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The unrealistic expectations in India from Li Keqiang's visit to Delhi and Mumbai next week are likely to be tempered when weighed against the Chinese premier's agenda in Pakistan.

The rise of Islamic State does pose a strategic threat to South Asia, although the influence might not be direct, according to Prof. Stephen Tankel of American University. He says since the decline of the Al Qaeda senior leadership in Pakistan, the IS has emerged a source of new leadership.

The recent US decision to blackball People¿s War (PW) and the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) may have revived interest in the naxalite movements, nearer home in India. While there can be no two ways about the State and the society fighting militancy, insurgency or terrorism, there is need to study the social causes and implications of such a trend. That way, we can reduce such incidents and instances, if not totally eliminate them.

The Telangana Rashtra Samithi waived agricultural loans and provided cash transfers. It won the Assembly election earlier this month by a landslide.

The African National Congress (ANC) lost three important cities in the municipal elections.

South Asia as a whole was struggling with crises of governance, said Professor Sumit Ganguly while broadly outlining some key political, social and economic trends in the region during a presentation at ORF on December 16, 2011.

There are genuine concerns that if steps are not taken to halt the current trend toward space weaponization, space could become an active warfighting domain.

Delhi, India's national capital, has long been the subject of a quandary: Should it be granted full statehood, or maximum autonomy commensurate with its megalopolis status? is paper takes a tour of select national capitals to understand how other nations have arranged their governance and handled competing jurisdictions and functions. Lessons are drawn from this examination of other capitals, and recommendations are put forth towards a more sensi

India and France, amid intensifying geopolitical trends in the Indo-Pacific region, are likely to build an even closer partnership.

The political mess in Nepal presents a very difficult challenge for India. Nepal is geo-politically too sensitive for India to detach itself from developments there. We have to be ever watchful of the inroads China makes.

There is a natural affinity in political style that draws both leaders together.

THE recent land rights issue of the Niyamgiri hills in Orissa seems to have been resolved with Rahul Gandhi's intervention. We are relieved that the ancient Dongria Kondh tribal population would be able to save their hills from exploitation by commercial interests.

Increased insurgent violence in Afghanistan since the start of the Taliban's 'spring offensive' in May has further deteriorated the country's state of security.

Pakistan's Punjab is on the verge of becoming part of the expanding network of terrorist sanctuaries across Asia.

Although Africa’s greenhouse gas emissions are low, its contribution to climate change mitigation is critical to global climate action. This report evaluates Africa’s climate policy through the lens of ‘common but differentiated responsibilities,’ an asymmetrical allocation of responsibility for climate action, determined by differences in countries’ contributions to historical emissions and their current capabilities to fight climate c

It would be useful to have spacefaring powers agree upon and comply with a common set of principles.

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

Despite concerted efforts to improve urban public transport, the use of personal vehicles has increased across India. City administrations must consider promoting the use of paratransit vehicles, such as bike-taxis, that can provide ridership to more commuters than a private vehicle. While bike-taxis are prevalent in some Indian cities, their use is curtailed elsewhere in the country by state policy and statutes. Amid growing city congest

The challenge for France is not easy. The idea that education, hard work and following French laws and customs led to upward mobility has been challenged in recent years and Covid-19 has only highlighted it

If the Obama Administration avoids the temptation of returning to business as usual with Rawalpindi, it has an opportunity to get both Afghanistan and Pakistan right.

The failure of Beijing’s authoritarian approach to covid is a moment to emphasize why democracies meet aspirations better

Why is it that despite sharing significant commonalities, India and China remain trapped in a relationship that projects them as inevitable rivals? This paper examines the promise of these bilateral relations and attempts to sound the death knell to the old narrative.

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

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

Structural changes need to be brought to allow different financial sectors to invest in the green future of developing nations.

The International Financial Architecture has come under much scrutiny following the 2008 global financial crisis. There have been demands for major reforms to the IFA; but despite the steps taken so far, much more needs to be done to ensure global financial stability.

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

In an effort to financially hobble Iran, the United States mandated nations to halt their imports of crude from the country by early November, or else risk attracting sanctions themselves from Washington. Not long after, the US announced that eight nations will be exempted from these sanctions, supposedly in recognition of their effort to cut down on their imports of Iranian oil. This brief argues that while it is true that certain countries did

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

Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and the Hague Institute for Global Justice (THIGJ) recently hosted the second workshop of 'The Hague Initiative on Global Governance' in New Delhi between 21st and 23rd November, 2013.

The post-GST Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) Budget of 2018–19 was the first to contend with the abolition of octroi, which was previously its largest and most robust source of revenue. One year after the introduction of the General Services Tax (GST) by the central government, the MCGM has been forced to find new financing sources. While the state government of Maharashtra has assured that the loss of octroi will be compensated,

After PM Nawaz Sharief's visit to the US, now General Raheel Sharif will be visiting the country. Gen. Sharif has seemingly controlled terror emanating from FATA, has restored the image of the Army after the setbacks during the time of his predecessors Musharraf and Kayani. He runs a quasi-independent judicial system.

Right now, everyone around Putin is singing paeans to his sagacity. It is his ability to cut through the chaff, determine his priorities and then craft his policies fully cognizant of Russia's current limitations that will see him emerge as a universally acclaimed statesman. Authoritarian he may be, but there is no reason to doubt that he is up to this task.

As major powers like China are deepening their military ties with the Gulf, the need for India to look beyond the imperatives of energy and maritime security is critical to its interests in Oman and the wider Gulf region.