Compact Fusion: Are the Energy Equations About to Change? Advanced technologies and supercomputing have accelerated the pace of research and development in the field of nuclear fusion. Atul Pant January 10, 2018 IDSA Comments
Drones: An Emerging Terror Tool From the days of their inception, remotely piloted aero models (known popularly as drones) have been feared as a means of spreading terror. Recently, the use of drones by terrorist outfits like the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), also known as the Islamic State (IS), has seen an increase and this has brought those fears to the fore. Experts fear that the drones have given terrorists a near-perfect solution for spreading terror and a major terror act may be around the corner as legal and illegal drone activities are on the rise. Atul Pant January-March 2018 Journal of Defence Studies
Doklam and the Indo-China Boundary On 19 December 2017, three days ahead of the scheduled 20th Round of Indo-China border talk between the Indian National Security Advisor (NSA), Ajit Doval, and China’s State Councillor, Yang Jiechi (the details of which are yet to be made public), the daily Times of India reported a statement by China that the Doklam standoff posed a ‘major test’ for the bilateral ties and that lessons should be learnt from it to avoid a similar situation of its kind in the future.1 China’s statement was made in the context of the face-off between Indian Army and China’s People’s Liberation Army (PL A.K. Bardalai January-March 2018 Journal of Defence Studies
Inside the Enemy’s Computer: Identifying Cyber-Attackers, by Clement Guitton Attribution of cyberattacks is an impending issue in enabling a credible deterrent against both state and non-state actors. It applies equally to cases of a criminal nature as well as to those with implications for national security. The technology underlying cyberspace facilitates anonymity and thus affixing responsibility, that is, attributability, is not merely a technological challenge but a political one as well, especially when nation states have proven prowess in engaging their adversaries in cyberspace. Munish Sharma January-March 2018 Journal of Defence Studies
The Food versus Fuel Debate The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) has proposed that the terms of the debate be moved from food versus fuel to food and fuel. Ekta Niranjan January 04, 2018 Backgrounder
The India-ASEAN Partnership at 25 A stronger partnership and enhanced cooperation should be prioritised by both sides if the full potential of this engagement is to be realised. Ashok Sajjanhar January 04, 2018 IDSA Comments
Publication of the National Register of Citizens: a positive step, but what next Since the deportation of illegal migrants is not feasible, the only option before the government is to let them reside in the country on humanitarian grounds but after stripping them of all citizenship rights. Pushpita Das January 04, 2018 IDSA Comments
Post Doklam, India needs to watch China’s bullish economics led cultural embrace of South Asia Doklam brought into perspective the fractured relationship between India and China on the global stage and increased fears of China’s growing unilateralism as it inexorably broadens its interests and sphere of influence, especially in South Asia. Shruti Pandalai January 01, 2018 Issue Brief
Asia in international relations: unlearning imperial power relations The discipline of International Relations (IR) is deeply enmeshed in the history, intellectual traditions and agency claims of the West, thus obscuring the contributions from the non-Western world. IR theory fails to take cognisance of the global distribution of the various actors along with their contribution to a heterogeneous and rich discipline. There is a pressing need for a departure from IR’s historic complicity with marginalisation and the silencing of alternative epistemologies, thereby making its process of knowledge production truly global and democratic. Ananya Sharma January 2018 Strategic Analysis
Gas Pipelines—Politics and Rivalries In 2012, the International Energy Agency (IEA) in its ‘World Energy Outlook’ said that the world was entering a ‘Golden Age of Gas’. With its lower carbon-emitting properties, gas seemed poised to claim its rightful place in the global energy mix as a bridge between polluting hydrocarbons and green renewables. Moreover, it has all the ingredients to make it as worthy a contender in the energy geopolitical game as did oil a few decades ago. Shebonti Ray Dadwal , Chithra Purushothaman January 2018 Strategic Analysis
