India’s Growing Energy Woes The power blackouts on 30 July 2012, first in north India and again in north, north-east and eastern India, which plunged seven northern Indian states into darkness for several hours, disrupting normal life, underline the critical state of the country's energy security. Apart from the discomfort and inconvenience to residents, several essential services such as water supply, city transport systems (including the metro and national railways), mining, health and banking and financial sectors, came to a standstill for hours. Shebonti Ray Dadwal | January 2013 | Strategic Analysis
Two Decades of India’s Look East Policy: Partnership for Peace, Progress and Prosperity by Amar Nath Ram (ed.) Two Decades of India's Look East Policy edited by Amar Nath Ram is a compilationof scholarly contributions by 12 former ambassadors, an eminent academic-diplomat, a maritime strategy expert and a journalist. As a diplomat who was, as it were, present at the creation, Ram is eminently qualified to comment on how the Look East policy (LEP) has evolved since it was formulated. Udai Bhanu Singh | January 2013 | Strategic Analysis
Do the Changes in Myanmar Signify a Real Transition? A Critique/Response Dr. Singh's article summarises parts of Myanmar's reform process. However, he misses out the historical background that led to the current reforms and he does not unpack some of the more complex factors in this process. This critique/response will try to complete the picture of the three top priorities of the Myanmar government: national reconciliation, ethnic peace and economic reforms. Marie Lall | January 2013 | Strategic Analysis
Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir—A Buffer State in the Making? One cannot deny the inexorable advantage that geography has given Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Being the only link between the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) and Pakistan, PoK is truly the ‘umbilical cord’—a bond that is symbolical of the very deep relationship between the two countries. The PRC has at various forums asserted that it only has an economic interest in PoK and has openly denied the presence of People's Liberation Army (PLA) personnel in PoK. Mandip Singh | January 2013 | Strategic Analysis
India–China Boundary Problem 1846–1947: History and Diplomacy by A.G. Noorani The Sino-Indian border dispute is one of the longest running border disputes in the world, which has so far eluded a solution. While China has settled its territorial disputes with most of its neighbours, including Russia and Vietnam, the border dispute with India is yet to be resolved, even after 15 rounds of negotiation under the new framework of Special Representative Talks initiated in 2003 during Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's visit to China, which indeed gave an impetus to the border talks. R N Das | January 2013 | Strategic Analysis
Do the Changes in Myanmar Signify a Real Transition? Myanmar is in the midst of a phase of historic transformation, both in the domestic sphere and in its external relations. This time the change that is occurring is substantive, not cosmetic. The direction of the change has been largely established, although the pace could depend on the actual circumstances. Udai Bhanu Singh | January 2013 | Strategic Analysis
Advantage: How American Innovation Can Overcome the Asian Challenge by Adam Segal Advantage: How American Innovation Can Overcome the Asian Challenge follows a long line of books that tap into America's preoccupation with retaining its pole position as the repository of cutting edge technology, and the resultant dominance this offers it across the political, economic and military spectrum. These books are a subset within the wider pre-occupation of responding to the rise of the Asian powers, and a shift of the geopolitical centre of gravity from the Euro-Atlantic to the Asian landmass. Cherian Samuel | January 2013 | Strategic Analysis
Mahinda Rajapaksa’s India Policy: Engage and Countervail Mahinda Rajapaksa has emerged as perhaps the only Sri Lankan leader who has managed to secure some strategic autonomy in conducting his country's foreign policy vis-à-vis India. He engaged India effectively during the military campaign against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and simultaneously countervailed India by improving his country's relationship with India's traditional adversaries such as China and Pakistan. In the post-LTTE scenario, he has maintained a defiant posture vis-à-vis India over the latter's persuasion to evolve a political solution to the ethnic issue. Ashok K. Behuria , Gulbin Sultana | January 2013 | Strategic Analysis
Hu Jintao: China’s Silent Ruler by Kerry Brown Chinese economic and military growth in the last decade has heightened interest in the country's functioning and political system. The world at large is highly intrigued by the way the Chinese political system functions and there is also a curiosity regarding the strengths and weaknesses of this system. Gunjan Singh | January 2013 | Strategic Analysis
The ‘Ethnic Question’ in India–Sri Lanka Relations in the Post-LTTE Phase The ‘ethnic question’ in Sri Lanka, even after the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), evokes a sense of suspense, uncertainty and even a possible conflict of interest in the otherwise robust and multifaceted relationship between India and Sri Lanka. The article adopts a multi-agent model derived from the positional analysis and identifies three principal agents in Indo-Sri Lanka relations—the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL), the Government of India (GoI) and Tamil Nadu. Amali Wedagedara | January 2013 | Strategic Analysis
