Strategic Analysis

India and China – Neighbours, Strangers by Ira Pande

(ed.), HarperCollins, India 2010, Rs. 699, ISBN 978-81-72223-960-2

The GCC–Iran Conflict and its Strategic Implications for the Gulf Region

Continuing conflict, competition and rivalry have been a regular phenomenon in the Gulf region over the past few decades. Among other reasons, the troubled relationship between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and Iran has been one of the major factors responsible for the present state of affairs in the region. The relationship has been marked by sectarian and ideological differences, clash of interests over the presence of the US in the region, concerns over the Iranian nuclear programme and territorial disputes between Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The Frugal Superpower: America’s Global Leadership in a Cash-Strapped Era by Michael Mandelbaum

PublicAffairs, New York, 2010, pp. 213, ISBN 978-1-58648-916-8

Energy Crisis and Potential in Bangladesh

The present energy crisis in Bangladesh is partly due to over-dependence on gas which fulfils more than 70 per cent of its energy needs. The present gas deficit against the national demand on a daily basis is expected to increase further in the future. The crisis will deepen unless a greater share of indigenous coal is included in the energy mix. The geological and social constraints of an over-populated fertile agricultural land area remain an obstacle to large-scale coal mining and this has to be addressed rationally.

Confronting Terrorism by Maroof Raza

(ed.), Penguin Viking, India, 2009, pp. 201, Rs. 450, ISBN 9780670083695

Flotsam and Jetsam: Towards Ending Somali Piracy on Shore

Since the overthrow of its last ruler Siad Barre in 1990, Somalia's conditions have worsened and, barring a few islands of peace, are degenerating rapidly; its waves of insecurity surge beyond its shores. Piracy off Somalia is a consequence of its present volatile insecurity on shore, and 20 years of conflict resolution efforts have come to naught. As piracy increases and anti-piracy operations intensify, efforts at finding lasting peace on shore have run aground.

Frank Charles van Rooyen PB MMM ndc(K) |
March 2011 |
Strategic Analysis

Averting Armageddon

It is a little-known fact that Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru of India had proposed a ‘standstill agreement’ to prohibit the further testing of nuclear weapons as early as 1953. In effect, it was an initial step toward a comprehensive ban on the testing of nuclear weapons with the aim of their eventual elimination. That goal, of course, has proven to be quite elusive. Despite the conclusion of a Partial Test Ban Treaty in 1963, pursuing a comprehensive test ban remained a chimera as new nuclear powers entered the global arena and a spate of nuclear tests ensued.

Kashmir: The Problem, and the Way Forward

There is an overwhelming sense of déjà vu in Kashmir today. This could have been deemed tiresome but for the grave implications it has for us as a nation, and as a people. We are now used to long cycles of violence interspersed by political ennui or tokenism and the ubiquitous ‘economic package’ which only serves to open up newer avenues for corruption in a state orphaned by history and politics for over six decades.

A Doctrine at Work: Obama’s Evolving Nuclear Policy and What it Bodes for India

President Obama made history by coming to office with the promise of working towards a nuclear weapons-free world. Envisioning a new non-proliferation momentum, Obama promised to revive the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) system and create nuclear security and energy architectures that will secure nuclear materials and make proliferation difficult. A year later, Obama realised the difficulties of selling his vision to his bureaucratic-military establishment, which resisted efforts to reduce the role of nuclear weapons while pushing for nuclear modernisation.

Empowering the Kashmiris

Insurgencies as well as popular unrests are generally rooted in political, social and economic deprivations, which in turn lead to the alienation and estrangement of a community. A popular sentiment seeking the empowerment of Muslim Kashmiris has been in existence for the past five centuries. History is replete with instances of the political deprivation and poverty of Kashmiri people during periods of their subjugation by the Mughals, the Pathans, the Sikhs and later the Dogras. Kashmiri alienation took firm roots during the Dogra rule (1846–1947).