Emerging Themes in Indian foreign Policy

India’s challenges in extraditing fugitives from foreign countries

With the advent of globalisation and increased interconnectivity, it has become less difficult for offenders in India to escape to foreign jurisdictions and avoid prosecution in the country. The importance ...

Examining India’s stance on the Rohingya crisis

The current debate on Delhi’s approach towards the Rohingya crisis focuses principally on the implications. While this aspect, without doubt, deserves careful examination, there is a need for a more ...

India-Bangladesh defence cooperation: Coming of age, at last?

This brief analyses the efforts of India and Bangladesh to strengthen their defence cooperation, in the context of the series of agreements and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the ...

Modi and CHOGM 2018: Reimagining the Commonwealth

In an apparent turnaround for Indian foreign policy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in London in April underscores a change of ...

The rising role of Buddhism in India’s soft power strategy

The Modi-led government is placing a strong accent on the use of soft power in India’s foreign policy. One of the more novel manifestations of these initiatives has been engagement ...

The Quad in the Indo-Pacific: Why ASEAN remains cautious

As India, Japan, Australia and the United States renew their quadrilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, there are suggestions to expand the ‘Quad’ into a ‘Quad-plus’ grouping to include the countries ...

The diaspora and India’s growth story

This brief sketches the growing interest of the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the Indian diaspora. Over the last three years, the prime minister has repeatedly called attention ...

India-Bangladesh Trans-Boundary River Management: Understanding the Tipaimukh Dam Controversy

This brief offers a way to rethink the ongoing dispute between India and Bangladesh over the former’s plan to build a high dam on River Barak (known as Surma-Kushiyara and ...

China-India data sharing for early flood warning in the Brahmaputra: A critique

This brief makes an assessment of the data-sharing arrangement between China and India as outlined in the Memorandum of Understanding for sharing hydrological information on the Brahmaputra river system, aimed ...

India-Russia Relations: Beyond Energy and Defence

Economic ties between India and Russia have remained the weakest link in their bilateral relationship since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Both countries have set out to correct this ...

Cultivating the Bipartisan Consensus on India in the 116th US Congress

Amidst the current climate of intense polarisation in the US, the bipartisan consensus on India has largely remained as a rare point of convergence between Republicans and Democrats. This paper ...

Russia’s tilt towards Asia and its implications for India

Russia has always been actively involved with European politics. Its genesis in Kiev—close to the European borders—allowed it to participate in the affairs of the continent. Although Russia’s geographic expanse ...

Institutionalising India-US defence ties in American legislative precedents

This brief probes the role of the current 116th US Congress in strengthening India-US relations in the realm of defence trade and technology transfers. The analysis is done in the context ...

Exploring the prospects for a negotiated political settlement with the Taliban: Afghanistan’s long road to peace

The unguarded optimism about reconciliation with the Taliban may seem misplaced, but the proponents of the concept are increasing in number. The success of a negotiated peace deal with the ...

Turkey’s India outreach: Possibilities and challenges

Emerging developments in Turkey–India relations suggest that New Delhi is gaining more relevance in Turkey’s Asia policy than before. This brief argues that Turkey’s interest in shaping a new approach ...

As China woos Nepal, some lessons for India

China is showing Nepal that the Himalayas may not be a trade barrier for rail-based trade with Asia or Europe or even maritime trade through the South China Sea. The ...

The granting of exemptions from US sanctions on Iran: An analysis of its implications

In an effort to financially hobble Iran, the United States mandated nations to halt their imports of crude from the country by early November, or else risk attracting sanctions themselves ...

South Korea’s new approach to India

South Korea’s Moon Jae-in government has adopted what it calls a “New Southern Policy”, and by most accounts, the strategy is aimed at strengthening the country’s relations with India. What ...

India-US relations under Trump: Guarding against transactionalism by pivoting to the US legislature

The dynamics of the India-US relationship under the Trump administration bear significantly on the two countries’ security partnership. This relationship, however, is being challenged by President Donald Trump’s increasingly apparent ...

The African continental free trade area and its implications for India-Africa trade

The African countries are set to launch the African Continental Free Trade Area or AfCFTA, the biggest free trade agreement in the world since the World Trade Organization was created ...

China’s growing footprint in Nepal: Challenges and opportunities for India

China is extending its hand to Nepal, India’s Himalayan neighbour, which for its part is understandably attracted to the prospects that are emerging on its Northern front. How does China’s ...

China-India relations in economic forums: Examining the regional comprehensive economic partnership

This paper examines China and India’s economic engagements at the bilateral, plurilateral and multilateral levels. The evaluation is made in the context of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the ...

Beyond JCPOA: Examining the consequences of US withdrawal

Too little, too late: The mainstreaming of Pakistan’s tribal regions

Situated in the northwest part of Pakistan, along the Afghanistan border, the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas or FATA is one of the most dangerous places in the world and has ...

The Asia–Africa Growth Corridor: Bringing together old partnerships and new initiatives

Ties between India and Japan are historical and enduring. In the Asia-Africa Growth Corridor (AAGC), the leaders of the two countries have married their respective countries’ “Act East” Policy and “Free and ...

BIMSTEC and Japan: Exploring prospects for renewed cooperation

As the Bay of Bengal region continues to rise as an economic and strategic hub, there is increasing awareness of the role to be played by the Bay of Bengal ...

‘India’s Maritime Connectivity: Importance of the Bay of Bengal’: Report released