3282 results found
2004 is a significant year for Europe. In May of this year, the European Union (EU) will induct ten new members, eight of which were part of the former Communist regime of the Soviet Union. While four of these East European states (Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia) are struggling with mounting budget deficits and contemplating awkward spending cuts, France and Germany (the dominant European powers) are immersed in a deep economic
Can good sense prevail in Washington once again? Military action in Libya will generate anti Americanism, which will swell the ranks of Al Qaeda and cause the "Arab Youth" bulge to find a frightening outlet.
In China, villages have the same facilities in housing, water, drainage, medical care as in towns. If the government of India wishes to reduce the migratory flows, then each village has to be transformed to a small town ? at least in infrastructure.
Since France has said that it will not be continually involved in African intervention, the solution to security problems in Africa must come from the Africans themselves. The establishment of a pan-African force to react to crisis with support from Europe has been suggested by France.
The UPA's cash transfer scheme, delivering over Rs.3.2 lakh crore in subsidies and welfare programmes to the poor directly to their bank accounts, if executed well would not only reduce poverty faster would curb a lot of the wasteful spending that has fattened vested interests at all levels.
Capacity building is a central feature of India’s outreach to Africa. Over the last seven decades, the Indian government has provided numerous scholarships to African students through the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation scheme. India has also established several technical institutes throughout the continent. However, assessments of India’s capacity-building initiatives remain limited. Th
The recent cyberattack on Albania by Iran highlights the intensification of conflict within cyberspace.
This issue brief assesses the enduring political influence of the military in Pakistan. It delves into the historical, social, and geopolitical factors that have propelled the military's rise in the nation's governance structure. The brief also examines the military-bureaucratic nexus and its role in perpetuating military dominance, and the implications of a weak civil society and its constrained ability to counterbalance military power.
Xi’s overall achievements may be a mixed bag, but his biggest success has been in carrying out wide-ranging reforms of the military and security app
The BRICS is growing more relevant and increasingly institutionalised. Economic growth rates continue to outpace the rest of the developing world. According to the UNDP, Brazil, China and India's combined GDP will be greater than the combined GDP of the US, the UK, Canada, France, Germany and Italy by 2020.
How do states rank in 2021 in terms of urbanisation? What impact does reverse migration on account of COVID-19 have on demography and economy?
The Chabahar Port deal between India and Iran can help the former gain connectivity to Eurasia and counter China’s growing regional influence
India's ability to successfully execute a 10-year agreement on the Chabahar port showcases New Delhi's continuing ability to manoeuvre in a geopolitically fragmented world.
Trudeau and his Liberal Party raised hopes by pursuing progressive social, economic policies such as legalising the consumption of marijuana for recre
There is need for greater transparency in the Free Trade Agreement negotiations. There could be more information sharing with civil society groups and the general public so that the content of the negotiations would get public approval faster, making it easier to conclude the FTA.
We must admit that face-to-face interactions between teachers and students along with vibrant and healthy debates amongst peers within the classroom a
If Africa’s development is handled wisely, it can bring about unprecedented transformation in the continent.
The Afghan-Pakistani region is in transition and the changing geo-political realities will have new implications, says Kamran Bokhari, Vice President of Middle Eastern and South Asian Affairs at Stratfor. He says old paradigms cannot be used to gauge new realities.
The need for a transformation of the Indian space policy landscape goes beyond just the need for creating jobs or for improving tax revenues from the
It is not only President Obama who feels boxed in by the Lindsay Grahams and John McCains of his country but Rouhani too has formidable set of foes to fight, before either can climb down from his stated position. Not everyone in Iran wants his President to negotiate the country out of its present misery.
The Chinese government and its private sector, both have reached out to nations as diverse as France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Iran, Iraq, the Philippines, and even the US
As part of its political transition from military to "civilian" rule, Myanmar adopted a new constitution through a national referendum in 2008 and conducted its first national elections in two decades in November 2010.
China, a late entrant in Latin America, has now emerged as the region’s major economic partner. Bilateral trade between the two stands today at more than USD 200 billion. By augmenting investments and trade in Latin America, Beijing has managed to project itself as an alternative to the United States, which had previously enjoyed overarching influence in the region. The US’ inability to lead Latin America into a path of sustainable econ
It is making giant strides where the US refused to go
Incidents of sudden disappearance of celebrities have been common in China. But Qin Gang’s case is special. Not only has he disappeared but his public records are also being erased.
Communist Party's elevation of President Xi Jinping’s to the core gives him greater influence over reshuffles of top ranks at gathering among other roundups
India must urgently explore a variety of options to restore deterrence vis-à-vis China. This first thing is to back Japan. India also has to work on a range of options including economic and hard options. It must also take a fresh look at reinvigorating its ties with Vietnam, Japan, Australia, Singapore and the littoral states.
BRICS has a huge potential to transform into a strong, effective and viable institution.
An erratic US President Trump, with a poor grasp of policy, can give Beijing a free run not only in South-east Asia, but Central and West Asia as well
While China may aid West Asian countries to hedge their interests against the US, the lack of Chinese diplomacy on ground shows that there is still a
The decision of key American allies like the UK, Germany, France, South Korea and Australia to join the Chinese-led Asian Infrastructure Development Bank (AIIB) marks another step forward in the shaping of a Chinese-led Asian economic and, possibly, security order.
The course of the global energy transition may be determined by the effectiveness of Africa’s lithium exploration negotiations with China
Bilateral relations between China and Bangladesh will strengthen further once the road and rail links are established between the two countries through Myanmar. The prospects for the road-rail links have brightened after Myanmar cleared the transit facility, the Chinese envoy for Bangladesh has said.
This brief makes an assessment of the data-sharing arrangement between China and India as outlined in the Memorandum of Understanding for sharing hydrological information on the Brahmaputra river system, aimed at facilitating advance warning for floods in India during monsoon. Using hydro-meteorological data, this brief assesses the arrangement and identifies its limitations, primary of which is the wrong choice for the location of measuring stat
In China, the regime's vision and capacity to transform the society and state has made a lot of difference, said Mr Harish Khare, Senior Associate Editor and Chief of the Delhi Bureau of The Hindu. Contemporary Chinese elite, cohesive as they are, have played a vital role in shaping-up the country.
Over the last two decades, China has established a significant economic presence in most African countries. Its lucrative economic investment package, flexible political approach, and focused big-ticket development projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) provide an ostensibly massive opportunity to African countries. However, the unilateral nature of the initiative, the lack of transparency and accountability to African countries, and t
This brief evaluates the state and development of China’s cruise missile capabilities, specifically that of its air-launched and ground-launched missile forces. It finds that China has developed a formidable inventory of cruise missiles, which poses a threat to India’s own military infrastructure. The brief lays out the imperative for India: to build up its long-range cruise missile forces. It argues that India’s current capabilities woul
Military modernisation was the fourth and last of Deng Xiaoping’s ‘Four Modernisations’. Even before the third modernisation got underway—that of science and technology—China began using commercial technologies to advance its military capabilities. This strategy has gained salience since Xi Jinping came to power in 2012 and made it the state’s key goal to transform the PLA into a “world-class military”. Military-Civil Fusi
Silo-based missile capabilities increase the odds of survivability for China’s small arsenal and are integral to Beijing’s nuclear modernisation e
China’s nuclear expansion could lead to a spiraling arms race.
In its quest to achieve net zero, China has introduced new plans to promote green transition and has made significant progress in low-carbon developme
The world community seeks more clarity from China as it downplays the recent surge in COVID cases
Sharp power—a state's attempt to alter the behaviour of other countries through the manipulation of culture, education systems, and the media to further its interests—is a key tool of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Issues related to regime legitimacy and the CCP's development priorities have shaped China's sharp power approach. In the Xi Jinping era, there is some anxiety in the party ranks that external conditions are turning aga
New Delhi’s Indian Ocean woes aren’t confined to Sri Lanka. Across the Indian Ocean’s littorals, the Chinese navy has been preparing to establish a stronger security presence. On Pakistan’s Makran coast, the PLAN has deployed regularly, including at Gwadar, also constructed by CMPorts. Earlier this year, the PLA is said to have initiated talks with the Pakistan military for another outpost at Jiwani.
This brief aims to examine one of China’s possible responses to the various extremist and terrorist activities that plague the internal security of Pakistan, given the necessity of securing its USD 62 billion investment in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Given that Pakistan is failing to control this problem, China will have to take measures of its own to secure CPEC. The response of China could possibly be inspired by its strateg
The China-brokered Saudi Arabia-Iran deal puts the spotlight on New Delhi’s ties with Tehran
India’s security officials worry that China would use the ship’s visit as a precedent for future deployments by Chinese warships to Sri Lanka.
Since the onset of the twenty-first century, China has employed various instruments of exchange diplomacy to overcome its historical 'century of humiliation’ and realise its 'Middle Kingdom’ dream. Riding on the platform of the Belt and Road Initiative, China has leveraged its strong economy and large human resources through tourism, education, and sister-city arrangements to strengthen people-to-people contact between its citizens, diaspora,
