Jagannath P. Panda

Research Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr. Jagannath Panda's article on ‘Tokyo and Taliban 2.0: Gauging Japan's Political Stake in Kabul’ has been published as Focus Asia: Perspectives & Analyses at the Institute for Security and Development Policy, Stockholm.

The paper argues that Tokyo’s perspective on the Taliban is a critical chapter in Japan’s evolving approach to upholding ‘peace’ and ‘security’ in its post-war foreign policy thinking. Despite not being an immediate or major security provider in Afghanistan, Tokyo is a significant stakeholder as a major economic actor in the region and the country. Nevertheless, Japan’s outlook and stance vis-à-vis Taliban remains invariably dependent upon its national interests, alliance partnership with the US, and its ever-growing strategic rivalry with China.

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• Published: 20 September, 2021

Research Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr. Jagannath Panda's piece ‘Tokyo's Peace Banner on Taliban 2.0’ has been published in Japan Forward on September 17, 2021.

The piece examines how Tokyo perceives Taliban 2.0, and what would be Japan’s future outlook towards a Taliban-led Afghanistan.

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• Published: 17 September, 2021

Beijing’s stance on Afghanistan’s political crisis and its approach towards the Taliban regime is a critical variable that will shape the geometrics of the China–Taliban–Pakistan nexus versus India and the West.

• Published: September 03, 2021
• Issue Brief

The Digital Silk Road can give China the power to shape global digital governance norms in its favour and the political, economic and strategic tools to be a technological hegemon, posing enormous challenges to emerging economies like India.

• Published: August 24, 2021
• Issue Brief

Research Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr. Jagannath Panda's article ‘The Quad and India's Strategic Choices in Afghanistan’ has been published in Prospects & Perspectives (no.43) published by the Prospect Foundation, Taiwan, on August 23, 2021.

The article argues that all Quad states, including India, share a key interest in maintaining stability in the region and reaching a peaceful solution among all factions. While their policies on engaging the Taliban may differ slightly, they are nonetheless united in their broader outlooks of securing Afghanistan’s future. In this context, coordinating intelligence exercises and their support to the Afghan government could be a critical initiative under the Quad.

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• Published: 23 August, 2021

Research Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr. Jagannath Panda's piece ‘Prime Minister Suga, One Year Later’ has been published in The Japan Forward on August 12, 2021.

The piece addresses two questions: after almost a year of his leadership and in light of the upcoming Japanese elections, has Suga successfully responded to the international and domestic challenges he faced? How should the world —and Japan itself —evaluate Prime Minister Suga’s one year in office?

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• Published: 12 August, 2021

Envisioned as a sustainable alternative to China’s BRI, US-led Build Back Better World (B3W) initiative seeks to narrow down infrastructure deficit in the developing world. However, with their several distinct areas of focus, BRI & B3W can possibly share both complementary & competitive equations.

• Published: August 09, 2021
• Issue Brief

The drawbacks of over-reliance on China as a single manufacturing source has led to countries adopting “China Plus One” strategy to diversify supply networks. Whether Supply Chain Resilience Initiative by India-Japan-Australia can assist in partial decoupling from China is yet to be seen.

• Published: July 26, 2021
• Issue Brief

Research Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr. Jagannath Panda's article ‘Japan's Strategic Choices in Afghanistan’ has been published in ‘Asia's Next Page’, a column in Japan Forward on July 26, 2021.

The article argues that in hopes of a stable environment, Tokyo will also continue to support peace dialogues between the Afghan government and the Taliban, with the aim of promoting a peace agreement by and for the Afghan people. Simultaneously, Tokyo will want to sustain and nurture channels of communication with both factions so as to ensure it can have a say in the country’s future alongside major players.

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• Published: 26 July, 2021

Research Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr. Jagannath Panda's article ‘India's Quad Calculus and China’ has been published in Asan Forum at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, South Korea, on July 19 2021.

The article argues that the Quad has come to occupy a central place in India’s Indo-Pacific outlook, which in turn has become a prominent part of the country’s new-look foreign policy. For India, the Quad is both a strategic dialogue and a means for it to elevate its own position on the global stage. While China is by no means the only factor influencing India’s Quad outlook, it is an important one, preserving New Delhi’s standing ahead of a revisionist China.

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• Published: 19 July, 2021