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The Sri Lankan Government's decision not to send a 'special delegation' for the 29th session of the UNHRC this month should be seen as an attempt to try and 'de-politicise' the engagement with the UN body.

Russia has long depended on migrant labour. However, the COVID-19 pandemic, the conflict in Ukraine, and a devaluing Ruble have impacted migrants economically. These developments, coupled with institutional hurdles and rising xenophobia in Russia, have pushed migrant labourers to seek alternate employment destinations. Notably, workers from countries such as Kazakhstan, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine are swaying away from Russia, even as

Like China did in the early 1980s, India needs to exploit the opportunity of good relations with the US to become a stronger economic and military power. Indeed, as a decisive leader, Modi could well transform the relationship with the US and enable it to reach its full potential.

The Kargil war of 1999 and Thursday morning's surgical strikes have now decisively proved that the LoC is not a focal point for India and Pakistan.

The swapping of land between India and Bangladesh will bring clarity to the border, which will eventually lead to improved border management. This will also help in controlling illegal migration, and reduce scepticism in Bangladesh, leading to a sense of optimism all around.

Many countries imposed stringent lockdowns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sweden, however, adopted a ‘soft’ approach of self-imposed social precautions without state regulation. This evoked extensive criticism within and outside the country, especially in view of its high death rates in comparison to its Nordic neighbours. The Swedish government, however, has been steadfast with its strategy. As countries emerge from lockdowns and begi

The decision of the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Government to involve the representatives of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) as part of the dialogue process on Kashmir is strategic in principle. Though it may not be entirely wrong to question the extent of public support the Hurriyat leaders enjoy in Kashmir, it would be equally short-sighted to exclude them from any dialogue concerning Kashmir.

In one of the most recent analytical pieces on this website it was very wisely quoted ¿Don't hear, listen. Listen to what is not being said¿ (sic) as regards the Indo ¿ Pakistan peace talks and their decision to hold a composite dialogue. Thus ironically while most peaceniks, in Pakistan and India are hailing this recent thaw in relations it remains advisable to be cautiously optimistic for the time being.

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 amendment of Article 370 in August 2019, which effectively nullified the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, was a watershed moment in the history of the region that went largely uncontested by the international community. Besides China and Pakistan, most countries were unwilling to openly criticise India’s actions in Kashmir. The limited international response to India’s actions largely focused on the humanitarian situation in t

With its strong response across spheres, India has shown that it has options and a willingness to exercise them

With growing water scarcity across many parts of the world, competition over access to this vital resource has been known to spark conflict. Following the September 2016 Uri attack in India, the government made plans to retaliate against its neighbour by exercising its right to use water of the western rivers—allocated to Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty—by building dams, canals and reservoirs. This paper aims to address the legal, econ

India’s decision to abolish cantonments after carving out the military areas, announced in April 2023, has been met with scepticism and support. Cantonments, primarily created during the British rule to station and house the military, evolved to include civilians as residents and staff to provide support and logistic services. Over time, cantonment boards, with some civilian members, were created to manage the civil areas, but the rights of civ

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.

Russia’s policy towards South Asia has been the subject of much speculation lately. With closer cooperation between Russia and China and the former’s warming up to Pakistan, it is becoming increasingly evident that Russia is moving away from its India-centric approach in the region. This brief studies the changes, and continuity, in Moscow’s foreign policy towards South Asia as it transitioned from the Soviet Union into the Russian Federati

Human civilisation is at a new moment of transition across social norms, economics, governance, and the environment, and is facing the dawn of a new era of inter-planetary human migration (to Mars). In the future, historians will look to the first half of the 21st century to tell the story of how these changes started and unfolded through five domains of conflict. These domains touch on the unravelling of governance structures in need of

Two immediate observations can be made from Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's address to the nation on July 22, 2005. One, he is not willing to take strong and decisive action against extremist and terrorist groups in Pakistan. Two, he cannot take such an action.

The “marks moderation” debate, which made headlines this summer, [1] resulted in a frenzied, but incomplete, media coverage. There has been litigation as well, stalling the declaration of high-school results of students of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), and various state boards. This brief aims to demonstrate how the reliance on a simplistic metric—of a 101-

As the International Court of Justice at The Hague moves forth with proceedings on the cases involving India and Pakistan, it is worth considering whether a decision in favour of the Republic of Marshall Islands would truly be the beginning of a new era.

Cyber war is a subject that is highly contested among strategists and experts. This brief assesses the impact of cyber operations against strategic targets and demonstrates that while cyber war is a real phenomenon, it is far from producing decisive outcomes. The cyberspace is a medium to conduct military operations and several countries have made investments in capabilities to both attack and defend against cyber-attacks. The brief evaluates the

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.

Mr Narendra Modi's decision to invite the Head of Governments of India's neighbouring countries for his swearing-in was appreciated by Dr Sanjaya Baru, former Media Advisor of Dr Manmohan Singh. Modi's emphasis on the economy was also noted.

Direct criticism for scarce or expensive vaccines at the government, not the private sector

It is easy to criticise Nehru today. His priority then, as it remains that of our country today, is to take poor Indians out of poverty and protect the country's territorial integrity. Given the circumstances, he did not do a bad job, and he did it without murdering millions as was done in China, or overturning democracy, as was the case in many countries of the time.

One of the problems with the India–Australia relationship is that both countries have a different set of concerns about China.

There is a growing clamor about India's decision to opt-out of the RCEP. While many experts say Indian SMEs stand to gain a lot if India signs the deal, others say it is likely to hurt Indian manufacturing.

Iraq is back in the headlines, loaded with euphoria. The electoral exercise has been undertaken; the results have yet to be announced. The running commentary on CNN on January 30 tended to suggest a near perfect exercise. No mention of course was made of the invasion, the occupation, the Iraqi dead, the reduction of Iraq to a stone-age condition, the falsehood of the pretext for war and the failure to find traces of weapons of mass destruction

The verdict delivered in July by an international tribunal on the South China Sea case in The Hague is a stunning defeat for China. The Tribunal has upended the maritime claims of a number of nations in the South China Sea, but China is most affected, as its claims were also most extensive. As China had already rejected the verdict even before it was pronounced, the world sits at a juncture of two possible paths — China could become more assert

Speaking recently in New Delhi, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said the Government was committed to modernise the armed forces, but "that there is a need to exercise financial prudence and optimise all available resources".

New Delhi’s decision to import oil from Moscow has disappointed the US and UK, but urging us not to do so as that would help the Russian economy is blatant hypocrisy.

The recent Wuhan summit between India and China has been called many things: from a “game changer” to a much needed “reset” in Indian-China relations. It has generated expectations in the two countries that they will avoid any clash due to miscalculation and error. This has strengthened the tradition that India and China have maintained since the Border Peace and Tranquility Agreement of 1993, of resolving problems bilaterally through dia

Despite advancements in legislation and representation over the last decades, women continue to face barriers in accessing sexual and reproductive healthcare, legal protection against violence, and leadership roles. In the economic sphere, gender disparities persist in labour force participation, job sectors, wages, and unpaid care work. Women are constrained in participating in the labour market as their social role remains attached to domestic

While the Trump administration is in no mood to relent on its decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal, for India, the challenge is to preserve its own equities in Iran and the wider West Asian region.

A new exercise has reinforced the trend of deepening defense collaboration between the two sides.

The attempt being made to show that the Project-75I submarine project does not suit the Indian Navy is misinformation aimed at influencing the defence decision-making process

Narendra Modi's view of foreign affairs is likely to be shaped by the outlook of his contacts in the world of commerce. This is not a bad thing, because, the key to any "tough" or decisive policy rests on the state of the Indian economy. But toughness as policy is fraught with all manner of danger, like Nehru's "tough" policy with China in 1962.

The Bay of Bengal region links South Asia and Southeast Asia, with the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) serving as a platform of trans-border cooperation. The BIMSTEC’s prime assets are the historical and cultural links between the nations, and their spirit of community. However, the lack of both a robust decision-making mechanism and a set of common rules have slowed down the growth of th

There is widespread hope that the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow will deliver decisive action on the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. This report gathers different perspectives from analysts in South Asia, Africa, the Indo-Pacific, and the UK on regional priorities and positions on key issues related to the global fight against climate change. Certain threads bind these analyses regarding what the

Policy clarity is needed to deal with the idea of a weapons system that surrenders life-and-death decisions to machines. ICRC is an independent humanitarian organisation set up in 1863, that has been playing an active part in discussions around the subject of AWS

The cornerstone of any Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) programme, especially for global targets such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and its successor, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), is quality, comprehensive and real-time data. Without such data, M&E processes and operations are neither reliable nor relevant. This rule applies, for example, to targets related to nutrition and hunger-without effective nutrition monit

The achievement of global sustainable development goals (SDGs) depends largely on India’s progress, given the country’s massive size and its moderate historical success in key health and nutrition outcomes over the last several years. This further increases the relevance and need for effective monitoring of India’s performance, through timely and disaggregated data, which ensures systematic assessments and course-correction. As India will b

The 2014 general elections are all about the economy, jobs, good governance and rising aspirations. Survey after survey conclusively agree that for most voters what matters is stable employment, steady income, corruption free governance and a decisive leadership.

The US's plan of reducing troop strengths abroad would be counter balanced by the new kinds of deployments. The trend now is towards intelligence weapons systems with precise missions that are network centric, capable of swift decision and superior performance in all echelons with fewer casualties.

After demonstrating a sharp sense of deeper engagement with the neighbours, from the day of the swearing in, it was widely expected that Modi would exercise a more muscular foreign policy. Surprisingly, our official response to events in Male has been timid and even that has been rebuffed by the Foreign Minister of Maldives.

India and the United States (US) are realigning their respective foreign policies to prioritise stronger ties in counterterrorism cooperation. However, challenges arise from differing national security perspectives, particularly regarding regional threats posed by entities like Pakistan and Afghanistan. Following massive terrorist attacks, this collaboration has intensified, encompassing various activities that include intelligence sharing and jo

The criticism of Sultan al Jaber's appointment as COP28 president might be well-meaning but the rush to judgement reflects an incomplete understanding of both the host country and the individual.

Pakistan's record in fulfilling its international commitments to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination came under strong criticism when its periodic report on implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination came up for examination