China and IBSA: Possible BRICS Overreach? The India–Brazil–South Africa (IBSA) forum, which was formalised in June 2003 through the adoption of the Brasilia Declaration based on the spirit of South–South solidarity, turns a decade old in 2013. The event will be celebrated at its first decadal summit in New Delhi. At the same time, this event needs to be juxtaposed with the fifth consecutive leadership summit of Brazil–Russia–India–China–South Africa (BRICS) in Durban in March 2013. Both IBSA and BRICS are in the limelight for their cross-continental politics. Jagannath P. Panda | May 2013 | Strategic Analysis
The International Ambitions of Mao and Nehru: National Efficacy Beliefs and the Making of Foreign Policy by Andrew Bingham Kennedy India and China represented two of the most dynamic anomalies within the international system during the height of the Cold War era in the 1950s. Both states were considered thus, as the world, particularly Western nations, looked upon their prospective futures with varying degrees of scepticism. Melissa M. Cyrill | May 2013 | Strategic Analysis
IBSA at 10: South–South development assistance and the challenge to build international legitimacy in a changing global order This commentary engages with the IBSA model of South–South development assistance. It focuses on the IBSA Trust Fund to demonstrate the growing political relevance of the partnership in development assistance initiatives. This is followed by an analysis of Brazil's increasing participation in South–South development assistance in many developing countries around the world. Marco Antonio Vieira | May 2013 | Strategic Analysis
Twenty-First Century Sea Power: Cooperation and Conflict at Sea by Peter Dutton, Robert S. Ross and Oystein Tunsjo (eds.) The volume under review is part of the CASS Series on Naval Policy and History edited by the acclaimed maritime affairs expert Professor Geoffrey Till, and is also the 50th book in the series. Maritime and naval scholarship is a niche area in security and strategic studies and the Cass series is a welcome initiative to address the prevailing sea-blindness and related ignorance in the policy-making circles of the world. C Uday Bhaskar | May 2013 | Strategic Analysis
IBSA: Avoiding Being BRICked Up In his opening address at the 2011 India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) summit held in Pretoria/Tshwane, President Jacob Zuma of South Africa said the essence of the grouping was ‘Back to Basics: When Democracy and Development Work Together for a Better Life’. Elizabeth Sidiropoulos | May 2013 | Strategic Analysis
Sri Lanka and the Defeat of the LTTE by K.M. de Silva The story of post-colonial Sri Lanka is, in large part, the story of how two groups have interlaced and, in the process, engaged in a 30-year war which saw its end in 2009. In Sri Lanka and the Defeat of the LTTE, K.M. de Silva addresses the history of ethnic tension in Sri Lanka, and presents a case study of the emergence, maturation and eventual collapse of the terrorist organisation the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Thiruni Kelegama | May 2013 | Strategic Analysis
Return of a King by William Dalrymple Imperialism never gives on its own will. The all-season historian, William Dalrymple, echoes this message throughout Return of a King. In comparison to his unwavering research on India, which is submerged in the thickness of the complex historiography, this new book is a rattling good read. The theme of the book gives the average reader a valid reason to come across the parts of ‘research and reference’, which are supported by historical facts rather than facts interwoven with fiction. Atul K. Thakur | May 2013 | Strategic Analysis
Lessons from Somdurong Chu Incident Incursions and incidents of escalation are not new to India-China relations. Importantly they have been successfully diffused by a combination of adroit diplomacy, ‘show of force’ and political statesmanship. Mandip Singh | April 26, 2013 | IDSA Comments
China’s Defence White Paper 2013: Lessons for India Struggling to deal with a rigid China on the intractable border issue, India would do well to digest the core assertions of the white paper, including the growing reach of the PLA, its professionalisation, keenness to protect overseas interests, modernisation of the nuclear arsenal, and growing role in foreign policy making. Arvind Gupta | April 25, 2013 | IDSA Comments
The Korean Imbroglio North Korea’s uranium enrichment programme has made the US jittery and is not totally confident of reopening the six-party talks. Washington needs assurances regarding North Korea’s future nuclear programmes and the key to finding a solution to the present stalemate lies with Beijing. R. S. Kalha | April 25, 2013 | IDSA Comments
