India’s Submarine Modernisation Plans India’s future submarine fleet operations are likely to involve SSKs and SSNs operating in the littoral spaces, in a strategic environment sanitized and protected by SSBNs. If New Delhi can ensure compliance with present construction deadlines, it could put its submarine modernization plans back on track. Abhijit Singh May 05, 2016 IDSA Comments
Rethinking India’s approach towards Pakistan-occupied Kashmir Ceding PoK as part of a settlement does not comport with India’s national and strategic interests, especially in terms of dealing with the challenge posed by China-Pakistan collaboration. S. Kalyanaraman May 03, 2016 IDSA Comments
Inserting PoK into the Kashmir Conundrum India needs to proactively buttress its broader position by affixing/prefixing the issue of Pakistan occupied Kashmir to the bilateral agenda every time the issue of Kashmir comes up for discussion. Priyanka Singh May 03, 2016 IDSA Comments
Libya’s frustrating quest for itself When can we expect to see Libya having a single government and starting the daunting journey towards democracy? K. P. Fabian May 02, 2016 IDSA Comments
South Asia in Transition: Democracy, Political Economy and Security by Bhumitra Chakma (ed.) Change is a constant, multifaceted and universal phenomenon which has been experienced at every stage of history. Change becomes transformative when it starts altering the basic nature of a system, heralding a new era. This has happened to the political maps of the world, bringing in societal and inter-state relationships. South Asia is no exception to this rule. It has witnessed many cartographic political changes over the centuries resulting in changes in culture, economy, governmental practices and inter-state relations. Vikash Kumar May 2016 Strategic Analysis
China: Behind the Miracle by Sumita Dawra China has experienced approximately double-digit economic growth for almost three decades since the opening of the economy in 1978 under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping. It has been able to lift more than 624 million people out of poverty, per capita income has increased more than five times and human development indicators show rapid progress during the period. This achievement is unparalleled in history and it is highly unlikely that any country will be able to match the ‘Chinese miracle’. However, there are big question marks over the future trajectory of economic growth in China. Raj Verma May 2016 Strategic Analysis
Thinking with Kissinger about World Order In tranquil times or troubled times reflective persons have asked why our world is where it is today. E. H. Carr wrote about the troubled years between the two world wars. The years of the Soviet–American confrontation, made frightfully deadly by the possession of nuclear weapons by the two antagonists, prompted many scholars and statesmen to think of the different kinds of world order that could spare humanity a nuclear holocaust. Bharat Wariavwalla May 2016 Strategic Analysis
Sub-regionalism as New Regionalism in South Asia: India’s Role India’s engagement with its neighbours received a policy reinvigoration after the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government assumed power and announced its ‘neighbourhood first’ policy. The first sign of this policy was visible when Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited all the heads of state of the neighbouring countries for his oath-taking ceremony, on May 26, 2014. India’s interest and engagement with the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has also intensified in the past few years – from being a reluctant player to driving the regional economic agenda. Smruti S. Pattanaik May 2016 Strategic Analysis
India and Pakistan: Will They Move beyond ‘Sharing of Intelligence’? Intelligence sharing by the Pakistani National Security Advisor (NSA) with his Indian counterpart in early March 2016 came up as an interesting outcome of the ongoing engagement between them since December 2015. Such exchange of critical information has raised the levels of expectation among the peaceniks in the subcontinent about the prospects of peace talks between the two countries, after a whole series of false starts since 2008. Ashok K. Behuria May 2016 Strategic Analysis
Impact of Iran’s Return for the Oil Market and India As was anticipated, the nuclear sanctions imposed against Iran were finally lifted on January 16, 2016 after it was certified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that Iran had met its obligations under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) reached in July 2015 among six world powers. Shebonti Ray Dadwal May 2016 Strategic Analysis