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In February 2004, President George Bush outlined his new nuclear non-proliferation approach, in his ¿seven points¿ speech at the National Defense University. It include the setting up of proliferation security initiative which will control and monitor not only shipments and nuclear transfer of material/technology but also will be empowered to take direct action against the violators of the law.

Global powers like the United States and China have spared little effort in attempting to shape the digital age in their image. At the same time, other powers like Japan and France, and emerging ones like India aim to play a part in building the global digital ecosystem. These latter three share similar values: democracy, freedom of speech, open access to digital resources, and sovereignty. They all desire to keep the digital commons intact and n

China's renewed engagement with the Southeast Asian neighbours seems to be a policy of the new leadership. However, it must follow up on these successful visits by its efforts and actions. For now, maintaining good relations with ASEAN members seems to be Beijing's new strategy to ease tensions in the SCS.

After the scheduled western forces drawdown from Afghanistan in 2014, one viable option that would assist Afghan economic development is the US-driven New Silk Road Strategy. But, China, Russia, and Iran have specific visions of a viable NSRS, and these do not necessarily sit well with the US strategy.

A new social contract between citizens, consumers, employees, the state, and enterprise is needed to delineate a new understanding around rights, responsibilities and entitlements. Digital  transformations  are  rapidly  altering  the  nature  of  work,  models  of employment,    contracts,    regulations    and    protections.    Increasingly,    the responsibilities  of the state are becoming the obligations  of,�

The US is entering its trickiest phase in the Af-Pak region, where elections are due in both, Pakistan and Afghanistan just around the time Washington has set for its troops to depart. Can troops depart without an overt or covert understanding with Iran which has a long border with Afghanistan?

The Central Asian states are looking for a larger and more independent Indian role in the region. In responding to Central Asia's quest to diversify its strategic partnerships, Modi must signal an important departure from the UPA government's approach to the region. He needs to have a long term strategy and plan.

This research provides an empirical analysis of India’s limited, but transformative position in the global nuclear order. By examining India’s bid for a Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) membership, this paper makes three major arguments. First, India’s attempt to acquire veto power status through the NSG challenges classical revisionism in international relations theory. Second, India’s rise through the NSG is based on selective coalition-bu

It can happen in the hurly-burly of politics that a flood of images abruptly wells up to the naked eye and demands attention so that we do not miss out on an entire slice of politics breaking away to get transmuted as current history.

As the foreign secretaries from India and Pakistan try this week to sustain the peace process amidst growing mutual suspicion, the Siachen question offers one potential area where recent progress could be consolidated. Discussions on the demilitarisation of the Siachen conflict zone have been proceeding slowly but surely towards a political agreement, even though the pace is too gradual to satisfy pragmatic analysts in both countries.

While there was no question of any rapprochement between Bangladesh and Pakistan, there are Muslim diehard elements in Bangladesh who draw their inspiration from Pakistan. These elements aim to strike at the very basic concept of Bangladesh.

In recent years, a number of states have begun integrating their armed drones into collaborative drone swarms. Although global proliferation can be anticipated, drone swarm proliferation should not be expected to be even or immediate. Some states may race to develop massive, armed drone swarms, while others may never develop sophisticated drone swarm capabilities. This brief explores why some states pursue drone swarms, why others may not, and th

Beijing’s position paper, on its policy in Afghanistan, is reflective of its recent efforts to present China as a nation that is now heavily invested in addressing ‘international hot button issues’

During the meeting between the home secretaries of India and Bangladesh held in October this year, Bangladesh agreed to sign an extradition treaty and there has been major progress on this regard.

The first few weeks of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's tenure has seen a flurry of diplomatic activity. The steps taken by him in the foreign policy domain give a clear indication of the new government's priorities.

The unspeakable tragedy of the floods in Pakistan, on a scale unknown to man, has dwarfed much else in the region: 100 shot dead in three days of political, ethnic and sectarian violence in Karachi,

Most central banks across the globe are today seized with the idea of cryptocurrency, with countries like Sweden and China already embarking on their pilot projects. This paper argues that most of the proposed architectures for a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) are not designed to mimic the paper currency in its digital form. It proposes an architecture that largely retains all the properties of a paper currency, with only one limitation—i

Evidence from several countries suggests that last-mile connectivity solutions—the transport options available to commuters from the origin of their journey to the point of accessing a public transit system—enhance citizens’ mobility and increase metro rail ridership. This brief evaluates India’s operational metro rail transit systems to identify the missing links in the provision and effective implementation of last-mile connecti

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic hastened the widespread adoption of digitaltechnologies across the globe. The pace of digitalisation—from the micro levels ofeducation and e-commerce to the macro levels of supply chains and productionnetworks—has galvanised governments to advance digital regulations. Thetightrope walk of creating policies that enable digital innovation and ensureregulations are in the larger public interest have led to inte

It was China’s disruptive aggression that made its four members issue such a direct joint statement.

Efficiency of delivery by cutting red tape should be the top priority this year.

Russia's response to new missile defence plans of the US points to Moscow's continued distrust of Washington. However, Moscow and Washington have announced a meeting to discuss the new missile deployment plans in Moscow in late May this year. Perhaps, a breakthrough is still possible.

India presents more immediate potential for the "top line" obsessed Silicon entrepreneur. But Asian companies from Japan, China, and Korea in sunset industries, are better placed to be responsive to the fragmented Indian market than a Fortune 500 corporate, which survive on scale not agility.

India is still a net importer, but its momentum is in the right direction.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's address to the nation on July 22 - as the people of London reeled from a second series of blasts at underground train stations - betrayed a sense of anxiety, a clear shift to address the Islamic community and an unwitting admission of failure in the war on terrorism.Wilson John

This critique on the Draft Report on Integrated Energy Policy was serialised in Volume II, Issue 43-46, 50 of ORF Energy News Monitor. It has three sections, first, Concept level issues- identifies the gaps in the Planning Commission's draft report, second, Action plan- for filling those gaps and lastly, Conclusions.

Victory wouldn’t solve all the economic problems India’s prime minister has thus far left unresolved.

The European Union (EU) stands at a critical junction in its institutional evolution. The European sovereign debt crisis in 2009, the Brexit decision in 2016, and the success of anti-European populist parties in many member states have triggered intense discussions about necessary reforms in the Union, which only intensified after Emmanuel Macron became president of France in 2017. His vehemently pro-European outlook and ambitious suggestions for

In the last four decades, however, attempts to assassinate presidents or presidential nominees had seemed relegated to the past.

US President Barack Obama's latest strategy will seek to responsibly end the longest foreign war that the US has ever fought. At the same time, the strategy calls for building an enduring partnership with a sovereign Afghanistan. Obama's message to the Afghan people is a simple one: "as you stand up, you will not stand alone."

What is the measure of success for the Space Code of Conduct, or more substantially what is different about this Code effort that distinguishes it from the last? If the Code of Conduct fails to attract signatures of key players will its success be taken into question?

Iran is being treated more like North Korea, even though it is one of the world's great civilisations, with major historical and scientific achievements. And, as anyone who has deeply analysed the personalities of Ahmadinejad and Kim Jong Un knows, they don't look like one another. Or like one another.

For the first time in 30 years, Elections-2014 has thrown up a decisive Parliament. The Treasury Bench does not have to do number-crunching all the time, to push policy initiatives, legislative initiatives and even budgets - which have more often than not been passed in the midst of din and dust.

The speculation regarding General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani's possible extension came to an end last week. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani in a rather dramatic fashion announced a full term extension for General Kayani on national television.

Global temperature rise is set to exceed 1.5°C compared to pre-industrial levels by 2100. Efforts to ramp up climate action must be accompanied by an assessment of countries' existing strategies to combat climate change. At the same time, it is crucial to determine the effectiveness of multilateral institutions in mitigating climate change by galvanising member countries in this direction. This report presents a comparative analysis based on fiv

The Interim Budget presented by Finance Minister P Chidambaram was a strange one. It contained much praise for the ruling coalition UPA's entire tenure, peppered with some disappointments.

Iranian civilisation is heresy-prone. Heresy is indicative of a questioning mind. Throughout history, individuals and movements have emerged in Iran to invoke the moral imperative and disrupt the status quo. The most recent events sustain this characteristic of the Iranian personality. Paradoxes abound in the vote in the June presidential election: it was anti-establishment, not anti-regime, anti-clerical but affirmative of the principles of the

Manoj Joshi, “A Survey of India-US Defence Cooperation,” ORF Special Report No. 224, March 2024, Observer Research Foundation.

India has been witnessing rapid urbanisation in the last decade, particularly in its large and medium-size cities. As more and more people move towards cities and towns, it is imperative to build an understanding of how cities are geared in terms of growth and inclusion. In what ways do India's marginalised communities get excluded from the country's growing urban spaces? This paper studies how individuals and groups are included in􀀳or exclude

Last week India hosted two important visitors – Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, and the US special presidential envoy for climate John Kerry. These were routine visits, one to lay the groundwork for a potential Russian presidential visit to India and the other to assess Indian intentions on climate