The 21st century may not hold the same strategic logic of the 1960s and 1970s towards discovering outer space. Over a period of time, particularly after the end of the Cold War, space appears to have lost some, if not all, of its strategic significance. During 2004, the then US president, George W. Bush, had argued that the 21st century moon exploration initiative by the US should be viewed as part of a journey and not a race. Mostly, the peaceful voyage of global activities in space got a jolt when China conducted an anti-satellite test (ASAT) during January 2007.

• Ajey Lele |
• January 2011 |
• Strategic Analysis

The new World Economic Order, advocated at the end of the Sixth Special Session of the UN General Assembly through a Declaration in Action Programme, and later by the regular session of the Assembly in the form of the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties, poses quite a few problems. Its legal validity, its political wisdom, its economic content and a host of other issues have been questioned. The two instruments contain provocative provisions, like the right to nationalise foreign property.

• Rahmatullah Khan |
• January 2011 |
• Strategic Analysis

Responding to Dr. Vishal Chandra's article ‘India in the Afghan Maze: Search for Options’ allows me the opportunity to update and improve upon the suggestions I had made in my commentary ‘Af-Pak and India's Options in Afghanistan’ (Strategic Analysis, 34(5), 2010, pp. 683–689).

• Mahendra Ved |
• January 2011 |
• Strategic Analysis

The Iranian nuclear stand-off is still a major issue in global politics. From international players like the European Union, the United States and the United Nations, to individual states, almost each country has its own stake in the issue. However, the recent deal brokered by Turkey and Brazil has not only changed the nature of the issue, but also the discussion itself. The deal has changed the nature because the one-sided dialogue between the international community and Iran is no longer relevant.

• Mehmet Ozkan |
• January 2011 |
• Strategic Analysis

Sage, New Delhi, 2010, ISBN 9788132103165

• Nihar R. Nayak |
• January 2011 |
• Strategic Analysis

Although General David Petraeus emphatically stated that the United States of America is not in Afghanistan to lose the war, the fact remains that the decade-long war on terror against the Taliban and shadow boxing the al Qaida has lost its aim and purpose, reaching levels of absurdity at a cost of over a trillion dollars and yet the US will not win the war! Every effort of General Petraeus to win will only escalate the conflict and that is not in the best interests of Afghanistan and the US.

• B. R. Muthu Kumar |
• January 2011 |
• Strategic Analysis

Turkey is blessed with a favourable geography. It straddles Asia and Europe, is surrounded by sea on three sides, controls the only link to the Black Sea, and has moderate climatic conditions, abundant energy resources in its neighbourhood and a defensible terrain. It also has the civilisational and historical past, having ruled over large swathes of territory including North Africa, the Middle East, the Balkans, Caucasus and Central Europe in the heyday of the Ottoman Empire.

• Rumel Dahiya |
• January 2011 |
• Strategic Analysis

Free Press, 2010, 254 pp., ISBN-10 14165-4931-5

• Reshmi Kazi |
• January 2011 |
• Strategic Analysis

As the United States seeks to draw down its security forces in Afghanistan, India faces a serious policy conundrum. It has made, as Vishal Chandra argues, significant developmental and infrastructural investments in the country. If the US military withdrawal is significant, even if not precipitate, it may leave the field open to a reconstitution of the Taliban within the country. Such an outcome will dramatically enhance Pakistani influence in the country and thereby place India's very substantial commitments to date at risk.

• Prof. Sumit Ganguly |
• January 2011 |
• Strategic Analysis

It is a truism to say that the elite in Pakistan has used Islam to perpetuate its hold on power ever since the state came into being in 1947. The judiciary in Pakistan has been the latest to emphasise its Islamist credentials to legitimise its rise as an important constituent of the influential ‘quartet’ that is ruling Pakistan today.

• Ashok K. Behuria |
• January 2011 |
• Strategic Analysis