Comment & Briefs

The only way out for King Abdullah seems to be to commit himself to truly representative democracy and all-inclusive development.

Pakistan as the host state for non-state actors cannot escape responsibility towards the latter’s acts whether these are committed with or without its knowledge, and it must do everything in its capacity to rein them in these groups.

While their growing economic clout has brought Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa together, translating the hand holding gestures at the end of each summit into real unity is likely to remain a daunting task.

Although Putin's return to the presidency will probably ensure an element of continuity in the system when looked through the prism of managed democracy, bureaucratic capitalism, and widespread corruption, political and economic reforms are the need of the hour in Russia.

For the first time one of the main leaders of the NSCN (IM) has acknowledged the sincerity of the Union government to resolve the Naga issue, signalling a distinctive change of discourse.

China’s Defence Budget for 2012 continues to follow anticipated trend lines in keeping with its plan of carrying out Revolution in Military Affairs in a calibrated, coordinated and comprehensive manner.

A course correction coupled with a proactive policy of nurturing the growing pro-India constituency in Gilgit Baltistan is the need of the hour.

The absence of agreed norms of conduct in cyberspace and the scope for conducting a myriad range of malafide activities with limited risk of retribution is leading to both vertical and horizontal proliferation of such activities.

The massive earthquake and tsunami which triggered the Fukushima nuclear crisis on March 11, 2011 has shattered the Japanese people’s faith in the safety of nuclear power generation.

The Indian policy establishment needs to start factoring into its security calculus the fallout of a Talibanised Afghanistan and eventually a Talibanised Pakistan.