Search

Since the end of the Cold War, the world order has been in a state of dynamic transition. With unprecedented military, economic and technological preponderance, the US dominates the scene. Europe is reunited, at peace and engaged in consolidating its political unity and economic integration.

Japan's new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has not taken too long to affirm his strong desire to restore the balance of power in Asia amidst the rise of China and Beijing's political assertiveness.

Land is at the heart of India's current development predicament. Hundreds of its mega projects and big ticket projects are caught up in the land logjam. But the proposed Land Bill still lacks effective provisions to provide reasonable price to land owners in rural areas where there is no land market.

With the Foreign Relations Law, China has added a new weapon to its arsenal against sanctions and further consolidates the Party’s grip on foreign e

With the news of back channel negotiations between the Taliban and the United States coming to light, the Karzai government's fear of the hijacking of the reconciliation process with the Taliban by foreign partners might not be ill found.

If there ever was a moment for India to stick by the principle of non-intervention in the internal affairs of other nations, this is it in the Middle East. The region is in the throes of a difficult political transition and Delhi must deal with the governments of the day, irrespective of their internal orientation.

As every stakeholder, both inside and outside Myanmar, is trying to seize the opening, US has taken he lead with its Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's ice-breaking visit to Myanmar and her meetings with President Thein Sein and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Once the northern sea route from Europe to China becomes active, the strategic balance between the Indian and Arctic Oceans could change. Would this change be enough to mean easier or cheaper availability of oil and gas from West Asia to Europe, China and India? Would it reduce the strategic relevance of the Ocean to the West and mean a direct confrontation there between India and China?

During a closed door discussion with US Assistant Secretary Nisha Desai Biswal, Indian strategic thinkers and foreign policy experts discussed the new opportunities lying ahead for greater India-US cooperation.

The NATO drawdown from Afghanistan presents new opportunities for long-term collaboration between the US and India. Successful coordination and collaboration during the next two years will do much to bring about a post-2014 Afghan scenario amenable to both our countries and the region at large.

Raja Pervez Ashraf became Pakistan's 25th Prime Minister eight months before the country goes to polls. His predecessor, Yousaf Raza Gilani, was disqualified by the Supreme Court on June 19, 2012 for failing to implement court's directions to investigate corruption charges against President Asif Ali Zardari.

While the Modi government is settling down with a positive and constructive agenda, certain negative forces are raising their heads which tend to take away the shine from the Modi government. In Maharashtra, the Hindu Rashtra Sena has been active in promoting communal propaganda.

No government can tread the path of a single-minded focus on GDP growth. But wanton populism is no answer either, as the widening fiscal deficit must be trimmed.

Pakistan's Prime Minister-designate Shaukat Aziz has been elected to the National Assembly with a thumping majority. His victory is being projected as a peaceful transition of power¿from Jamali to Shujaat to Aziz-- and as a sign of democracy maturing in Pakistan.

It is important to note that while India has emphasised the need to increase its involvement in Myanmar's energy sector, it also recognises the need to take 'socio-environmental consideration' in major energy hydro-power, energy and pipeline projects.

As the 21st century unfolds, India's power dynamic will be determined by its ability to finesse its strategic dilemmas and manage complimentary yet adversarial relationships.

The US threats and its troop presence in South Korea are alleged to have contributed to North Korean insecurity, but its drive to develop more nuclear weaponry cannot be understood without taking into account domestic dynamics. To bring about a genuine change in North Korea's behaviour, its internal dynamics will have to be considered.

The nature of work is changing, leading to the loss of some jobs and the creation of others that require radically changed skills. In India, as the requirements of this evolving labour market change, co-working spaces fulfil many of the new needs. The aim of this paper is twofold: to describe the development of the co-working industry in India, its driving factors, as well as the architecture, design and social aspects of the work environment; a

Can India, in its present state of economy, afford the colossal amount of expenditure and administrative confusion in creating new States? The answer is firmly in the negative. Therefore, it is advisable for the UPA Government to remain firm and refuse to accede to the demand for a new commission for the reorganisation of States.

The Delhi Government's Bhagidari programme with all its pitfalls and challenges comes as a refreshing idea in the context of urban governance. Given its potential to transform state-ctizen interface, there is need to give it statutory backing. Also, there is enough space for forther improvement of the programme.

US President Barack Obama's popularity, as well as that of his party, has gone up after his shrewd handling of the lame-duck Congress session. Commentators are now calling him the 'comeback kid' just as they did Clinton in 1994.

The next Russian nuclear reactor plant is likely to come up in Andhra Pradesh, according to Russian Consul-General at Chennai Sergei Kotov. Initiating a discussion on "President Putin's Visit and India-Russia Relations" at ORF Chennai Chapter on January 3, Kotov confirmed that the next plant will not be constructed in Tamil Nadu.

The next steps towards peace with Pakistan need to be thought out carefully to prevent the dialogue process from getting derailed or losing steam - two possibilities which seem to be staring in the face of policy makers on either side of the border.

The Indo-US nuclear deal has been signed. The next step is to get it passed through the US Congress and the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). This also entails amending the laws, so that India can receive the same benefits as those states that are a party to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT).

THE politician's lust for power is a significant factor that has allowed the People's War Group (PWG) Naxalites to grow and gain in strength. Routinely, several political leaders at various levels have sought the rebels' support to win elections. In April 2003, a local legislator in Warangal district went to pay "homage" to a PWG leader killed in a police encounter, Polam Sudarshan Reddy "Ramakrishna",

NGOs that deter economic progress or infrastructure growth have to be actively discouraged. The agenda and priorities have to be Indian and not determined in some remote western city. The government, in turn, has to be transparent and active in providing solutions to environmental and human problems.

While acknowledging the fact that many of the larger NGOs have done phenomenal work in public welfare, a social activist in Chennai has said the motives behind the initiatives of some of them in the country have become questionable.

A suicide terrorist attack on 26 August in the capital city of Nigeria turned global attention on a little-known terrorist group which has potential of emerging as a threat to Western interests in Africa.

Nigeria voted on April 16th, 2011 for a new president. The result: political violence killing over 500 with the number only increasing and thousands of Nigerians injured and internally displaced.

The top priority of any nation in the post-9/11 era is to defend its territorial integrity. This goal faces a real threat from terrorists originating or based in foreign countries, said Mr Andrew T. Simkin, the Consul-General of the US in Chennai.

Saudi Arabia's Nitaqat system has achieved some early success. It has been able to generate jobs for the Saudi population. But its long term success is open to question. It remains to be seen whether 'Saudization' will be successfully implemented long term through quotas and threats of punishment.

Just because China now seems to be in a hurry to move on the border issue should not be cause for New Delhi to reciprocate. We need to weigh the issues carefully and see what serves our interest the best. Anyway, we are not likely to see a final resolution of the border issue in a hurry

The integration of Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of India is the ultimate solution to the Kashmir problem, said Dr. Subha Chandran at an interaction on 'Jammu & Kashmir: Internal Threats and External Interests' at the ORF Chennai Chapter.

Mr. Brajesh Mishra, former National Security Advisor and now Trustee of Observer Research Foundation, recently gave an interview to Mr. Karan Thapar. The interview was televised by CNN-IBN. Given below is the text of the interview"

The recent 'off-the-record' comment by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh against "about 25% Bnagladeshis" has dented the India-Bangladesh relations. There is a need for us to show more sensitivity while dealing with Bangladesh, a country that has gone out of its way to improve its relationship with India.

Karsten Geier, head of the Cyber Policy Coordination Staff at the German Federal Foreign Office's interview on CyFy 2016

The current refugee crisis in Europe is unlikely to end soon as one third of Syria's 20 million population are potential migrants, if the situation in the country itself will not change, says Jakob von Weizsaecker, Member of the European Parliament.

Like a bad dream, the Dr AQ Khan episode has returned to haunt the world. There are a number of reasons why it will do so in the coming days. First, it is one of the most serious crimes committed against humanity.

Deploying the "national security" argument against reform in the intelligence agencies is a fig leaf for defending cronyism, incompetence, inefficiency, and corruption. A proper regulatory mechanism can only strengthen national security, not weaken it. It is time to bring in facts and lessons from global best practices to this debate.

India's challenges in negotiating a new framework for internet governance do not lend themselves to the old clichés of Indian diplomacy. Instead, India must strive to find the appropriate balance between the multiple antinomies that define the debate.

As the NDA government recalibrates India's Kashmir and Pakistan policies, Delhi must do a much better job explaining the logic behind the cancellation of the foreign secretary talks, widely seen as abrupt.It must let the international community, especially Pakistan's friends, including the US, China and Saudi Arabia, know India is not abandoning the peace process with Islamabad.

The intolerant liberal in India considers all alternative opinion to be moronic and the right-wing ideologue describes opposition to their stated position as blasphemy. Both are unwilling to listen to the other, much less understand and accept a civilised debate. Consequently, both are equally dangerous.

As India evolves its cyber-fibre, it has many lessons to absorb from the Snowden episode. On the one hand, enforcement is a sine qua non of any law. On the other hand, the government needs to realise that cyberSpace is not your normal run-of-the-mill state highway that state agencies can regulate, patrol and police.

Bhutan's honeymoon with democracy seems to be facing its first challenge, that too from unexpected quarters. For a nation that boasts of measuring its national wealth in terms of Gross National Happiness (GNH) and not conventionally in GDP.

The absence of a standard formulation on the no-first-use of nuclear weapons in the latest Chinese defence white paper has raised questions about a likely evolution in Beijing's nuclear doctrine.

Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo have been more concerned with measuring what happens in the real world, at the very bottom level than sophisticated