Publication Filter

The 1998 Belfast Agreement brought to an end over three decades of armed conflict in Northern Ireland. This paper summarizes the role of actors within and outside Northern Ireland, and the processes and mechanics of the Agreement itself. The Agreement is placed in the context of previous unsuccessful peace initiatives in the region, and elements within the political and economic environment at the time that facilitated agreement are identified. The consociational nature of the Agreement is set alongside concern about continuing sectarian division.

• Marie Breen-Smyth |
• November 2008 |
• Strategic Analysis

In early August 2008 most of the US newspapers were highlighting the ‘suicide’ of the marked man suspected for his involvement in the spread of anthrax through letters in 2001.… Continue reading Anthrax Case: The Mystery Remains

• Pankaj K Jha |
• October-December 2008 |
• CBW Magazine

The two recent glorious achievements - the Olympics and spacewalk mission – seem to have transcended China to a new global height with wide implications for the world’s strategic balance. From all accounts, analysts suggest that China will not only survive but has also gained from the recent global financial meltdown.

• P. Stobdan |
• October 27, 2008 |
• IDSA Comments

As the saying goes, everything that goes up had to come down. The same holds true for the price of oil, which has seen a slide of around 55% in just three months. At one point of time there were even predictions that prices would reach $200 a barrel. However, currently, the price of oil has dropped to $68 a barrel, from a high of over $147 in July this year. But the question is how and more importantly, why did this happen, and in such a short time.

• Shebonti Ray Dadwal |
• October 24, 2008 |
• IDSA Comments

Since 2005, the ‘centre of gravity’ of Asian piracy has clearly shifted westwards from Southeast Asia to the western Indian Ocean. The Somalia-based pirates are on the rampage, capturing vessels of all sizes ranging from yachts to super-tankers and their crew for ransom. This is hardly surprising, considering that the writ of Somalia’s Transitional Government (TFG) does not even run on the entire Somali land territory, and much less on its adjoining seas.

• Gurpreet S Khurana |
• October 22, 2008 |
• IDSA Comments

Bodo militancy can be effectively resolved by accommodating the only surviving Bodo militant outfit within the existing self-governing territorial council that came into existence in 2003. In the mid-1980s, the Bodos of Assam under its influential student body, the All Bodo Students’ Union (ABSU), which began a vigorous mass movement demanding a separate Bodoland state on the North of the Brahmaputra. The movement lasted for about a decade and resulted in the establishment of a territorially defined self governing council known as Bodoland Autonomous Council (BAC) in 1993.

• M. Amarjeet Singh |
• October 20, 2008 |
• IDSA Comments

The caretaker government in Bangladesh had assumed power with the objective of bringing about a new political culture in the country. This aim had made them decide upon a crackdown against corruption and the introduction of a slew of political reforms. One such reform was the need for all parties to abide by the constitution the non-registration of religion based parties.

• Anand Kumar |
• October 20, 2008 |
• IDSA Comments

On October 7, 2008, the PLA Daily reported that the Central Military Commission (CMC) and the four general departments of the Chinese military celebrated in great style the success of the Shenzhou-VII manned space flight mission. Shenzhou-VII, carrying three astronauts (Zhai Zhigang, Liu Boming, and Jing Haipeng) returned successfully on September 28 after conducting a historic spacewalk mission. This success made China the third country after the United States and Russia to conduct a space walk mission.

• Jagannath P. Panda |
• October 16, 2008 |
• IDSA Comments

Acardinal principle of India’s nuclear doctrine is No First Use (NFU). It is articulated in a press release of January 4, 2003 on the review of operationalisation of India’s nuclear… Continue reading India’s Response to CBW attack

• Ali Ahmed |
• October-December 2008 |
• CBW Magazine

What does it take to be ‘a vibrant industry’ or more specifically ‘vibrant defence industry’? Broadly, it would demand that the industry should be innovative in terms of processes and products, its base and structure should have large dimensions horizontally, vertically, and technologically to be responsive enough to keep pace with the changing strategic expectations of the nation. Defence exports and imports should be a matter of deliberate political or commercial policy choices and not a result of security compulsions.

• N. Neihsial |
• October 08, 2008 |
• IDSA Comments