6520 results found
The US interest in West Asia is declining as domestic economic and political uncertainties make it look more and more inwards. The shale oil and gas boom is transforming energy markets with the US likely to emerge as the world's biggest combined oil and gas producer this year. These trends are reshaping the regional order in West Asia and New Delhi will have to respond pro-actively to preserve and enhance its own interests in a strategically crit
At a conference on "Transformations in West Asia: The Next Steps" in Delhi, speakers said each country must develop its unique path to achieve democracy, based on the historical and current social, political and economic context.
At a time when India is struggling to establish itself as a global power, the position taken by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee on the sharing of waters with Bangladesh will only help strengthen the anti-India rhetoric in the neighbouring country.
Unlike mere Arab dictators, Qaddafi is a maverick megalomaniac draped in spectacle and pageantry - never obsequious, but consistent and unpredictable. But no Islamic fundamentalist which some of the West's closest allies are.
The Libya scene is now set for a first class conflict within Islam (Libya included) stretching from Pakistan right across the Arab world, North Africa embracing large swathes of sub Saharan African. On occasion this conflict within will spill over as terrorism abroad.
Though China has gained from the Ukraine crisis, the present situation also places China in a diplomatic bind. A strong proponent of the absolute nature of sovereignty, it does not support separatist movements.
Unfortunately countries like ours, generally content with being passive recipients of Western media, do not realize that it is the west which always ends up choosing the enemy (or friend) for us.
Chennai and Delhi may have to start building on the World Tamil Conference in Coimbatore. It is not going to be easy, but then, India cannot ignore the politics of the 'Tamil-speaking people' the world over.
India has seen this movie before and it does not have a happy ending. As the idea of a nuclear deal between the United States and Pakistan gains some traction in Washington, Delhi is unlikely to lose much sleep.
Studies done in ORF estimate that even with everything in our favour, India will be hard put to exceed a thermal coal based capacity beyond 300 GW. In such a scenario, how do we better harness our oil and gas potential and fulfill the great promise that lies hidden in our vast unexplored acreages.
The exit of the UN mission has created a security gap in Nepal which may not augur well with the prevalent disunity among different political parties. People want the original stakeholders should undertake the responsibility of completing the tasks left over by the external agencies.
There is hardly any doubt that failing health systems result in poor health outcomes and hamper progress towards the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Universal Health Coverage (UHC). In Africa, health systems are hobbled by leadership and governance challenges, extreme shortages of health workers, corruption in procurement systems for medical products and technologies, poor information systems, and health financing const
Shorenstein APARC, in collaboration with Observer Research Foundation, will hold a conference on regionalism and regional integration in South Asia at Stanford University on June 19 and 20, 2008. The conference papers will be issued as an edited volume
China's ruling Communist Party, at its plenum, will deliberate on the economic and social agenda for China over the next five years focusing on financial reforms and how to maintain growth of around seven per cent. Contrast this with India where the new administration appears somnolent.
India has a role no less important than America’s in exposing the falsehood of Chinese claims on representative governance
As UPA 2 enters the last lap of its tenure, it is not just the Indian economy that is unravelling. New Delhi's loss of purpose and direction in the last few years has had an equally damaging impact on the diplomatic front.
Nothing of substance came out from the recent low profile visit of the US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates
Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani visited China on May 17, barely two weeks after the killing of Osama bin Laden. The original purpose of the third Prime Ministerial meeting in 17 months - celebration of 60 years of Sino-Pakistan relations - was overshadowed by the Abbottabad raid,
The current crisis in Pakistan-US relations over the detention of Raymond Davis, the American security contractor charged with the murder of two Pakistanis, confirms many well-known trends, such as increasing anti-Americanism among Pakistanis and the growing importance of 'strategic corporals'.
Although India has confirmed it will sign the FTA with EEU, it now needs to take forward the negotiations quickly. The FTA is not just significant from the economic viewpoint but also to counter the growing influence of China in the central Asian region.
Indian presence is already being felt across the South Asian region, more than in the past. The situation is still evolving. The question is: Should India allow things to continue taking the evolutionary route or jack-boot its way, which is neither des irable, nor workable - and hence unthinkable for New Delhi too!
The agenda for change is a large one. This list or any other can be multiplied several times and still come up short. But the compulsions of reform are urgent. With a bulging profile of young people, India is said to be on the cusp of a demographic dividend. But that dividend could well become a nightmare unless we are able to fix our politics, our governance system, economy, national security machinery.
How can we differentiate ourselves from China whilst dealing with Africa? Clearly the worst option would be to emulate the muscular Chinese style of economic diplomacy. For one we just don't have the firepower. For another the principle of comparative advantage advocates that everyone must play to their strengths.
Strikingly similar to the crisis that Iran faced at the IAEA Board meeting in Vienna last weekend, India too found itself in a tight spot in April 1994 at the United Nations Human Rights Commission's annual session in Geneva.
If Merkel's Berlin republic is discarding its many postwar political inhibitions and reconstituting the Eurasian landscape, Modi's putative "third republic" is looking beyond non-alignment to the idea of India as a "leading power". In their second summit in six months, Modi and Merkel may have decisively nudged India and Germany towards a goal that was first articulated 100 years ago.
Getting Pakistan to end the Kashmir conflict has been a difficult task, because Kashmir means many things to them. At one level, it is a cause that unites everyone in that country - the jihadis, the army and the civilian elite. At another, it provides it a means to maintain a hostile posture towards India, something necessary for its current sense of national identity.
In the coming Pakistan elections, the PPP cannot be written off because it has substantial pockets of support across various provinces. But it deserves some sympathy. Asif Zardari has not had an easy time with the media which had deemed him corrupt from day one or the judiciary and the military which have foiled all his efforts to come up with bold policies.
As India's Presidency of the G20 ends and the baton passes to Brazil, we evaluate the successes of the past year culminating in the New Delhi Leaders'
Modi has been ambivalent about the Lokpal, believing, presumably, that a revitalised administration will make this institution redundant. If so, he is wrong. At some point, he will have to take up the fight directly. This is the lesson we can learn from Xi Jinping. From the outset, Xi has been involved in a struggle against corruption.
Egypt is the fulcrum of the Arab world and developments there can have a profound impact in other Arab nations. That is why it is important to get things right. The immediate challenge for Egypt is to ensure that it does not degenerate into civil war.
It has been five years since General Pervez Musharraf came to power in Pakistan in a bloodless coup on October 12. One questionable referendum staged in April 2002, the less-than-credible parliamentary elections in October the same year, a controversial constitutional amendment and two changes of government this year later, Gen Musharraf is still the numero uno.
In a municipality of 55 members in Dhule, 16 are Muslims, affiliated to all the mainstream parties in Mumbai. These councillors are virtual middlemen for state leaders, in whose electoral interest they try to keep the local flock.
Compared to the increasing suicide attacks the world over, India has, by and large, remained safe from these assaults. The reason is that Indian Muslims have a strong sense of Indian identity. In both their grievances and aspirations they think like their fellow Indian citizens, rather through any religious or sectarian prism.
Where is the national leader of sufficient stature who can distil the message from the treaty of Hudaibiya and from Iqbal, and give it contemporary relevance? Or, in a more narrow focus: where is the Muslim leader to manage the post verdict mood? I believe the Congress has two or three but the nation has not seen them in the past week.
Friendly Indo-Bangla relations will play a major role in securing peace and prosperity in the South Asia and these can be achieved with sincere initiatives by the government in resolving outstanding issues. India's Bangla policy could be a for the new government in dealing with other countries in the Neighbourhood.
The US NDS has higher budgets, a focus on the threat from China, and the need for rapid development and deployment of advanced technologies
Against the contemporary background of strong systemic shocks to the global economy, the Group of Twenty (G20) must address the stagnation in developmental priorities and spur economic growth. As the current steward of the rotating presidency within the G20, India has acquired a unique podium to spearhead discussions on pivotal global challenges.
While Dr. Manmohan Singh must necessarily wait for Nawaz Sharif to determine the pace at which he might be comfortable moving forward with India, in the case of Bangladesh, the burden is entirely on Delhi to implement the historic agreements it had negotiated with Dhaka.
Japan knows India is the best possible regional counter-weight to a rising China. At the same time, it has to work with China to counter global uncertainties.
As India, China, US and the European Union grapple with the need for equitable and meaningful climate action, strategies are also needed to address the differing needs and capabilities of the sub-national entities that make up these big players.
In India, the office of the foreign minister doesn't command nearly the sort of authority it should, or it did in the past. While foreign policy in other countries is influenced by domestic politics, in India it's being completely overshadowed by intra-party and intra-government feuds.
The issues in Afghanistan do not exhaust potential areas for India-US cooperation. For example, combating the drug trade, engaging China, Central Asian nations, Iran, and Russia. Successful coordination and collaboration will go a long way towards creating a post-2014 Afghan scenario amenable to both India and the US.
