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The good old days of media diplomacy launched by Washington and London to justify the Iraq invasion seem to be getting over.The American and the British administration had successfully hijacked media spaces across the world to build legitimacy for the offensive on Iraq.

Can New Delhi use new trade agreements to fix its abysmal record on contract enforcement?

Disruptive technologies have transformed the ambit of contemporary warfare in radically unexpected ways. While much of the scholarship has focused on the technological aspect of warfare, there is an equally urgent need to introspect on how to train the ‘human element’ to be able to address, exploit, and nimbly channel the possibilities emerging in the technological domain of warfare. This aspect of preparing for next-generation warfare has re

On June 22, 2004, over 200 well-armed persons simultaneously raided three towns in the Ingushetia Republic of Russia, adjoining Chechnya, and attacked police stations, government buildings and checkpoints with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades. The Russian and the local security forces were totally taken by surprise. Ninety-five persons were killed, the majority of them members of the security forces and other Government officials,

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

It veers away sharply from old priorities such as democracy promotion to focus on great power competition and economic rivalry

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

This study discusses three major mega free trade agreements (the TPP, TTIP and the RCEP) and attempts to develop a strategy for India to navigate the repercussions engendered by these groupings and thereby safeguard India?s trade and sustain its economic growth.

Under the garb of a trade war, this is a high-stakes strategic conflict between a power which wants to preserve the status quo in its favour and one which wants to usurp that throne.

Agriculture is the second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, even as it feeds the 8-billion global population. Around 75 percent of farms, globally, are family-owned and under 2 hectares; together they produce a third of the world’s food. These smallholder farms produce 15-percent lower emissions per hectare than a large farm. Yet, smallholders bear the brunt of climate change, which threatens their livelihood. Big agribusinesses, meanwhile,

Like the LEMOA, there have been heated debates on COMCASA too.

China’s dominance and weaponisation of its critical minerals supply chains is a mounting cause of concern for the United States

India and China, the two pillars of the dawning Asian century, are still prisoners to their perceived insecurities and imagined magnificence. They seem condemned to "never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity," as one wise man had once remarked. And Mr Manmohan Singh's China visit has added yet another chapter to this narrative.

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 new Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDPA) is market-friendly but is lacking in attention to privacy requirements for sensitive personal data. This report highlights three types of sensitive personal data—i.e., biometric, financial, and health—and emphasises the need for transparent consent mechanisms that will safeguard an individual’s data. It underscores the role of data fiduciaries, urging the formulation of clear operational

Strident attacks by hardline right wing groups is not a phenomenon restricted just to the United States.

Autonomous systems dominated the Dubai Airshow, but the UAE’s push for AI compute sovereignty and supply-chain depth emerged as the real driver of future aerospace power

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

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.

Globally, healthcare has made great strides in making vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics available to more people. Yet, infectious diseases continue to pose a significant threat in many parts of the world, and the SARS, Ebola, and Zika crises are only a few of the recent outbreaks that draw attention to the weaknesses of public health systems. In India, the recent epidemics of Nipah virus and acute encephalitis syndrome call attention to the

Eminent Indian nuclear scientists have been expressing their concern about the contents and direction of the Indo-US nuclear deal signed last July. Strategic analysts, former diplomats, prominent politicians and knowledgeable commentators have repeatedly cautioned the government about the minefields ahead. Ought not the government pause and clear these doubts? There is little effort towards this end, and we all seem to be running blind.

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

This commentary provides deep insights into the rapid collaboration that is taking place between India and Australia. It also delves into its implications for the future.

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

As winter approaches, the suffering of the people of Afghanistan will worsen

Writing new rules of the road for critical and emerging technologies is a key imperative for the Quad.

The shrill of the growing divide in America has now reached a crescendo.

Diet diversity is not a luxury but a national imperative. India has the knowledge and the models; what it needs now is scale and convergence

While New Delhi is getting more diplomatic support for its position, it is doing little to change the threat Pakistan poses.

There has been considerable spin from Islamabad as well as New Delhi regarding the results of the visit of the Chinese Prime Minister, Mr.Wen Jiabao, to the two countries. The fact that the Chinese have carefully refrained from joining this race for spin and

As technology, geopolitics and warfare evolve at breakneck speed, the new India-US defence framework provides a much-needed roadmap for bilateral security relations. However, its success will hinge on whether both sides can translate intent into shared innovation, trust and strategic depth.

The optics around the 2+2 Dialogue in Delhi are defining — the defence ties between the two countries have come of age

The India-US Dialogues, hosted by Observer Research Foundation and Network 18 on January 24 with panels ranging from security and international relations to business and economics, encapsulating the range of issues on everyone's minds.