US Military Departure from Manas Stirring a New Game in Central Asia The author recounts his memories of the US military base at Manas International Airport in Bishkek, which was the hub for onward movement of about 15,000 troops and 500 tons of cargo a month to and from Afghanistan. The folding of the US base has not only put an end to the US-Central Asia saga but in effect the US overseas military presence is now retracted to the line of its power limits in Europe. P. Stobdan | July 07, 2014 | IDSA Comments
The McMahon Line: A hundred years on On 3rd July 1914 nearly a hundred years ago at Simla, Tibet and India signed the Simla Convention that gave birth to the McMahon Line separating Tibet from India in the eastern sector. Much is made by some that the Simla Convention was not a legal document but from the time of the Convention till 23rd January 1959, the Chinese government never officially, in any document, ever challenged the McMahon Line. R. S. Kalha | July 03, 2014 | IDSA Comments
Addressing Violent Extremism: Lessons from Sri Lanka In the years since the hostilities in Sri Lanka ended in 2009, the understandable international focus on the evidence of war crimes by both sides has diverted attention from certain other questions that emerge from the 26-year conflict between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan government. Here I briefly explore three general questions that have arisen not only in Sri Lanka but also in many other modern conflicts, including those characterised by what is variously called asymmetric warfare, violent extremism or terrorism. Adam Roberts | July 2014 | Strategic Analysis
Beyond Strategies: Cultural Dynamics in Asian Connections, by Priya Singh, Suchandana Chatterjee, Anita Sengupta and Arpita Basu Roy Cultural dynamics play an important role in shaping foreign and security policies of nations. This book, a collection of 15 essays, research articles and notes presented at a seminar by Indian and foreign scholars, explores the variety of cultural connections that have operated in the Asian geo-strategic landscape for centuries. The key point made in the book is that the influence of cultural connections on hard core policy formulation often goes unappreciated and needs to be studied systematically for a better and nuanced understanding of strategies. Arvind Gupta | July 2014 | Strategic Analysis
India’s Natural Gas Infrastructure: Reassessing Challenges and Opportunities This article describes India’s energy situation in the midst of current economic and geopolitical challenges while highlighting some of the key issues pertaining to India’s natural gas infrastructure. Manish Vaid | July 2014 | Strategic Analysis
The World through Arab Eyes: Arab Public Opinion and the Reshaping of the Middle East by Shibley Telhami The World through Arab Eyes is a 20-year project based on 10 years of actual public opinion polling in the Arab world by the author. It offers an insightful counterpoint to the dominant literature on the Arab world through its recognition of the value of the public even as power is concentrated among a narrow elite. Scholars and political commentators often discount the power of opinion as it lacks the fundamental push required to make systemic changes. Melissa Cyrill | July 2014 | Strategic Analysis
The Past, Present and Future of the ‘Liberal Peace’ The stunted and stumbling progress of the ‘liberal peace’ philosophy since 1990 tells a complex story. In this article, I give a history of the liberal peace project from its academic and activist origins to today’s global application, discussing how policymakers and liberal peace architects see liberal peacebuilding, and how emerging powers such as India and China relate to these goals. Jason Miklian | July 2014 | Strategic Analysis
Russia’s Arctic Strategies and the Future of the Far North, by Marlene Laruelle Recent literature on the geopolitical consequences of Arctic climate change has been significantly advanced by Marlene Laruelle’s Russia’s Arctic Strategies and the Future of the Far North. In many respects, it is a book whose time has come. Since the Arctic re-emerged on the global stage following record low sea ice extent in 2007, there has been a succession of rapid-fire publications on the politics of Arctic climate change. Most have lacked the depth, perspective and interdisciplinary approach required to understand the region. Lincoln E. Flake | July 2014 | Strategic Analysis
Afghanistan’s Political Reconciliation Policy: Ill Conceived and Self-Defeating The Afghan government’s peace and reconciliation overtures to the militants, initially at the unofficial level but later sanctioned officially, have formed a key theme of state security policy from the early days of the post-Taliban administration in Afghanistan. Yet far from producing peace and stability, they seem to have played into the hands of the violent groups intent on overthrowing the country’s internationally supported and legitimate political system in the past decade. Ahmad Shayeq Qassem | July 2014 | Strategic Analysis
Contemporary India–China Dynamics: From an Orthodox to an Autonomous Course? This review essay examines the significance of India–China relations against the background of the current phenomenon of a multipolar world in the light of four recent publications on the subject. Tien-sze Fang’s and Jeff M. Smith’s works discuss the current facets of India–China relations, while William Antholis’s and Carl J. Dahlman’s works deal with the character and standing that India and China bring to their regional and global discourse. Jagannath P. Panda | July 2014 | Strategic Analysis
