Strategic Analysis

The Rise of Kim Yo-Jong in the North Korean Regime

The state narrative of North Korea, the story that keeps the Kims in power and the population uncomplaining, is built as much around international politics as it is domestic. In the mid-1990s, soon after the first transition of power from Kim Il-sung to Kim Jong-il, the country and the regime was in crisis. Always looking at themselves through the lens of South Korea and the need for reunification, official propaganda had been building an idea that their Southern brothers and sisters were impoverished in comparison and desperate to join with the North once again.

US-Taliban Talks for Afghan Peace: Complexities Galore

The ongoing dialogue between the US and the Taliban has generated lot of interest among strategic analysts in the region and beyond. There are indications that the Taliban are hardening their position as the US appears to be in a haste to pull off an agreement.

Ashok K. Behuria , Yaqoob-ul-Hassan , Sanya Saroha
March 2019
Strategic Analysis

Critical Analysis of India’s Safeguards Agreement INFCIRC/754 with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

India concluded a fresh safeguards agreement (INFCIRC/754) with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 2009. All aspects of safeguards measures including the items to be safeguarded were deliberated upon, to ensure that India’s safeguards agreement does not result in giving any flexibility to India to use safeguarded items for unsafeguarded activities. The safeguards agreement INFCIRC/754 came with many additional features. Some of them are a result of the IAEA’s efforts to bring uniformity to subsidiary arrangements and structure and format for reporting requirements.

Decimating Democracy in 140 Characters or Less: Pakistan Army’s Subjugation of State Institutions through Twitter

The Directorate General of Inter Services Public Relations (DG-ISPR), or the Pakistan Army’s media wing has perfected the form of subverting democracy and showcasing the dominant position of the Army in the entire Pakistani polity. This article sets out to prove the same in a quantified manner. By analysing almost 25 tweets from the official account of DG-ISPR in the period 2016 −18, the article tries to quantify, using the Merkel-Croissant model of embedded democracy, the priorities of the Pakistan Army.

Reimagining Pakistan: Transforming a Dysfunctional Nuclear State

Pakistan as a state has been in constant turmoil since its creation in 1947. Institutions of a modern, functional state could never take root in the country. Consequently, it has been the military that has dominated the politics undermining the space available for democracy and democratic institutions. The politics in Pakistan and the interesting trajectory it has taken since its inception has drawn the attention of many scholars who have analysed various aspects of Pakistan polity, its security dilemmas and its fractious relationship with its neighbours.

Preventing Chemical Weapons: Arms Control and Disarmament as the Sciences Converge

This 652-page book has six main sections and in total 21 chapters, including the introduction and conclusion. The basic themes discussed in the book include the prevention and disarmament issues related to the Chemical and Biological Weapons and the possible role for arms control, the ongoing advancements taking place in the field of chemistry and biology and the role of civil society to address various challenges posed by such weapons.

China’s War on Smuggling: Law, Economic Life and the Making of the Modern State, 1845-1965

The process of state-building in China has taken place in phases, beginning with the efforts of the Qing dynasty (1644–1912), the Nationalist government (1928–1949) and later communist rule (1949- present). The literature on the subject has generated a debate on the Chinese endeavours towards state-building with regard to the question of institution-building, the legacy of coercion, intimidation and economic transformation.

Strategic Wisdom from the Orient: Evaluating the Contemporary relevance of Kautilya’s Arthashastra and Sun Tzu’s Art of War

Can non-Western sources of classical thought enhance our understanding about issues of statecraft, strategy-making, foreign policy, war and peace? Is it important to study such non-Western sources? And, can such studies contribute towards creating more effective strategies of war and peace in the contemporary world? These questions are particularly significant at a time when there is increasing interest in tapping non-Western sources of international relations theory to identify more effective ways of addressing contemporary strategic issues.

Saudi Arabia–Iran Contention and the Role of Foreign Actors

The Sykes–Picot Agreement, the Iranian Revolution, the Gulf Wars, and other events that have unfolded after the Arab Uprising (the Arab Spring), have altered the course of West Asian history. Saudi Arabia and Iran are the new architects determining the course and its trajectory; also significant is the presence of foreign powers. As is evident that oil has been a crucial factor behind the West’s interests in the region. The article states that the new Cold War can be explained as a variance between Iran and Saudi Arabia; and the situation manoeuvred by foreign actors.

An Iranian Perspective on Iran–US Relations: Idealists Versus Materialists

Over the past four decades, the relationship between Iran and the US has been marked by conflicts, ranging from hostage-taking and sanctions to military confrontation. The present research aims at explaining the dispute by referring to the mindsets of the two countries’ leaders and exploring their epistemological origins. The main question this article seeks to answer is: what are the roots of disputes in US–Iran relationship in the post-Revolutionary era?

Mohammad Reza Chitsazian , Seyed Mohammad Ali Taghavi
January 2019
Strategic Analysis