Turkey Treads a Fine Line in Syria In the light of Trump’s decision to withdraw US troops from Syria, Ankara has adopted a cautious approach towards the Syrian Kurds and has decided to take Moscow’s concerns into account before making any move in northern Syria. Md. Muddassir Quamar | January 04, 2019 | IDSA Comments
Perilous Interventions: The Security Council and the Politics of Chaos Article 108 of United Nations (UN) Charter states that the Charter can be amended if it is adopted by two-third members of the General Assembly and ratified by two-thirds of the members of UN, including the five Permanent Members, also known as the P-5. Changing international dynamics and the need for including hitherto unrepresented quarters further call for the restructuring of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The role of UNSC has changed over the years and Hardeep Singh Puri’s book discusses the role of UNSC in resolving the crisis spanning Asia and Europe. Lakshmi Priya | January-March 2019 | Journal of Defence Studies
Will the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration solve the crisis? The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration embodies the international community’s collective commitments to promoting cooperation on migration and solve the growing migrant crisis. Rajeesh Kumar | January 02, 2019 | IDSA Comments
China’s War on Smuggling: Law, Economic Life and the Making of the Modern State, 1845-1965 The process of state-building in China has taken place in phases, beginning with the efforts of the Qing dynasty (1644–1912), the Nationalist government (1928–1949) and later communist rule (1949- present). The literature on the subject has generated a debate on the Chinese endeavours towards state-building with regard to the question of institution-building, the legacy of coercion, intimidation and economic transformation. Priyanka Pandit | January 2019 | Strategic Analysis
Strategic Wisdom from the Orient: Evaluating the Contemporary relevance of Kautilya’s Arthashastra and Sun Tzu’s Art of War Can non-Western sources of classical thought enhance our understanding about issues of statecraft, strategy-making, foreign policy, war and peace? Is it important to study such non-Western sources? And, can such studies contribute towards creating more effective strategies of war and peace in the contemporary world? These questions are particularly significant at a time when there is increasing interest in tapping non-Western sources of international relations theory to identify more effective ways of addressing contemporary strategic issues. Akshay Joshi | January 2019 | Strategic Analysis
Saudi Arabia–Iran Contention and the Role of Foreign Actors The Sykes–Picot Agreement, the Iranian Revolution, the Gulf Wars, and other events that have unfolded after the Arab Uprising (the Arab Spring), have altered the course of West Asian history. Saudi Arabia and Iran are the new architects determining the course and its trajectory; also significant is the presence of foreign powers. As is evident that oil has been a crucial factor behind the West’s interests in the region. The article states that the new Cold War can be explained as a variance between Iran and Saudi Arabia; and the situation manoeuvred by foreign actors. Vrushal T. Ghoble | January 2019 | Strategic Analysis
An Iranian Perspective on Iran–US Relations: Idealists Versus Materialists Over the past four decades, the relationship between Iran and the US has been marked by conflicts, ranging from hostage-taking and sanctions to military confrontation. The present research aims at explaining the dispute by referring to the mindsets of the two countries’ leaders and exploring their epistemological origins. The main question this article seeks to answer is: what are the roots of disputes in US–Iran relationship in the post-Revolutionary era? Mohammad Reza Chitsazian , Seyed Mohammad Ali Taghavi | January 2019 | Strategic Analysis
India–Japan Defence Ties: Building a Strategic Partnership India–Japan defence ties that began less than a decade ago have witnessed unprecedented progress. Until recently they were dominated by military exercises, training and regular dialogues, but now they are entering a new and crucial phase as they embark on ambitious joint research on advanced technologies and development of systems which will have considerable implications for their strategic partnership as well as to Indo-Pacific security. It is imprudent to surmise that this is entirely due to China; rather, a variety of factors are contributing to the burgeoning defence relations. G. V. C. Naidu , Ishida Yasuyuki | January 2019 | Strategic Analysis
Assessing India’s Engagements in the INSTC and Analysing its Implications on India’s Commercial and Strategic Interests The INSTC formalised by India, Iran and Russia at the start of the new millennium to develope an alternative transport system linking India with Central Asia and Eurasia floundered for long due to scepticism and neglect by its member states. However, the withdrawal of the UN sanctions against Iran, the steady expansion of the Chinese influence in the region through the OBOR, and the urgent requirement of the land-locked Central Asian countries to gain maritime access offer new incentives for the member states to reinvigorate the project. Sanjana Gogna | January 2019 | Strategic Analysis
US-Taliban Peace Talks and the Disquiet Trump seems to have reconciled himself to the fact that Afghanistan may become an ‘Islamic Emirate of Taliban’ with Sharia Law being imposed with or without the consent of the people. V. Mahalingam | January 01, 2019 | IDSA Comments
