Kautilya’s Arthashastra: an intellectual portrait: the classical roots of modern politics in India The generalist reader, as also those interested in indigenous historical knowledge, owes a debt of gratitude to Professor Subrata K. Mitra and Dr. Michael Liebig for bringing out this remarkable study. This is especially so since the IDSA has been investing for several years now in studying indigenous historical knowledge and its links to modern Indian political thought. Professor Mitra and Dr. Jayant Prasad | July 2018 | Strategic Analysis
Pashtun Nationalism in Search of Political Space and the State in Pakistan Pakistan is undergoing political turmoil once again. Once again an elected prime minister was first removed in July 2017, and then barred from fighting elections for life on April 13, 2018. Nazir Ahmad Mir | July 2018 | Strategic Analysis
Qatar Crisis and the Deepening Regional Faultlines In June 2017, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar. They accused Qatar of supporting extremist and terror groups in the region, having close ties with Iran, undermining the security and stability of the Gulf region, and using the satellite television network Al Jazeera as a propaganda machine. They also put up a list of demands before Qatar, to be accepted within 10 days in order to end the boycott. Prasanta Kumar Pradhan | July 2018 | Strategic Analysis
Whither Oil Prices? India’s Choices President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal has sent oil prices soaring again. Even prior to the May 8, 2018 announcement, after falling to below $30 a barrel in early 2016, oil prices were on the boil again, belying the projections of market analysts, including those of the respected International Energy Agency (IEA), that the era of $100 plus per barrel of oil was over. The projections were based on the assumption that nations would move increasingly away from oil—and coal—to meet their carbon mitigation commitments under the Paris Agreement. Shebonti Ray Dadwal | July 2018 | Strategic Analysis
Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism: The “Uzbek Model” The Uzbek approach to dealing with radicalisation and extremism has evolved from tough and uncompromising measures to a flexible and accommodative approach. Meena Singh Roy | June 27, 2018 | IDSA Comments
Whither the Indo-US Defence Partnership India appears to be failing to consider the geopolitical and foreign policy fallouts from signing the so-called foundational military pacts with the United States. P. Stobdan | June 25, 2018 | IDSA Comments
Singapore Summit: North East Asia Set for Strategic Realignment While the US may be able to ensure the security of its homeland, it is bound to gradually yield strategic space to China in the region. All said, prevailing alignments in the region are in for a definite reset. G.G. Dwivedi | June 22, 2018 | IDSA Comments
US-North Korea Summit: Singapore Round Goes to Chairman Kim The summit brought out ambiguities in America’s policy towards denuclearisation of Korean Peninsula. To translate outcomes of the summit into concrete deliverables, Trump administration would not only have to clearly define its denuclearisation action plan in terms of goals, methodology and timeline but also bolster its alliance with South Korea and Japan. Titli Basu | June 19, 2018 | IDSA Comments
Jordan is the Pivot to Modi’s approach to Israeli-Palestinian conflict An unstable Jordan will undermine India’s newly found nuanced and balanced approach towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and push it back to the insipid, ineffective and routine of yester years. P. R. Kumaraswamy | June 15, 2018 | IDSA Comments
Keeping India-US Defence Ties on Even Keel despite CAATSA Mutual and shared interests between India and the US must form the basis of an enduring solution to the quandary presented by the provisions of the Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act. Amit Cowshish | June 14, 2018 | IDSA Comments
