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The High Commissioner of Australia to India, H.E. Mr. John McCarthy, delivered a talk at ORF on "The new administration in Australia and Asia" on 22nd January, 2008. He gave a comprehensive account of the new administration's foreign policy.

The Trump administration is egging China on to take action against its proxy, using its considerable leverage with the North Korean regime.

If India aspires to be a 'leading power', it may soon have to choose between its strategically autonomous goals, and those which the Trump administration has in mind for the region.

Digitalisation has the potential to boost local economies and people’s quality of life. However, citizens’ mistrust can prevent large-scale adoption and slow the public innovation curve. This brief categorises public mistrust into three groups and highlights examples. It proposes a cultural framework comprising a number of key actions that public administrations can implement to enhance communication and foster citizen engagement in digitalis

During his visit to Islamabad last week,Gen.Colin Powell, US Secretary of State, announced the decision of the Bush Administration to designate Pakistan as a Major Non-NATO Ally (MNNA) of the US. The decision would become effective 30 days after a notification in this regard has been sent by the President to the Congress.

The bilateral ties have had their share of irritants on issues initiated after the Trump administration took office.

In a talk jointly organized by ORF ORF Chennai and Department of Politics and Public Administration, University of Madras on March 14, 2005, at the University of Madras, ORF Chennai,

The Trump administration’s retreat from the world has enlarged China’s strategic opportunity.

The first eight months of Donald Trump’s presidency have seen notable changes in the United States’ (US) foreign policy towards Eurasia. Trump has overhauled regional priorities and shaken up the country’s relationships with allies, partners, and adversaries alike. While the transatlantic alliance is undergoing fundamental ruptures, Trump has adopted a conciliatory stance towards Russia amid the war in Ukraine. Meanwhile, the American presi

It is ironic that the Obama administration, which has been persistently dogmatic about nuclear proliferation issues, has decided to turn a blind eye to China's attempts to fuel Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme.

LTTE political chief P. Nadesan in an interview to a Tamil Weekly magazine urged Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Karunanidhi to assist them in their struggle for a separate Tamil Eelam. Expressing regret that India was supporting the war efforts of the Rajapaksa administration,

South Korea’s Indo-Pacific strategy, released in December 2022, highlights the country’s willingness to engage with the Indo-Pacific concept, shedding the ambiguity of the earlier stance under President Yoon Suk Yeol’s predecessor. This policy step up recognises emerging geopolitical trends that require South Korea to engage with new territories previously overlooked in its strategic radar, such as the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). This brief

South Africa recently told Taiwan to move its unofficial embassy from Pretoria to Johannesburg.

As the Obama administration debates the speed of its military withdrawal from Afghanistan between now and 2014, there is mounting pressure on all parties to find negotiated solutions.

The new Iran strategy of the Trump Administration is aimed at “neutralising the government of Iran’s destabilising influence and constraining its aggression, particularly its support for terrorism and militants.”

Despite concerted efforts to improve urban public transport, the use of personal vehicles has increased across India. City administrations must consider promoting the use of paratransit vehicles, such as bike-taxis, that can provide ridership to more commuters than a private vehicle. While bike-taxis are prevalent in some Indian cities, their use is curtailed elsewhere in the country by state policy and statutes. Amid growing city congest

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.

Mohamed Muizzu was sworn in as the seventh president of the Maldives in November 2023 after intense electoral competition with seven other candidates and a highly competitive second round. However, his administration’s five-year term will not be without challenges. Muizzu’s rise to power comes at a time when the archipelago is experiencing significant domestic and strategic challenges. As the Maldives gears up for parliamentary elections in l

If the Obama Administration avoids the temptation of returning to business as usual with Rawalpindi, it has an opportunity to get both Afghanistan and Pakistan right.

As the new Donald Trump administration tries to get a grip on the multiple domestic and foreign policy challenges facing America, China’s rise will be front and centre as the most significant challenge facing Washington.

The Ukrainian incursion and occupation of Kursk has compelled Russia to turn to North Korea for troops who have been deployed and are now fighting alongside Russian forces to retake the region.

The Obama Administration is putting it out as though the withdrawal is a great achievement. But the reality is shoddier - we are witnessing yet another western retreat from Afghanistan, one that can have baleful consequences for others.

As United States (US) President Donald Trump took office for a second term in January, a critical assessment of the legacy of the Joe Biden administration may help inform the India-US bilateral relationship. Under President Biden, the bilateral ties between India and the US progressed steadily, gaining momentum through big-ticket sales and reinforced by structural continuities. Bilateral defence relationships were strengthened, and a technology-l

This brief examines the Kashmir conflict from the perspective of the young population who have grown up in tumultuous times in the Valley. It builds on findings of field surveys conducted by the author across the Kashmir Valley over the last two years, covering issues that remain unanswered three decades since the start of the insurgency. These topics include Kashmiriyat, the exodus of pandits, governance and administration, the post-2016 unrest

On 14 February 2025, Kathmandu was informed of the freeze on all payments related to the US$500-million Nepal Compact of the US government's Millennium Challenge Corporation. This followed the executive order passed by the Trump 2.0 administration in January, putting a 90-day pause on all foreign assistance programmes of the United States. During the years prior, the MCC Nepal Compact had been mired in political controversy since its signing in S

Policymakers and practitioners are leading the emerging consensus on the need to fundamentally reassess assumptions

The affordable housing challenge plagues cities across India. Although city administrations have framed various strategies to tackle the issue, weak implementation, flawed policies, and an inherent lack of capacity to find longterm solutions have allowed slums to proliferate as an alternative. This paper examines the affordable housing issue in Greater Mumbai. Since affordability is not absolute but relative to the development stage and income di

Realpolitik may have trumped the Biden administration’s rather vocal positions on principles in the region

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

By the very nature of the two-decades-old ethnic war and the stalled peace process in Sri Lanka, the week-end LTTE proposals falls short of the doomsdayer¿s predictions. Or, so would it seem. For starters, it confines itself to an interim administration, without formally seeking status and powers of a sovereign State, starting with legitimacy for the LTTE¿s military wing,

Time is running out for the Joe Biden administration, but there is an opportunity for Brussels to take a lead role

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.

What India stands to gain from Trump’s pressure on China

Internally, Trump has already indicated his administration will differ markedly from his prior one. Many key figures from his first term, such as John Kelly and John Bolton, have either distanced themselves from him or openly opposed his leadership, suggesting a fresh team with potentially distinct policy goals. This shift could result in notable changes across domestic and foreign policy fronts. The entry of people like Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswam

Trump’s election will push US policy inward and have significant implications for the world order

Despite Trump's curious attempt to take credit where none is due, New Delhi remains in the driving seat when it comes to it making choices pertaining to Pakistan and its malevolent actions.

A year since the announcement of the new South Asia strategy, an attempt to break from the recurrent continuum has been evident. At least on two of the three accounts — with respect to Pakistan and India, the Trump administration has spurred a break from the past.

Trump campaign likely to remain main drivers of his administration – trade & immigration. While latter is domestic in scope former will have ramifications

The broad thrust of the NSS document transcends Trump and reflects a growing consensus in the American establishment that China is an adversary. As far as India is concerned, this is the good news.

How South Asian countries will cope with the Trump administration, even as they balance China and India, is yet to be seen

Trouble was brewing in this Central Asian Republic after the Bakiyev administration hiked the price of water, fuel and electricity late last year

The UN General Assembly resolution called Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital “null and void”. The Resolution reaffirmed 10 earlier Security Council resolutions on Jerusalem, from 1967 onwards, requiring, inter alia, that the city’s final status must be decided in direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.