IDSA Occasional Papers

Prospects of Maritime Cooperation between India and Russia in Indian Ocean Region, Arctic and Russian Far East

The India-Russia partnership is longstanding and time-tested, one of steadiest of the major relationships in the world. Although the relations between the two countries have remained exceptionally warm and cordial, their full potential has not been realised.

Mahan and Mackinder: Addressing the False Dichotomy in the Eurasian Pivot theory

Halford Mackinder’s 1904 paper: The Geographical Pivot of History, has been an object of scholarly contention for more than eight decades. Endlessly regurgitated, the process of the Mackinder review has become a niche within International Relations theory that has evolved over time but retained a number of core themes.

Role of Semiconductors in India’s National Security

The Indian government has rightly given a clarion call for India to be a Chip Maker rather than a Chip Taker. The requirement of semiconductors in India's national security domain has become critical since they form the substrate of every important activity in the country - from the economic to the military domain.

China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC): The Project and its Prospects

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has been earmarked as a flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which is described as Chinese President Xi Jinping's signature foreign policy initiative and a grand strategy aimed at restoring China's “rightful'' great-power status in the world. It is a major plank in China's geo-strategic and economic architecture for the region, using Pakistan to secure an exploitative strategic perch in South Asia and the Arabian Sea, overlooking the crucial Persian Gulf, the west coast of India, and the east coast of Africa.

Aerial Drones in Future Wars: A Conceptual Perspective

Aerial drones are fast making way into military operations. With further advancement of technology, their role in warfare is set to increase exponentially. The new generation aerial drones promise to be at the centre stage of military operations in future warfare, in both lethal and non-lethal roles.

Makran Gateways: A Strategic Reference for Gwadar and Chabahar

The spirit of 'Connectivity', a salient motif in early-twenty first century international relations (IR), has provided an amenable context for a review of geo-determinism in IR theory and the defence of classical geopolitical models as analytical frameworks. No contemporary case study is perhaps more admissible in this regard than the scramble for connectivity leadership in Central and South Asia.

The Acquisition of Rafale Aircraft: Facts and Concerns That Ought To Be In the Public Domain

The acrimonious debate in the public space on the acquisition of Rafale aircraft has been primarily focused on a few issues. The debate does not inform the public about the long, arduous and complex nature of the programme and the joint effort invested in it. The uniqueness of this programme is also not in the public domain. It does not specifically inform the lay person as to the rationale for restricting the numbers to two squadrons, and carries on oblivious of the collateral effect it may have on future acquisition programmes.

India-Africa Cooperation in Human Resource Development: Education ,Training and Skills

Human resource development (HRD) and capacity building are frequently claimed to be at the heart of India's development cooperation. This paper is one of the first to look inside these claims and to review critically the many different facets of India's capacity building. The focus is India's engagement with Africa, and the time-frame is from 1947 till the present. Many of the key HRD elements in India's cooperation are covered: from support to thousands of African students and professionals to learn from Indian institutions to the ambitious HRD pledges of the three India-Africa Forum Summits. India's soft power in Africa is examined along with its support to institutional and digital development.

Trump’s Own “Star Wars” The 2019 US BMD Review and What It Augurs for India?

The Trump administration’s BMDR, released in early 2019, can be described as the most proactive BMD plan since the SDI days with fillip given to areas like directed-energy, addressing gaps in boost-phase interception and harnessing the space frontier. Besides analyzing the BMDR threadbare, this Volume uses a hitherto unexplored cache of documents to reconstruct the anatomy of the India-US BMD dialogue so to ascertain why it failed and what the BMDR augurs for India’s BMD future.

Analysing China’s Digital and Space Belt and Road Initiative

The recently held second Belt and Road forum in April 2019 based on the theme “Shaping a Brighter Shared Future" gained considerable momentum in the world community. BRI has been an ever evolving concept that has changed considerably since its inception in 2013. It has generated a blend of optimism and consternation around the world.