Search

Young people across the world today are facing multiple challenges: lost school years due to the pandemic-induced lockdowns, the looming climate crisis, increasingly dangerous virtual spaces, and food and energy security concerns triggered by the Ukraine-Russia conflict. This paper analyses the challenges facing the youths of the Commonwealth, where 60 percent of the combined population are under 30 years old, and explores the investments require

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

The Eastern Corridor is a crucial highway for global trade flows, where any disruption could severely affect the global economy. The route comprises some of the world’s most vulnerable Sea Lanes of Communication (SCLOs), with potential flashpoints such as the South China Sea. For years, these SLOCs have been characterised by tensions in South Asia and Southeast Asia; the more recent years are seeing a heightening of both intent and capacity for

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

The crisis in Ukraine has resulted in an unprecedented level of unity in the often-fractured European Union (EU). The member states have provided Ukraine with economic and military aid, imposed far-reaching sanctions on Russia, strengthened their own defences, and accepted millions of Ukrainian refugees. At the same time, nuanced divergences have also emerged, particularly on how the countries view relations with Russia and calculate thei

Like about the Loch Ness Monster, we have only heard that the West has proof of the Assad regime using chemical weapons. But we've seen no credible testimony. For all one knows, it may have been the rebels' doing to instigate a US military response.

Fifteen years ago, the USA had promised to sell F-16s to Pakistan. Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, the company manufacturing the aircraft, took the necessary advance for it. Then there were sudden changes in the global and regional strategic environment. The Jehadi war in Afghanistan got over and Pakistan started diverting Jehadism into Jammu and Kashmir. The Cold war also was over.

The adoption of digital payments has risen exponentially over the past decade in many countries including India and those in the African continent. In India, the growth has run parallel to rapid mobile penetration, aided by initiatives like Aadhaar, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), and IndiaStack, as well as the unintended push factor created by demonetisation in November 2016. This brief discusses the landscape of fintech—‘finan

The return of a Socialist in France since Mitterand's victory in 1981 confirms a trend in Europe which, instead of lifting the mist, is adding to the fog. The other day in the UK, Labour had trounced the Conservatives in local bodies election across the country.

The success of the Indian covert actions in 1971 that led to the liberation of Bangladesh has a legendary place in India’s security consciousness. This paper retells the story of India’s covert actions in East Pakistan between January and December 1971. It lays down some essential rules and principles for successful covert actions that remain applicable even today. These include the need for a culture of covert action that guides the developm

Care work, both paid and unpaid, is at the heart of most economies. The care sector comprises formal healthcare, childcare services, early childhood education, disability and long-term care, and eldercare. Two-thirds of care workers globally are women, and women and girls perform more than three-quarters of all unpaid care work. The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the vulnerability of care workers and deepened the gender gap. This paper a

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

Global supply chains are being restructured to achieve distinct geopolitical goals, given the strategic vulnerability of such networks due to being controlled by a few nations. Countries that are prominent sourcing hubs for some supply chains could potentially ‘weaponise’ their economic influence for larger geopolitical gains. This brief argues that although multiple global efforts have been initiated to address such threats, efforts

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.

With natural resources being exploited beyond scope of regeneration, excessive pollutants accumulating in the biosphere, and ecosystems and biodiversity undergoing life-threatening degradation, industrial policies that steer investment towards a greener economy have become an imperative. This paper examines the green component of the industrial policies of 14 Indian states which have been found to be responsible for more than 80 percent o

Emergency humanitarian aid, which aims to save lives and reduce people’s suffering in times of crises, has grown considerably over the last century to become a central feature of international relations and of the multilateral system. It is estimated that over 400 million people depend on such aid today. The future of these people and of the humanitarian aid they depend on are fraught with risks, in light of five palpable trends: exponentially

Minilateral organisations have increased in number in recent years, reflecting a new paradigm in international relations. The I2U2 (India, Israel, United States and UAE), launched in July this year, is one such minilateral. With its priorities set on a geoeconomic agenda, the I2U2 is being driven by both, the member countries’ own motivations and their shared interests. This brief gives an overview of the grouping and its objectives. It

This brief collects and analyses current evidence in India regarding the impact of COVID-19 on the health and well-being of children (5-9 years) and adolescents (10-19). Using the ‘snowball retrieval’ strategy, the authors identified peer-reviewed studies, reports and government articles published between January 2020 and February 2021 that were relevant to the research question. The brief finds that not only are children and adolescent

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,

As the global climate crisis intensifies, nations are becoming more hard-pressed to formulate responses that will be acceptable to all stakeholders. In an effort to understand India’s approach to addressing the challenges of climate change, this paper describes the natural circumstances that have historically shaped its responses. The paper also discusses the most crucial imperatives that have guided such actions and suggests that these

Transport activity in India has increased more than sevenfold over the last two decades, its gasoline-fuelled pathway leading to a rapid rise in negative environmental externalities. To decouple the sector’s growth from high emissions, policymakers are scaling up efforts to deploy cleaner fuels for the sector; in particular, liquid biofuels have received a significant push. However, while biofuels help lower emissions at the point of us

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.

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

There has been speculation galore regarding Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the head of the Al Qaeda in Iraq, ever since the US Marines carried out a flushing-out operation to smoke out foreign terrorists allegedly operating from the Sunni stronghold of Qaim, which is located in a desert area where the Euphrates river crosses from Syria into Iraq.

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.

The Russia-Ukraine war has confounded observers, as much as it did the Russians themselves. Since erupting in late February, the war has not shown signs of abating any time soon. This brief argues that by its very nature, the war has lessons not just for the adversaries, but also the NATO alliance that is backing Ukraine, and even geographically distant China and India. For one, the war has both elements of the old eras—such as the mass

Skyscrapers are typically constructed to meet the housing needs arising from increased urbanisation, but they may also fulfil national ambitions to display economic might. This paper examines the advantages and disadvantages of building skyscrapers to establish key learnings for India.

Once cradled by global ideals, the multistakeholder community that manages the global commons of cyberspace must now be nurtured by local realities.

The Bohai Shipyard, located in Huludao in Liaoning province, China, is the country’s only shipyard engaged in the construction of nuclear submarines. The yard has expanded since its inception and is poised to grow further in the coming years. With some of the new facilities having already been commissioned, there has been a considerable increase in the throughput of the yard. This report examines the augmentation of facilities at the Bohai ship

Two years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, an estimated 14-24 million people have died worldwide due to the coronavirus or the chaos of lockdowns and other impacts. To a great extent, much of this current state of the world is due to human health being profoundly misunderstood and neglected in international relations and national politics. This brief discusses two principles that can help understand why this pandemic is not at an

The big paradox that the US confronts is the need to confront China and Russia at the same time. Clearly, even the mighty US does not have the energy and resources to do that. Beijing is, of course, quite self-confident because it is locked into the western economies and is, in that sense, sanctions proof.

This brief explores some of the deeper, and more troubling, effects of the pervasive spread of the logic of technology on social, cultural, and political life. The author critiques the predominant tech-utopian perspective, which frames ever further and faster technological development as critical to continuing social progress, using Neil Postman’s concept of the ‘technopoly’. The brief uses as an example the influence of the logic o

As India, Japan, Australia and the United States renew their quadrilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, there are suggestions to expand the ‘Quad’ into a ‘Quad-plus’ grouping to include the countries of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). This brief argues that the Quad will not have much to offer to ASEAN; it has, in fact, the potential to dilute ASEAN centrality which is the pillar of the regional bloc.  India, too

Geopolitics has split the world again and bloc-wise trade arrangements will have winners and losers

Feminist movements have historically lacked inclusivity, often growing within a limited Western upper-class psyche, based on their own challenges and needs. The digital revolution has paved the way for a new iteration of feminism. The digital space can bolster feminist activist movements by encouraging inclusion and improving accessibility in organising collective action. It also helps weave local stories with global narratives to highlight commo

This brief evaluates the capabilities of the Chinese-origin frigates acquired by Pakistan, and explores the potential implications of their induction on the operational approach of the Pakistan Navy. The brief argues that the Pakistan Navy’s acquisition of Chinese-origin frigates must be viewed as part of its attempted transformation from a force adopting an offensive sea-denial strategy to one gearing towards enhanced regional

This brief analyses the correlation between gender-based inequities and malnutrition. It highlights the case of South Asia, and uses as a backdrop the compounded challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors review existing literature on the subject and cull patterns, with the aim of outlining recommendations for countries in the region for bridging interrelated gaps in gender parity and nutrition.

Energy storage is key to both effective integration of renewable energy systems with the electricity grid, and accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). This brief discusses the technological trends in lithium-ion (Li-Ion) batteries, and assesses the energy storage needs of the Indian power and transportation sectors. It looks at the geographic distribution of lithium and cobalt in onshore and offshore locations across

Maternal nutrition impacts not only the woman’s health during pregnancy but also that of her newborn; the child’s health in their first 1,000 days of life, in turn, will influence outcomes during childhood. Indeed, maternal undernutrition is estimated to account for 20 percent of childhood stunting in India. It is therefore important to ensure that women enter pregnancy in good health, as measured for example in adequate height and we

The role of the state is paramount in incentivising and facilitating a continental-scale indigenous technology and intellectual property development ecosystem in India. The world's two largest economies, US and China, have amply demonstrated the payoffs of this approach through tangible socio-economic development. This paper documents successful strategies from both economies that India can emulate in its own context. It argues that multi

Gender inequality is a major cause and effect of hunger and poverty, with women and girls comprising 60 percent of the global hungry. Women face multiple challenges (such as limited access to education and employment opportunities) that curtail their economic autonomy and weaken their bargaining position within the family, consequently impacting household food security. The pandemic has worsened this situation. It is crucial to apply a ge

Women are vital to food security, especially in developing countries where food is more scarce to begin with. Women’s productive and reproductive roles put them at the centre of food security more than any other group. This is true in Africa where, both as farmers and as home managers, women determine the feeding habits, dietary patterns, and nutritional and food security status of their household. This brief argues that promoting femal

Like in some other regions of the world, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated external debt accumulation in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This could have massive, adverse impacts on growth as governments prioritise debt servicing commitments over key development expenditures such as healthcare and education. For the countries in SSA with relatively lower GDP, this could mean getting caught in a vicious cycle of low output and mounting debt. A pa

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

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reference to Balochistan, POK and Gilgit in his Independence Day speech has caused a considerable flutter in Pakistan and India.

Until the early 1990s, India’s urban local bodies (ULBs) were under the complete control of the states, having little functional, financial and administrative autonomy. The 74th Amendment Act of 1992 sought to make ULBs self-governing institutions. Many salutary provisions were made in the Act and there have been certain positive outcomes since it came into effect in April 1993. However, many key issues have remained unresolved and at present,

The US slipped from producing nearly 40% of the world's chips to just over 10% in the last three decades. By allocating $53 billion towards the enhancement of US semiconductor manufacturing, R&D and the augmentation of its skilled workforce in the domain, the Act sought to change China's comparative advantage