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This paper dissects the causes behind Pakistan’s ongoing economic crisis. The causes include dwindling forex reserves, the phenomenon of ‘galloping inflation’, a falling Pakistani Rupee, uncompetitive and undiversified export basket, burgeoning external debt, lack of fiscal prudence, debt distress, and a worsening business environment—all cascading to a balance of payment crisis. While austerity measures, appeals for loan rollover to debt

Recent grey-zone activity in maritime-Asia suggests an increase in hybrid warfare, even as the lines between military, economic, diplomatic, intelligence and criminal means of aggression become increasingly blurred. By replacing overt military aggression with soft provocations – kept well below the threshold of open warfare – aggressors attempt to leverage asymmetry, ambiguity and incrementalism for strategic effects. These tactics are highly

We need to look beyond the Presidential vote in Afghanistan, scheduled for next April. These elections would not only test equations of military and political power as the NATO forces pull out but also the strength and possibility of deeper enduring facts of the Afghan reality.

The political health of the US is important not just for the country itself, but the world, given its outsize influence as the foremost economic and military power.

Market disruptions and strategic concerns, followed by rapid diffusion, marked the sensational launch of China’s DeepSeek in January this year. This brief highlights how China’s ‘DeepSeek moment’ has unfolded within the wider context of its military might, manufacturing prowess, and robust network of regional and international institutions. It argues that the event introduced dimensions of national and economic security into the cascading

Allocations made for capital expenditure must increase if India is to keep pace with China's rising military might

China has discarded the traditional emphasis on criticising the arms control agreements promoted by the Western powers and focuses instead on securing Beijing's national interests by actively participating in international and regional military negotiations and shaping the international military norms.

New Delhi realises it must be self-reliant in all significant areas relating to the military. Accordingly, it is working overtime to build its defence-industrial capacity, but it will not yield significant results for another two decades.

The long-term challenge for India is in ensuring deep and sustained investments in defence R&D and a defence industrial ecosystem that can, if not comprehensively, but for the most part, service the requirements of the Indian military.

Resources are constraining the modernisation drives of India's three services. The government has not been able to check the growth of manpower in the Army and paramilitary forces. This has a direct repercussion on the modernisation plans of the military.

Modi Govt's defence budget will only sharpen the divide between an increasingly assertive China and the Indian security establishment trying hard to cope up with the Chinese military modernisation programme. China's 2014 military budget is of $132 billion while Indian budget is of approximately US $ 37 bn only.

Some voices in India had advocated a tough response to the Chinese. This would be untimely and irresponsible. In retrospect, the handling of the situation which involved a symmetrical non-threatening military response by Indian forces, along with patient diplomacy has paid off.

The use of drones or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), both for military and civilian purposes, has increased in India in the past decade. At the same time, counter-drone systems are also being developed to address the threats posed by UAVs. How effective are these counter-drone mechanisms? This brief explores this question, and offers suggestions for India to reduce the growing threat from drones. Any evaluation of the efficacy of anti-drone syst

Asim Munir’s power grab in Pakistan makes South Asia a more dangerous neighbourhood. The Pak military is no longer a state within a state. It is the state

Sometime in 2020, China began building a village in territory disputed with India.

The relatively small tactical operation did not meet its military objective but generated spectacular political theatre. The release of the videos in the run up to the elections is further evidence of the true nature of the exercise.

By curtailing the effectiveness of the Armed Forces Tribunals, the Government is destroying the military justice system which is a disservice to serving and retired personnel

The United States (US) is recalibrating its strategy in the Indian Ocean, driven by the region’s rapidly evolving geopolitical and geostrategic landscape. The US approach has moved from unilateral dominance to a more collaborative strategy that emphasises shared leadership through a technology-driven security paradigm. This paradigm supports a rule-based order where regional stakeholders are empowered to adopt more significant roles. The founda

No one believes that India would wipe out Lahore, if Pakistan used a low yield nuclear weapon against an Indian military formation, and that, too, in Pakistan.

Technology affects us in positive ways yet can also be disruptive; such is the case with Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA or more commonly known as drones). While drones are proving to be useful for military, commercial, civilian, and even humanitarian activities, their unregulated use carries serious consequences that need to be addressed. This paper examines drone operations in India and analyses the major policy gaps in the country’s evolving

Neither the drone attacks - a significant technological innovation in air power - nor direct cross-border military raids address the ultimate source of terror, the Pakistan army. They merely target the manifestation of the problem.

In September 2002, the Bush administration officially introduced its national security strategy report. In response to the devastating attacks on the epicentre of America's financial and defence establishment, President Bush outlined the fundamental tenets of a strategy that was authored to contend with changes caused due to the "profound transformation" in the current security environment. President Bush proclaimed that, in order to protect Amer

Leaving Moscow to engage with North Korea may also free China of the burden of having to justify its relations with North Korea in light of Beijing’s increasing business interests with the West

This brief analyses the similarities and differences between the weaponisation of oil and that of gas. Discourse around the weaponisation of energy has increased since 1973, after oil-producing Arab countries attempted to use oil to pressure Europe and the United States to abandon their military aid to Israel. The subject has received renewed interest following recent events, such as the energy tensions between the European Union and the Russian

Cyber security should take centrestage in nuclear-policymaking. This brief evaluates the current state of cyber security in India’s civilian and military nuclear systems, as gleaned from both incidents of breach on-ground and analyses in the public discourse. It outlines the level of threats faced in this domain, and makes a case for the development of policy measures for an integrated cyber-nuclear security strategy.

Even if Donald Trump does not win the presidency, it is unlikely that enthusiasm for supporting Ukraine would be high in the US’s political ranks

The Ukraine war has confronted the EU with global realities like the end of a Eurocentric world agenda

Pakistan Army recently declared adopting a new doctrine of war fighting, termed sub-conventional warfare, in its policy document, the Green Book. The book, published at regular intervals, is a manual of new doctrines and guidelines which the GHQ distributes among senior military officials.

Their established ties rest on a foundation of common values and goals

Vietnam's self-assured pursuit of a complex balance of power strategy could be a model for other medium powers in Asia who are deeply concerned about the rise of China, want Washington to balance Beijing, but are reluctant to become formal military allies of the United States.

A nation-state—with its numerous institutions, actors, and daily interactions—is a complex system and it is a tall task to predict the future trajectory of any of its sub-systems such as the armed forces. What is certain, though, is that every sovereign state aims to have a military that is of the highest possible calibre. One of two paths may be chosen to achieve this goal: tying-in the military’s capability development with the ec

Over three years since the February 2021 coup in Myanmar, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has made little progress in helping resolve the crisis despite releasing a ‘Five-Point Consensus’ (5PC) in April 2021. The political crisis that followed the coup poses a challenge for the ASEAN, which must now deliberate on ensuring not only the early implementation of the 5PC but also whether, and how, it should continue to abide by

India has emerged as a global automotive manufacturing hub, with exports contributing a significant revenue percentage for auto firms. This growth has been driven by liberalised FDI norms, competitive market dynamics, and positive policy interventions, attracting foreign auto firms to set up plants locally. In contrast, defence manufacturing continues to lag, constrained by regulatory bottlenecks, limited foreign participation, and non-availabili

As the US Presidential elections unfold, Republican candidates would be thoroughly tested on their merit of thinking creatively on issue-based solutions to global challenges and exploring facets of diplomacy and non-military aspects of foreign policies in contrast to the focus on military interventionism and a hawkish vision of American policies abroad.

Beginning in 2017, the first Trump Administration steered United States (US)-China relations from engagement to competition. Thereafter, Biden largely built on this policy, while giving indications of moving towards a phase of “competitive co-existence”. Under Biden, the US sought to reassure China that it was adopting a strategy of “de-risking” and not “de-coupling,” and its goal was to adopt a technology export regime that would als

Defence reforms have become a national urgency

हे तथ्य पत्रक G20 देशांच्या संरक्षण खर्च आणि संरक्षण निर्यातीचे स्पष्टीकरण देते.

As the GCC pursues a joint defence shield, this requires coordination with the US to solidify, but perhaps the Trump administration is not as keen as its Democrat counterparts to become the region’s ‘security integrator’

The implications of the American plans for a space weapons corps are still unclear

This article explores the role played by General-Purpose Technologies (GPTs) on the ebbs and flows of countries’ heft throughout history. From the printing press to artificial intelligence (AI), countries that embraced and innovated on these technologies have gained economic, military, and geopolitical advantage in various forms. Today, AI stands as the defining GPT of the current era, presenting both unprecedented opportunities and massive cha

Those who want us to join the Western bandwagon and condemn Russia seem oblivious to their own stand when it comes to supporting India against China and Pakistan.

India has been importing from Israel various weapons systems, missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles over the last few years, making India one of Israel's largest buyers of military hardware.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) was formed in 1981 to counter the emerging threat from an ideological rival, Iran. While it has served the purpose of keeping the GCC countries together over the decades, the changing regional dynamics are raising questions over its continued relevance in its present form. The Hamas terror attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 and the consequent Gaza war has led to irreversible changes, Israel and Iran have engaged