Legitimacy Crisis and ‘Popular Uprisings’ in North Africa The recent wind of ‘popular uprisings’ blowing across North Africa, most notably Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and Libya, is monumental and unprecedented. Indeed, the world was taken aback by these uprisings. Despite notable contextual variations in the triggers and accelerators of the uprisings, which largely account for the divergent trajectories and outcomes, a common denominator seems to be the all-pervasive legitimacy crisis, or better still, the negative legitimacy, in these countries. J. Shola Omotola | September 2012 | Strategic Analysis
AN ANTI-TALIBAN PASHTUN PERSPECTIVE ON THE TALIBAN An old African proverb—‘Until lions have their historians, tales of the hunt shall always glorify the hunter’—comes to mind after reading Farhat Taj's combative, if also compelling, and to an extent controversial, description of what is actually happening on ground zero of the War on Terror, i.e. the Pashtun-dominated belt of the Afpak region. Often enough, the dominant narrative of any war drowns the voices of those living through and dying in the conflict. This is precisely what has happened in the Pashtun-populated areas that lie in the eye of the Islamist storm. Sushant Sareen | September 2012 | Strategic Analysis
Space Sustainability: Consent to Security Insurance On 6 June 2012 the European Union (EU) launched a multilateral diplomatic process to discuss and negotiate an International Code of Conduct (CoC) for outer space. This CoC is designed as a complementary mechanism for the existing framework and for ensuring the security, safety and sustainability of all outer space activities. Space sustainability is about ensuring that outer space is used for the advancement of society and providing society with the various benefits of space technologies. Ajey Lele | September 2012 | Strategic Analysis
Rafale MMRCA Deal: Last Minute Glitches? The Rafale deal is especially important as it is IAF’s best bet to stem and even reverse the recent and continuous fall in the combat aircraft squadrons fielded. Vivek Kapur | August 30, 2012 | IDSA Comments
Don’t Shoot the Messenger: The ‘Un-Social’ Strategy The raging controversy on social media regulation post the violence in Assam has left the government in a losing perception battle. It is time to engage with the new media and exploit its potential to communicate strategically and not shoot the messenger Shruti Pandalai | August 28, 2012 | IDSA Comments
Japan, South Korean War Memories and Territorial Disputes: A Dangerous Mix Despite the generational change, the war memories continue to adversely affect foreign policy and feelings of slight, disrespect, and disparagement could well assume a latent credence that ignites national outrage and dislocates the fragile power equilibrium in the region. Preeti Nalwa | August 27, 2012 | IDSA Comments
Japan-China stand-off over Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands The rise of nationalism in both Japan and China and the sovereignty issue over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands in the East China Sea is a highly explosive mix, perhaps even more so than the South China Sea island and territorial disputes. R. S. Kalha | August 27, 2012 | IDSA Comments
Iran factor in India’s Afghan Policy As India plans to stay engaged in Afghanistan beyond 2014, Iran has emerged as a critical component of India’s Afghan policy. Despite US pressures, India needs to adopt a pragmatic approach vis-à-vis Iran and engage it effectively to protect its vital security and geo-political interests in Afghanistan. Smruti S. Pattanaik | August 24, 2012 | IDSA Comments
Effect of the Financial Crisis on European Defence: The Case of France The ongoing global financial crisis has had an increasing strain on the defence budgets of different European countries. In the case of France, an intelligent and anticipatory/ preventive planning has mitigated the effects of the crisis but challenges remain, which have to be taken seriously and addressed effectively, if France wants to maintain its strategic autonomy. Adrien Frossard | August 24, 2012 | IDSA Comments
The Inadequacies of the UN Arms Register The shortcomings of the UN Register of Conventional Arms have led to the failure of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). For the Treaty to be robust and meaningful, the weapon systems which will matter in the future must be reflected in the very design of the instrument. Moreover, the Treaty should remain free from biases and prejudices of the past. Prashant Dikshit | August 24, 2012 | IDSA Comments
