

Africa is experiencing a food crisis on an unprecedented scale. More than 150 million people in the continent are anticipated to be in danger of increased levels of hunger in the immediate future because of the impacts of the conflict in Ukraine, compounded by climate-related variability and extremes, economic slowdowns, and the lingering consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Within this context, social and gender disparities are increasing, wit

The concept of ‘gentrification’ has been studied extensively in urban agglomerations, specifically in tier-I and tier-II cities. ‘Gentrification’ is largely understood as the displacement of people belonging to certain classes in an area due to the influx of investment and affluent classes into that area. In India, settlements are based on religious and social vectors of caste, rather than economic vectors of class. With settlemen

Battlefield conditions and operational realities will decide terms of Russia-Ukraine peace settlement

Trump 2.0 has given India-US ties a strategic uplift

As the world today looks up to India as a net security provider, Delhi needs to recast its peacekeeping strategy by modernising its decision-making structures, expanding domestic defence capabilities, and strengthening its military diplomacy.

In contrast to India's hesitant response to the humanitarian emergency following the MH370 disappearance, China's military operations have demonstrated Beijing's impressive maritime capabilities and the strong political will to use them.

Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal on Sunday stepped down from his post, a day after his self-imposed deadline to resign ended on Saturday, August 13. He admitted to have failed in bringing major political parties on-board to advance the peace process.

Given the ground realities - where China's power exceeds ours by orders of magnitude - we need allies. That is where relationships with the US, Japan, ASEAN and Australia come in.

As Manmohan Singh meets Myanmar's President in the sidelines of the Bimstec summit, this will give an opportunity for the two leaders to further deepen bilateral ties. As part of the two neighbours growing relations, a border security pact is expected to be signed during Dr Singh's visit.

Recent years have highlighted the global headwinds against China's increasingly aggressive moves in the Indo-Pacific region. Vulnerabilities associated with an overdependence on the country for several critical goods, including electronics, have exacerbated prevailing anti-China sentiments. This has provided the impetus for diversifying electronics supply chains, an opportunity India is well positioned to leverage. This brief assesses Ind

This paper examines the various constraints faced by India’s small and marginal farmers, which severely affect the productivity of their lands, and thus their incomes. These obstacles cover the gamut of farming activities, from production to storage, and accessing markets. A recent government survey has said that four of every ten of the country’s farmers disliked farming, and would prefer another occupation if given a choice. While the gover

New Delhi has enough regional ructions without another tense relationship to manage.