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).

• Prasanta Kumar Pradhan |
• March 2011 |
• Strategic Analysis

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

• Peter Maher |
• March 2011 |
• Strategic Analysis

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.

• Badrul Imam |
• March 2011 |
• Strategic Analysis

Penguin Viking, New York, 2010, 398 pp., Rs. 599, ISBN

• R N Das |
• January 2011 |
• Strategic Analysis

The prognoses that it will be long before Afghanistan will be at peace with itself; that the Taliban have raised the cost of the Afghan war for the West; that the growing differences between the West and Kabul have aggravated the prevailing uncertainty over the future of the war; and that the US-led Afghan mission appears unwinnable are all unexceptionable.

• Satish Chandra |
• January 2011 |
• Strategic Analysis

The rise of the jihadist movement in Pakistan is driven primarily by ideological and religious factors. Decades of indoctrination of a virulent version of radical political Islam has motivated thousands of people—young and old—to take the path of violent jihad to capture political power, and through it, transform the society, economy and culture to bring about what they consider to be a pristine Islamic order.

• Sushant Sareen |
• January 2011 |
• Strategic Analysis

Lexington Books, Plymouth, 2009, 275 pp., US$80, ISBN 978-0-7391-3377-4

• Rukmani Gupta |
• January 2011 |
• Strategic Analysis

The Afghan war has a long way to go. The situation has come to a point where with every passing month one wonders where the war is headed. There can be no doubt that it will be long before Afghanistan will be at peace with itself. At this moment, there does not seem to be any solution to the Afghan crisis. The Taliban and their allies, both Afghan and foreign, have notably succeeded in transforming the war to their advantage.

• Vishal Chandra |
• January 2011 |
• Strategic Analysis

India is contesting elections for the non-permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for a two-year term, 2011–12. If elected, it will return to the Security Council after a gap of 18 years. During this long hiatus, the geopolitical environment in the world has changed dramatically. As a member of the UNSC, India will be called upon to deliberate over a host of new issues and threats to international security.

• Arvind Gupta |
• January 2011 |
• Strategic Analysis

Routledge, Oxon, 2009, 256 pp., $120.00, ISBN 978-0-415-49103-7

• Kapil Patil |
• January 2011 |
• Strategic Analysis