President Obama’s New National Security Team United States President Barack Obama's new national security team for his second term in office was finally put in place at the end of February. It is an impressive team of men who share Obama's worldview and seem likely to accept the White House lead preferred by this president. The one woman, Susan Rice, added to the team as National Security Adviser in May reinforces the public image of foreign policy shaped by Obama. Surjit Mansingh | July 2013 | Strategic Analysis
The Barents Cooperation: Region-Building and New Security Challenges The Barents Euro–Arctic Region (BEAR), which in terms of land territory is one of the biggest international region-building projects in Europe, was established in 1993 to meet the new security challenges following the breakup of the Soviet Union and the opening up of the borders between East and West. Stretching over major parts of Northwest Russia and three Nordic countries, the region bridges areas, which for decades were heavily influenced by high Cold War tensions and deep social, economic and political cleavages. Rune Rafaelsen | July 2013 | Strategic Analysis
Fear, Interest and Honour: The Thucydidean Trinity and India’s Asia Policy Nearly 2,500 years ago the Greek historian Thucydides noted that the foreign policy of Athens was driven by fear, interest and honour. S. Kalyanaraman | July 2013 | Strategic Analysis
The Arctic: Potential for Conflict amidst Cooperation Changes in the Arctic topography due to climate change have resulted in the region, which erstwhile was remote with little accessibility, to being accessible with potential natural resources and attractive navigable sea areas. The prospects have also influenced the strategic contours of the Arctic and brought in many actors that view the region as a resource-rich area with viable commercial interests. Sarabjeet Singh Parmar | July 2013 | Strategic Analysis
Political Economy of Madrassa Education in Bangladesh: Genesis, Growth and Impact , by Abu Barkat, Rowshan Ara, M. Taheruddin, Farid M. Zahid and Md. Badiuzzaman Madrassas in Bangladesh have seen a rapid increase in their number in recent years. As per 2008 estimates, 9,827,742 students were enrolled in 54,130 Madrassas in the country. That meant that any third student in Bangladesh studied at a Madrassa. It is projected that by 2050 the number of Madrassas will increase to 155,108. What is alarming is not so much the number of Madrassa students as the fact that only 25 per cent of Madrassa students manage to get employed. The rest, i.e., 75 per cent remain unemployed. Anshuman Behera | July 2013 | Strategic Analysis
The Promise of Involvement: Asia in the Arctic In late 2012, the first liquefied natural gas tanker to sail through the Northern Sea Route reached its destination in Japan, carrying gas from a Euro–Arctic offshore field. Only months earlier, a Korean-owned naval architecture and engineering company had won the contract for designing the long-awaited new icebreaker for Canada's coast guard, 1 and China had completed its fifth Arctic marine survey from its own ice-capable research vessel. Olav Schram Stokke | July 2013 | Strategic Analysis
Fundamentalism: Prophecy and Protest in the Age of Globalisation by Torkel Brekke The book is based on the premise that ‘fundamentalism’ that gives an impression of antiquity is a modern phenomenon and ‘relatively a recent thing’ (p. 17). It explains fundamentalism as a powerful reaction against modernity that has brought unprecedented linear transformations in the economic, political, scientific and educational spheres undermining the influence of tradition and religion over the past couple of centuries. Fundamentalism is an endeavour to reverse the ‘negative side’ of modernity Saurabh Mishra | July 2013 | Strategic Analysis
Reincarnation Under Stress: The Dalai Lama’s Succession and India–China Relations The article seeks to assess the evolution of the Tibet question against the backdrop of the problems associated with the succession of the Dalai Lama. It also discusses the implications of all this for India and provides policy recommendations the Indian authorities could use to deal with this situation. Adrien Frossard | July 2013 | Strategic Analysis
Security Situation in J&K: A Reality Check The June 24 ambush in J&K accomplished with proficiency and high level of coordination exposes the deceptive calm often showcased in the context of large number of tourists visiting the state. Vivek Chadha | June 28, 2013 | IDSA Comments
Making Sense of the Rouhani Presidency The elections in Iran defied most prediction but the Rouhani Presidency is unlikely to see any major changes expect possibly for a change of nuance. R. S. Kalha | June 28, 2013 | IDSA Comments
