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There are increasing signs of Talibanisation striking roots in some of the districts of Punjab, the political and military centre of Pakistan, said Prof. Kalim Bahadur, well-known expert on Pakistan, during a discussion organised at Observer Research Foundation on September 12 in New Delhi.

Relations between India and the Central Asia Republics (CARs) have matured over the past three decades, primarily in the areas of military technology, defence, counterterrorism, and economy, and culture. Following the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan and the resultant security, geostrategic, and geoeconomic challenges, India and the CARs must aim to strengthen their ties. This brief assesses the evolving situation in Afghanistan

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 ceasefire agreement came after Iran's response to US airstrikes against its nuclear programme led Tehran to launch missiles towards Al Udeid air base in Qatar, the largest American military facility in the Middle East.

The attack that killed seven military personnel in Nagrota is a loud wake up call for the Indian Army

It would be a mistake to assume that the US has changed its policy towards the region. It may have changed its style or the way it wishes to handle India and Pakistan but not its overall interests. The US wants to have a stronger presence in India without losing the hold it has on the military rulers in Pakistan.

Often referred to as among the most strategically located island chains in the world, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are critical for India’s strategic interests. The islands comprise the sole archipelago in the Bay and they straddle important sea channels. As the long-standing protectionist regime in the islands morphs into a more flexible form of governance that will balance development with conservation, the stage appears set for India to c

Along Pakistan’s western frontier, the Pashtuns in the north and the Baloch in the south have historically been crucial elements of the country’s ethnic tapestry. Their place in Pakistani society today is the result of their geography, British colonial legacy, and their relationship with the state. For many years now, the Pashtuns have borne the brunt of the Afghan jihad and military campaigns against their tribes while the Baloch hav

Changing battlefield dynamics require an adaptive military 

The Union Cabinet announced in June this year the Agnipath scheme, designed to recruit youths into the Other Ranks (ORs) of the Indian armed forces. The scheme, which came into effect immediately, will enable new recruits, or Agniveers, to serve in the military for four years. While the stated aim is to turn the Indian military into a younger and more tech-savvy force, this brief argues that there is also a strong financial imperative beh

Wargaming can aid in strategic thinking and operational preparedness and help assess potential outcomes in a conflict or a battlefield. In recent years, modern militaries have been moving to technology-based wargaming by developing better modelling and simulations and running AI-generated plausible scenarios to enhance understanding of threat environments and operational realities. This paper analyses the merits of technology-based wargaming and

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

Located at the centre of the Indian Ocean, the Chagos Archipelago is a group of 55 tiny islands that, since 1965, has been administered by the United Kingdom as a British Indian Ocean Territory. Its biggest island, Diego Garcia, is host to a highly important US military air base. Sovereignty over the archipelago has recently emerged as an issue of contestation between Mauritius and the UK, and the presence of American military troops has only ser

Bhutan has historically maintained a neutral relationship with China, to its north, and a more special relationship with India, whose states border its west, east, and south. Over the past two decades, however, many factors are forcing Bhutan to settle its longstanding territorial disputes with China and diversify its relations. These factors include its own changing economy and transition from an absolute monarchy to a democracy, a gener

The already deep Sino-Pakistani military and strategic relationship is set to deepen further for myriad reasons.

After days of disputing the 2020 election results and claiming widespread fraud in the polls that gave the National League for Democracy a second term, Myanmar’s military, the Tatmadaw, staged a coup on 1 February 2021. The coup supposedly ended a decade of inadequate democratic reforms in Myanmar, which came after almost five decades of oppressive military rule. Ironically enough, the military regime itself had set the course of reforms post-2

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 crisis in Ukraine has resulted in an unprecedented level of unity in the often-fractured European Union (EU). The member states have provided Ukraine with economic and military aid, imposed far-reaching sanctions on Russia, strengthened their own defences, and accepted millions of Ukrainian refugees. At the same time, nuanced divergences have also emerged, particularly on how the countries view relations with Russia and calculate thei

Like about the Loch Ness Monster, we have only heard that the West has proof of the Assad regime using chemical weapons. But we've seen no credible testimony. For all one knows, it may have been the rebels' doing to instigate a US military response.

An imprisoned Imran Khan directing street protests is a thorn in Pakistan army’s side. The political instability deepens Islamabad’s ‘polycrisis’

India, which clung to non-alignment as its international identity since Independence, had little inclination for defence diplomacy. But now New Delhi is slowly moving away from a fastidious avoidance of military partnerships in the past to making security cooperation an important part of India's foreign relations now.

The rapid growth in military cyber capabilities of the countries in the Indo-Pacific combined with the use of assets from the cyberwarfare toolbox—in domestic and interstate contexts—is adding uncertainty to already competitive political, military, and economic relations. This issue brief assesses the cyberwarfare context in the Indo-Pacific, and reviews the military cyber capabilities of the region’s countries and their commitment to inter

The rapid growth in military cyber capabilities of the countries in the Indo-Pacific combined with the use of assets from the cyberwarfare toolbox—in domestic and interstate contexts—is adding uncertainty to already competitive political, military, and economic relations. This issue brief assesses the cyberwarfare context in the Indo-Pacific, and reviews the military cyber capabilities of the region’s countries and their commitment to inter

This time around, it is probably fair to say that no “Wuhan spirit” can salvage bilateral relations.

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has historically been a key instrument of state power in modern China, from the time founder Mao Zedong famously said that power flows “from the barrel of a gun.” Today, in the era of Xi Jinping, China is strengthening its defence diplomacy through Xi’s so-called Global Security Initiative (GSI) that envisions a growing role for the Party-state’s arms like the PLA and the Ministry of Public Security. T

Cyber war is a subject that is highly contested among strategists and experts. This brief assesses the impact of cyber operations against strategic targets and demonstrates that while cyber war is a real phenomenon, it is far from producing decisive outcomes. The cyberspace is a medium to conduct military operations and several countries have made investments in capabilities to both attack and defend against cyber-attacks. The brief evaluates the

As major powers like China are deepening their military ties with the Gulf, the need for India to look beyond the imperatives of energy and maritime security is critical to its interests in Oman and the wider Gulf region.

While much of the Indo-Russian relationship appears to be already existing ties, especially in the military-technical cooperation and hydrocarbon industry, trade and economic relations are faced with myriad challenges. It is time to diversify the trade basket to include technology, pharmaceuticals, etc.

Over the years, India has attempted to find political as well as legal solutions to its border dispute with China; these efforts have met with little success. This paper argues that the reason a resolution to the India–China border issue remains elusive is the inadequate understanding—and enforcement—of International Law. It examines the sustainability of China’s position, as well as its general approach to International Law, its interpre

The ongoing India-China face-off in Eastern Ladakh may appear to be a small-scale confrontation between conventional forces. But it is still one between nuclear-armed states, and the threat of escalation cannot be denied. In its wake, India has carried out a series of missile tests, while China too has fired a number of ballistic missiles near the Paracel and Spratly Islands, apparently to warn the US, but hardly something New Delhi can ignore. T

Seen as a vital asset to maritime strategy, large “supercarriers” are nonetheless very expensive.

As China rises, racing ahead in emerging technologies, there are implications for both Washington and Delhi.

The terror attack in Pahalgam in April this year, followed by a military standoff with Pakistan, have highlighted a nascent anti-India nexus involving Islamabad, Ankara, and Baku. This emerging geopolitical alignment necessitates a re-evaluation of India's strategic imperatives through the lens of Kautilya's seminal work on statecraft, Arthashastra. This brief argues that India's commitment to security and prosperity (Yogakshema) demands recognis

Ukraine’s bold move is intended to impress Kyiv’s western arms patrons, which could pave the way for a settlement with Russia

While it might be politically palatable to consider a purely Asia-Pacific strategic partnership to maintain stability in the region, this will be strategically short-sighted because no such partnership will have the military muscle or diplomatic heft to achieve its objectives.

The Russia-Ukraine war has confounded observers, as much as it did the Russians themselves. Since erupting in late February, the war has not shown signs of abating any time soon. This brief argues that by its very nature, the war has lessons not just for the adversaries, but also the NATO alliance that is backing Ukraine, and even geographically distant China and India. For one, the war has both elements of the old eras—such as the mass

The various incidents involving the LTTE during 2003, its continued confrontationist attitude and the demand for the recognition of its ¿Sea Tigers¿ wing as a de facto navy showed that the LTTE continued to attach importance to maintaining its military capability unimpaired and was unwilling to renounce its military option while continuing to adhere to the cease-fire.

Thankfully the accidental firing of an Indian missile into Pakistani territory did not lead to escalation, but many questions remain unanswered about what happened.

Upon the creation of Pakistan in 1947, millions of refugees and migrants from India made Karachi their new home, settling alongside the native Sindhi population. They identified themselves as mohajirs and have since been part of the long process of assimilation into Pakistan’s multiethnic, multilingual, Islamic republic. The political mobilisation of the group has led to the formation of a number of Mohajir parties, the strongest of which remai

This brief explores some of the deeper, and more troubling, effects of the pervasive spread of the logic of technology on social, cultural, and political life. The author critiques the predominant tech-utopian perspective, which frames ever further and faster technological development as critical to continuing social progress, using Neil Postman’s concept of the ‘technopoly’. The brief uses as an example the influence of the logic o

Infrastructure development and connectivity paradigms are emerging as domains of geopolitical contestation between rival powers. This competition is fiercest in the Indo-Pacific region, home to roughly half of the global population and accounting for around 60 percent of the world's economy. China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has made advances over the past decade, delivering mixed results in furthering regional connectivity and reducing th

The latest amendment to the country’s 1973 constitution is related to two overarching aspects—an overhaul in the military’s hierarchy and command structure and the subversion of the judiciary in relation to the executive, effectively denting the already fragile balance of power

Amit Krishankant Paul, The Siachen Story: The Inadvertent Role of Two German Explorers in Starting the Race to the World’s Highest Battlefield, April 2024, Observer Research Foundation.

As Myanmar's general elections draws nearer and at a time when China's relations with Myanmar's military-backed government comes under increasing strains in recent months, Beijing seems to be stepping up its multiple-engagement strategy with key political actors to prepare itself for any eventuality post-elections.

The US has long grappled with the Taiwan issue. So far, its policy of ‘strategic ambiguity’ has deterred the use of force by the People’s Republic of China (PRC). It is a moot question if this policy can be sustained to counter the PRC’s assertive military posture in the Taiwan Strait. The question before the US is whether it can deter an invasion and avoid a war with the PRC, simultaneously. The PRC is determined to seek reunification an

The announcement by His Holiness the Dalai Lama of the continuation of the institution of the Dalai Lama, and the sharp reactions from China that followed, have reignited global attention on the Tibetan people’s decades-long struggle for independence. Owing to British self-interest during the Second World War and the US rapprochement with Communist China during the Cold War to counter the USSR—alongside China's economic rise—much of the wor

Global geopolitics is in a state of intense flux. China’s rise has led to greater competition in the international system, with the United States and the post-War global order coming under increasing challenge. China’s high economic growth rate in the past several decades has meant bigger military budgets. In turn, its military rise threatens security in the Indo-Pacific region where China seeks to dominate, from the Himalayas to South China