Cancellation of the VVIP Helicopter Contract: Beginning of a Long haul? While there was perhaps no option for the MoD but to do what it has done, it would be naive to expect the seller to acquiesce in forfeiture of the bank guarantees, recovery of the sums allegedly paid in violation of the PCIP (assuming that it will be possible to recover this amount) and to simply take the three helicopters back without demur. Amit Cowshish | January 06, 2014 | IDSA Comments
Bangladesh Political Crisis and India`s Options India may have to maintain a two-pronged approach. At the governmental level, it will have to offer economic benefits and cooperation. However, a regime which is communally oriented may have to be dealt on a reciprocal basis. Gautam Sen | January 06, 2014 | IDSA Comments
3D Printing and Defence: A Silent Revolution In a 3D printing technology, an object is created layer by layer through a specially designed printer using plastic or other materials. The most striking thing about 3D printing is the way it can convert the digital inventory into physical objects thereby reducing the requirement of critical storage space drastically. Sanjiv Tomar | January 03, 2014 | IDSA Comments
Indo-Pak DGsMO Meeting: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back Shorn of its rhetoric, the only tangible outcome discernible from the joint statement is the agreement on staging two flag meetings at the LoC. In fact, there are some questions that need to be asked, for example, why did the situation worsen to the extent that the DGsMO had to meet to affirm their commitment to maintain the sanctity of, and the ceasefire on, the LOC? Amit Cowshish | January 02, 2014 | IDSA Comments
Permanent Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee: Should the appointment be delayed further? Though the general elections are due this year, the need of the hour is to build a political consensus on the issue without further delay. It will be to the credit of the government if it is able to generate political consensus and appoint a Permanent Chairman CoSC or CDS. Vijai Singh Rana | January 02, 2014 | IDSA Comments
‘Arab Spring’: Implications for India As India–Gulf relationship is taking an upward trajectory, and India’s stakes and interests are growing with time, it is time for India to adopt a formally articulated “Look West Policy” in line with the successful “Look East Policy”. This Policy Brief by the West Asia Centre of IDSA explores some policy options for India. MP-IDSA | January 02, 2014 | Policy Brief
Malaysia–India Defence Cooperation: Need for a Paradigm Shift before Strategic Partnership The objective of this article is to discuss defence cooperation between Malaysia and India in the post-Cold War era (1991–2012), mainly from Malaysia’s perspective. The article is divided into four parts. First, the historical background of Malaysia–India defence cooperation during the colonial period until the Cold War is discussed briefly. Second, defence cooperation in the post-Cold War period involving the three services (air force, navy and army) is examined. Third, certain issues in Malaysia–India defence cooperation are analysed. Suseela Devi Chandran | January 2014 | Strategic Analysis
India’s South Asia Dilemma and Regional Cooperation: Relevance of Cultural Diplomacy This article highlights the current relevance of cultural diplomacy not as a panacea for the problems in India’s relations with its South Asian neighbours but as a way of dealing with the dilemma it faces. Against the backdrop of India’s position in South Asia and the importance of the region, the article makes an estimate of cultural diplomacy. Rabindra Sen | January 2014 | Strategic Analysis
The Arab Uprising: The Unfinished Revolutions of the New Middle East by Marc Lynch Tunisia’s Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali was the first to fall to the thundering protests in that country in early 2010. Within a month, Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak was forced out of office by masses of protesters chanting against an authoritarian government that had closed its people off from every possible political avenue available to push for greater democratisation. The slogans Irhal [Leave!] and Al-Shaab Yureed Isqat al-Nizam [The People Want to Overthrow the Regime] reverberated from a tiny town on the periphery of the Arab world in Tunisia, to as far away as Yemen. Princy Marin George | January 2014 | Strategic Analysis
Factoring the RCEP and the TPP: China, India and the Politics of Regional Integration The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) are not necessarily two contending trade liberalising models, but their import and arrival have posed stiff political challenges for many countries, including China and India, Asia’s two heavyweights. With these two initiatives, the regional trade of Asia is entering an interesting phase of liberalisation and integration. Jagannath P. Panda | January 2014 | Strategic Analysis
