Strengthening Ties with Africa As Modi speeds up engagement with African countries, there is an important challenge that he faces within the country, namely, making African nationals feel welcome in India. Ruchita Beri | July 05, 2016 | IDSA Comments
The International Community’s Intervention during the Conclusion of the War in Sri Lanka This article explores the backdrop of the engagement between the International Community (IC) and the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) over the conduct of the military during the last stages of its engagement with the secessionist Tamil militants which (especially from January to May 2009) led to a humanitarian crisis. The efforts of the IC to persuade the GoSL to halt the military operations and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to concede defeat, to ensure human security, were a failure. Ramya Chamalie Jirasinghe | July 2016 | Strategic Analysis
A Failed US Peace Building Project in Afghanistan: Exploring Cause–Effect Relationship This article argues that while the concept of peace building proved beneficial to Western society, it drew flak in pre-2014 Afghanistan for its inbuilt faults, the overarching US–Taliban conflict and the state failure towards meeting the prerequisites of the coalition strategy. It also argues that peace building in the immediate future of post-2014 Afghanistan is improbable due to the existing and likely conflicts between and among the Afghan government, the Taliban and the newly emerging Daesh or IS group for power, group and ideological domination. Mushtaq A. Kaw | July 2016 | Strategic Analysis
The Emerging International Ideocracy and Russia’s Quest for Normal Politics This article analyses modern Western society from the standpoint of the concept of ‘ideocracy’. The author suggests that the development of mass societies and mass ideologies—noted by a number of theorists and philosophers since the end of the 19th century—led to a qualitatively new level of social development in the second half of the 20th century. The globalisation of the economy and mass communications has led to the globalisation of the masses, beyond the confines of national borders. Alexander Lukin | July 2016 | Strategic Analysis
Sri Lanka as an Outreach Partner of the G-7: Issues and Concerns It appears that in order to earn the trust of China and the G7 countries, Sri Lanka has de-emphasised its relationship with India for the time being. Gulbin Sultana | July 01, 2016 | Issue Brief
Sri Lanka after Rajapaksa: Can it Ignore China? Since the fall of the Mahinda Rajapaksa government, there has been an apparent foreign policy shift in Sri Lanka. There is a growing view that the new National Unity Government (NUG), which came to power in January 2015 with Maithripala Sirisena as President, has shown its proclivities towards India and the US and moved away from China, especially under Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Gulbin Sultana | July 2016 | Strategic Analysis
BREXIT: Complications, Repercussions, and Implications Just as Pandora opened the box she was warned not to open, Cameron went for a referendum that common sense would have told him not to go for, or to do it later K. P. Fabian | July 01, 2016 | IDSA Comments
Moderates Strike Back in Iran: Imperatives for the International Community The results of the most recent Parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections in Iran indicate that Iranians are increasingly unhappy with the conservative establishment in the country. The Reformists or moderates and pro-Rouhani group of ‘Hope’ secured a majority in the Assembly of Experts and also won more seats than their rival conservatives or Principlists in the Majlis or parliament. The elections for the two bodies were held on February 26, 2016. M. Mahtab Alam Rizvi | July 2016 | Strategic Analysis
India in Japan’s Geo-strategic Outlook Japan’s long-standing alliance with the US is the key feature of its defence and security policy. However, China’s rise and impact on shaping the regional security architecture, and the vigour of US commitment in the backdrop of a G2 formulation, is making Japan diversify her options. Thus, India now features in the Japanese idea of Asia while it struggles to cope with the fluidity of the regional security landscape. This article critically analyses the increasing space accorded to India and the variables behind Japan’s courtship of it. Titli Basu | July 2016 | Journal of Defence Studies
Bose, beyond the ‘Mystery’ Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose has featured prominently in the news—and hence the public consciousness—only from time to time. As was often the case earlier, the recent prominence he has been given has been confined largely to the classified files concerning him and the mystery surrounding his death—reported or real. Although public and media activism can be credited for the pressure built up which led to the partial declassification of files, it is time now to go beyond these limited aspects of the life and times of a personality as great as that of Bose. Amba Pande | July 2016 | Strategic Analysis
