US–India Relations: The Shadowboxing Era As the US presidential elections are just a few months away, the economic and strategic differences between India and the United States have come to the forefront. Trump–Modi partnership which started with ‘hugplomacy, is now transformed to that of ‘shadowboxing’. In this era, legacy as well as personal ties between the two leaders will matter little because national interests will be pursued relentlessly. India’s quest for autonomy in foreign policy and its ability to manage the contradictions with the United States will dictate the future course of relations between the two countries. Shubhrajeet Konwer January 2020 Strategic Analysis
Secure Through Development: Evaluation of India’s Border Area Development Programme The Border Area Development Programme was initiated in the year 1986–87, to strengthen India’s security by ensuring developed and secure borders. Initially, the programme was implemented in the western border states to facilitate deployment of the Border Security Force. Later, the geographical and functional scope of the programme was widened to include eastern and northern sectors of India’s borders and as well as socio-economic aspects such as education, health, agriculture and other allied sectors. But, it is difficult to say that the implementation has been uniform in all the sectors. N. Manoharan , Depak Saravanan , Vasvi Saini January 2020 Strategic Analysis
TikTok: A Ticking Bomb! TikTok has hooked youngsters around the world. What is worrisome is the lack of understanding about the long-term implications of such social media apps with regard to data protection and national security. Kritika Roy December 24, 2019 IDSA Comments
India-Africa Cooperation in Human Resource Development: Education ,Training and Skills Human resource development (HRD) and capacity building are frequently claimed to be at the heart of India's development cooperation. This paper is one of the first to look inside these claims and to review critically the many different facets of India's capacity building. The focus is India's engagement with Africa, and the time-frame is from 1947 till the present. Many of the key HRD elements in India's cooperation are covered: from support to thousands of African students and professionals to learn from Indian institutions to the ambitious HRD pledges of the three India-Africa Forum Summits. India's soft power in Africa is examined along with its support to institutional and digital development. Kenneth King IDSA Occasional Papers
Kudankulam: One Incident, Many Facets The existing approach to cyber security is heavily tilted towards practising deterrence by denial, essentially by building defences. However, the concept of deterrence needs further tweaking to make it workable in cyberspace. Cherian Samuel , Munish Sharma December 16, 2019 Issue Brief
Military Logistics Agreements: Wind in the Sails for Indian Navy Availability of logistics support facilities with partner countries will further enhance the ability of the Indian Navy to maintain appropriate ‘presence’ for extended periods in the wider Indo-Pacific. Roby Thomas November 26, 2019 IDSA Comments
Protocol for Contract Administration and Post-Contract Management There is a need to evolve a protocol for contract administration and post-contract management of all capital and revenue contracts awarded by various departments of the defence ministry and the armed forces. Amit Cowshish November 25, 2019 IDSA Comments
Defining the Charter of Chief of Defence Staff Having decided to create the post of CDS, the next logical step for the government is to define its charter of duties and responsibilities. The government needs to examine not just the CDS’s role as a single-point military advisor, but also his role in other matters that are equally important in driving critical defence reforms. Laxman Kumar Behera November 21, 2019 IDSA Comments
Baghdadi’s Elimination: ISIS Down but Not Out The ISIS may be down but not out as it is in the process of regrouping. A large number of their cadres are known to have survived. Any relaxation of pressure will give ISIS room for manoeuvre and ability to garner support of local allies. G.G. Dwivedi November 13, 2019 IDSA Comments
Significance of SDGs and India’s Evolving Global Role India has demonstrated a bold commitment to multilateralism. On all three parameters – ideational, diplomatic and institutional – India’s role is a continuation of a long lineage. As for the implementation of SDGs, India is trying to ensure that its impressive growth trickles down to the last man standing through proactive state interventions. Arpita Anant November 08, 2019 IDSA Comments
