The article proposes to trace India's relations with Iran in the post-Cold War period, to identify the highs and lows in its contours and analyse the current situation. No country, however powerful, can formulate and implement its policy towards another in a total vacuum. India's Iran policy, as well as its foreign policy on the whole, reflects its domestic and external concerns and compulsions. India's need to secure its interests and broaden its options is unexceptionable.

• Gulshan Dietl
• November 2012
• Strategic Analysis

India and Iran have shared a rich history of civilisational ties for many centuries. The close historical relations were, however, ruined by the British rule and the subsequent loss of contiguity owing to the creation of Pakistan. Iran's alliance with the Western bloc and India's adherence to the principles of non-alignment, albeit with leanings towards the Soviet Union, were the major determinants of Indo-Iranian bilateral relations until 1979. Pakistan, and its impression on the successive Iranian regimes, also played a major role in this relationship.

• Mushtaq Hussain
• November 2012
• Strategic Analysis

One of the most difficult tasks facing the foreign policy makers in India is the requirement to balance the relations with Iran while enhancing proximity with the United States. This invariably raises questions over the importance of Iran. An ancient civilisation, Iran is located at the crucial junction of South Asia and the Middle East. It also links the Central Asian Republics and the Caucasus region to the Arabian Sea. Historically, it has influenced its neighbours, irrespective of the type of government in power.

• Alok Bansal
• November 2012
• Strategic Analysis

Recently, we have witnessed an unprecedented series of political events in the Middle East and North Africa after a young man from Tunisia had his vegetables confiscated by the police. In retaliation, the young man set himself on fire, which initiated inextinguishable flames of protests and demonstrations demanding a more humane world for everyone. Protests and strikes driven by everyday people continued to sweep across the tightly controlled North African states. However, not everybody treated these unrests as a deep, socially rooted problem in society.

• Necati Anaz
• September 2012
• Strategic Analysis

The recent wind of ‘popular uprisings’ blowing across North Africa, most notably Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and Libya, is monumental and unprecedented. Indeed, the world was taken aback by these uprisings. Despite notable contextual variations in the triggers and accelerators of the uprisings, which largely account for the divergent trajectories and outcomes, a common denominator seems to be the all-pervasive legitimacy crisis, or better still, the negative legitimacy, in these countries.

• J. Shola Omotola
• September 2012
• Strategic Analysis

The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) is Iran's most powerful security and military organisation, responsible for the protection and survival of the regime. Over time, the IRGC has attained a position of dominance vis-à-vis the regular army (Artesh). In due course, the Guards have also been transformed into a leading political and economic actor. The major political role of the IRGC started with the election of the reformist presidency. However, the Guards' involvement in the Iranian economy began during Rafsanjani's presidency.

• M. Mahtab Alam Rizvi
• July 2012
• Strategic Analysis

The India–Afghanistan relationship is not a simple bilateral engagement. India's Afghan policy is driven by, and is dependent on, many extraneous factors such as India's troubled relationship with Pakistan, its search for a land transit to Central Asia through Iran and Afghanistan and its concerns regarding use of Afghan territory by Pakistan to the detriment of Indian interests. Given the geographical constraints, India has relied on Iran for land access to Afghanistan. This has been complicated by Iran–US relations —the two countries with whom India shares common interests.

• Smruti S. Pattanaik
• July 2012
• Strategic Analysis

The latest report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Iran's alleged nuclear weapons programme, released on November 8, 2011, has effectively raised the global threat level. The agency faced the daunting challenge of making a judgement on how far Iran's nuclear programme has advanced and its potential for weaponisation on the basis of suggestive but dated, inconclusive and possibly fake evidence (hundreds of pages of evidence have been sourced to one laptop of unproven provenance given to the IAEA by a Western intelligence agency).

• Ramesh Thakur
• March 2012
• Strategic Analysis

India's foreign policy interactions with Israel are marked by a political discreetness which is in contrast to its prominent political engagement with the Palestinians and countries of the Arab world. India plays down its robust defence engagement with Israel, censures Israeli policies regarding the Palestinians, supports Palestinian-related resolutions at multi-lateral forums like the UN, differs strongly from Israeli policy on issues such as Iran's nuclear programme while being opposed to the possibility of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons capability.

• S. Samuel C. Rajiv
• January 2012
• Strategic Analysis

There has been an increasing assertion of the velayat-e-faqih in Iranian politics in recent years. This has led to tensions between them and the presidential office in Iran. Against this backdrop, this article seeks to analyse the constitutional position of the velayat-e-faqih and how it has interacted with other institutions to shape Iranian foreign policy. The article critically analyses the relationship between the velayat-e-faqih and different popularly elected presidents.

• M. Mahtab Alam Rizvi
• January 2012
• Strategic Analysis

The SCO— a linchpin of China's Eurasia policy is viewed ominously by most international watchers. China is nurturing the SCO as an exclusive nucleus to undercut the US strategic outreach. But, Central Asia, the main nucleus, suffers from strategic ambiguity and the states there seek varied goals and play major power off each other. There is also an ostensible mismatch between Russia's liberal and China's expansionist approach. Will the SCO emerge as a distinct pole or will it remain an opportunistic alliance of desperate states?

• P. Stobdan
• July 2008
• Strategic Analysis

The article discusses the results of Russian foreign policy since the collapse of the Soviet Union against the background of major new global and regional international trends and the policy of other major world powers. The author argues that Russia should work for preventing a new structured confrontation in Europe, maintaining international stability, and keeping the world from sliding into a big war which seems to be more likely now than ever before in the last 50 years.

• Sergey Karaganov
• Strategic Analysis

Twenty-five years have passed since the Cold War, but no stable international order has been created. The idea about a Western-centric unipolar world has failed, and a multipolar system is yet to emerge, though it’s hard to comment on how it may function properly.

• Fyodor Lukyanov
• Strategic Analysis

The socio-economic history of Russia demonstrates that its ‘place’ in global economic relations has been subject to complex cyclical processes. The country entered the 20th century with a high growth rate and burgeoning industrialisation that included significant foreign capital. Historically exports primarily included raw materials such as grain and timber while imports consisted largely of machinery and consumer goods.

• Leonid Grigoryev
• Strategic Analysis

The post-2003 Persian Gulf sub-region has witnessed intensified geopolitical conflicts and competition between Iran and the Gulf Arab states, particularly between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Scholars and experts have mostly analysed the conflicts through political and strategic prisms while neglecting their economic dimensions. This article analyses the various post-2003 conflicts between Iran and the Gulf Arab states with a focus on how economic integration or the lack thereof creates the incentives to resolve or sustain the conflicts.

• Mohammed Nuruzzaman
• Strategic Analysis

After the June 2013 election when Hassan Rouhani became president of Iran, Iranian foreign policy changed course. The fundamental transformation is the result of his decision to open up a fresh dialogue with the United States and other Great Powers to resolve the nuclear stand-off that would end the country’s isolation, lift the biting US-led sanctions and allow Iran to open a new chapter in its economic policy and international diplomacy.

• Shebonti Ray Dadwal , Chintamani Mahapatra
• Strategic Analysis

Since taking over as the Iraqi prime minister in May 2020, Mustafa al-Kadhimi has blended pragmatism with caution while dealing with significant domestic as well as external challenges.

• Prabhat Jawla
• December 07, 2020
• Issue Brief

In the aftermath of Samuel Paty’s beheading, France is taking measures that seek to reverse the processes through which individuals become ‘terrorists’. If successful, other countries could emulate such policy interventions in their own counter-radicalisation efforts.

• Adil Rasheed , Savini Mehta
• December 04, 2020
• IDSA Comments

GCC countries are taking measures to nationalise the labour force, which is adversely affecting the Indian expatriates across all sectors. Even as India is getting equipped to tackle the return migration, the creation of a comprehensive database will help better manage the crisis in the long run.

• Lakshmi Priya
• November 27, 2020
• Issue Brief

Turkish global power aspirations are hindered by a lack of regional influence. Ankara wishes to enhance strategic depth in the neighborhood. Deviating from a soft power approach, President Erdogan has increasingly adopted a confrontational foreign policy.

• Md. Muddassir Quamar
• November 06, 2020
• IDSA Comments

Armenia and Azerbaijan have come to blows over disputed Nagorno-Karabakh after a quarter of a century. There are numerous geo-strategic interests at play in the conflict that will impact regional peace and security.

• Deepak Kumar
• October 28, 2020
• IDSA Comments

Unlike other parts of the Muslim world, spanning North Africa to Southeast Asia, that have remained under the theological and cultural influence of Arabia, India has been able to develop its own versions of Islam and holds its own against West Asian influences.

• Adil Rasheed
• August 31, 2020
• Issue Brief

The normalisation of relations between the UAE and Israel is a historic development and a step forward in the rapprochement between the Arab Gulf and Israel.

• Md. Muddassir Quamar
• August 21, 2020
• IDSA Comments

Formal diplomatic ties between Israel and the UAE, two of India’s critical strategic partners, is indeed a welcome development.

• S. Samuel C. Rajiv
• August 18, 2020
• IDSA Comments

The internal and external situation on the first anniversary of the historic revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir appears assuring, even as the need for safeguarding the initial gains calls for sustained efforts.

• Adil Rasheed
• August 04, 2020
• IDSA Comments

India has taken a cautious and balanced approach in dealing with Iran. However, the growing US-Iran confrontation continues to cast a shadow on the Chabahar project and overall bilateral ties.

• Meena Singh Roy
• July 31, 2020
• IDSA Comments

China’s soft diplomacy in West Asia, particularly in times of pandemic, is a way to improve its global image and recast itself as a responsible actor at relatively low cost, rather than a sign of any deeper commitment towards the region.

• Nagapushpa Devendra
• July 03, 2020
• IDSA Comments

Under President Erdoğan, Ankara has become more ambitious and is using every opportunity to intervene in regional politics.

• Md. Muddassir Quamar
• June 22, 2020
• IDSA Comments

While Egypt has managed to contain the spread of the virus, the economic and political fallout of the pandemic poses a critical challenge to the stability of the country.

• Lakshmi Priya
• June 04, 2020
• IDSA Comments

The uncertainty brought about by the pandemic would at best have a limited and short-term impact on the US-Iran hostilities. For the time being, the chances of escalation may be limited but the rivalry is here to stay.

• Prabhat Jawla
• May 22, 2020
• IDSA Comments

Driven by the Covid-19 pandemic, the economic challenges for India emanating from the Gulf region are highly imminent and discernible.

• Prasanta Kumar Pradhan
• May 13, 2020
• IDSA Comments

The abidance to ceasefire does not mean an end to the conflict, but it surely would work as a confidence-building measure, at least for now, to address the bigger challenge of
coronavirus.

• Meena Singh Roy , Prabhat Jawla
• April 24, 2020
• IDSA Comments

The COVID-19 crisis would severely impact the four countries at the social, political, economic and humanitarian levels, as these states were already facing multi-vector exigencies at the time of the pandemic’s outbreak.

• Adil Rasheed , Jatin Kumar
• April 21, 2020
• IDSA Comments

While it is unlikely that the Iranian regime will be able to weather the COVID-19 crisis without the support of the international community, its efforts at seeking international support largely remain a work in progress.

• Meena Singh Roy , Prabhat Jawla
• April 16, 2020
• Issue Brief

As the COVID-19 cases continue to rise, the key priorities for the GCC countries are to contain the spread of the pandemic, maintain the flow of trade across their borders and preserve their economies from adverse impacts.

• Prasanta Kumar Pradhan
• April 16, 2020
• IDSA Comments

The political divisions and economic challenges facing the country have complicated the government’s response to the pandemic, putting the population at risk and threatening to undermine the popularity of President Erdogan.

• Md. Muddassir Quamar
• April 14, 2020
• IDSA Comments