Environmentally Induced Migration from Bangladesh to India Environmental crisis in the rural areas of developing countries is increasingly becoming an important cause of cross-border migration of population and South Asia is no exception to this phenomenon. Such movement of population in the Indo-Bangladesh context is generating a range of destabilising socio-political, economic, ethnic and communal tensions in India. It has embittered Indo-Bangladesh relations, causing tensions between the two countries. Sarfaraz Alam | July 2003 | Strategic Analysis
Exploitation of Information and Communication Technology by Terrorist Organisations Almost every new technology developed has brought great benefits attached with some risks. To each ‘technology’, there is an ‘antitechnology’, making it a double edged weapon. But whatever be the risks, the progress just carries on, and new methods are found to tackle the risks. The phenomenal growth of computer and communication technologies, or ICT, is no exception and the main risk it has brought along with its benefits is that it has provided terrorist organisations great advantage in their nefarious activities. Shitanshu Mishra | July 2003 | Strategic Analysis
The Baltic States’ Search for Security The Baltic States’ search for security became a major issue after their independence in 1991. Since then these States have been trying to establish links with Europe and perceive Russia as a major threat. Their aspirations for the NATO membership are based on their security perspective. Baltic States are engaged in trying to upgrade their armed forces, solve their territorial and ethnic disputes to meet the NATO membership criteria. Nivedita Das Kundu | July 2003 | Strategic Analysis
Bangladesh Foreign Policy vis-à-vis India Foreign policy of a country is primarily a projection of its socio-economic and political compulsions in international politics. Apart from other determinants, the foreign policy of Bangladesh was always guided by its core factors, where India occupies centrestage. Bangladesh, pursues its foreign policy based on its geographical surroundings, historical legacy, and more importantly, persistence of a number of outstanding bilateral issues, which are vital to its existence. Sanjay Bhardwaj | April 2003 | Strategic Analysis
Comments on China’s Defense Paper 2002 China’s Defense Paper 2002 was released in December 2002. It is the fourth such Paper since 1995. It clearly affirms that the top priority for China is to continue its modernisation. In particular, economic security is given more attention. The report also echoes the guidelines set at the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party for the future development of China. As stated in the White Paper, “The 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China… has drawn up a grand blueprint for China’s development in the new century. Vincent W. Chen | April 2003 | Strategic Analysis
Perceptions of Japanese Students on Terrorism and Other Security Problems: Initial Results from a Pilot Study This paper is part of an international collaborative research project involving researchers from India, England, Japan and the United States. International terrorism has emerged as a major human concern after September 11, 2001 and an understanding of this against the backdrop of related security problems has emerged as a priority research area. Mohammed Badrul Alam | April 2003 | Strategic Analysis
Dominant European Powers and the US at Odds: The Transatlantic Media Divide During the latest war in Iraq, which has now come to an end, there has been a persistent debate on why Europe and the US are not seeing eye-to-eye on the question of war and a host of issues pertaining to it. The discourse so far has speculatively tried to probe whether the whole mismatch is about culture, history or about the power game in the post-Cold War world. Ajai K. Rai | April 2003 | Strategic Analysis
US Security Policy towards South Asia after September 11 and its Implications for China: A Chinese Perspective American security policy towards South Asia can basically be divided into three stages: balance of power in the Cold War era, beyond balance of power after the end of Cold War, and new balance of power after September 11. Zhang Guihong | April 2003 | Strategic Analysis
Conceptualisations of Guerrilla Warfare Guerrilla warfare is not a new phenomenon and history is witness to its repeated occurrence. In the modern era, it acquired prominence during the Napoleonic Wars which led to an examination of its role by leading nineteenth-century thinkers including Clausewitz, Jomini, Marx and Engels. Over the course of the subsequent century, the concept and practice of guerrilla warfare was integrated within social, economic and political programmes that aimed to overthrow established authority and transform society through an armed struggle. S. Kalyanaraman | April 2003 | Strategic Analysis
Rise of Religious Parties in Pakistan: Causes and Prospects Pakistan’s political climate has always been polarized between the civil and the military leaders, with balance of political fortunes tilting in favour of one or the other, from time to time. With the overthrow of Nawaz Sharif in a bloodless coup in October 1999, the military marched out of the barracks after more than a decade. Ashutosh Misra | April 2003 | Strategic Analysis