The Paracel Islands dispute has recently resurfaced as a source of conflict between Vietnam and China, who both claim sovereignty over the islands from ‘time immemorial’. This article re-examines their respective claims from an international law perspective. It also focuses on delineating the respective claims with emphasis on sovereignty, territory and self-determination. Based on available sources, this article suggests that Vietnam appears to have a more credible sovereignty claim over the Paracel Islands vis-à-vis China.

• Christopher Budd , Dalbir Ahlawat |
• November 2015 |
• Strategic Analysis

The South China Sea has been an area of intense focus in post-Cold War international affairs. The primary reason that explains the growing significance of the South China Sea in contemporary world politics is the regional tension and competition involving China and smaller adjacent countries around the sea. The engagement of the extra-regional powers, which has the potential to aggravate the situation, is another factor that compels International Relations (IR) practitioners to keenly watch the developments there. In this context, Robert D.

• Sampa Kundu |
• September 2015 |
• Strategic Analysis

2015 is a very special year for the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses, marking 50 years since it was established on November 11, 1965. Celebrating the landmark, the current issue of Strategic Analysis carries a section on ‘Fifty Years of IDSA and Strategic Thinking in India’. This section comprises reminiscences by authors who either headed the Institute or served as part of its faculty, about the Institute’s role in shaping strategic thinking and contributing to policy planning in the country over five decades.

• Editorial Board |
• September 2015 |
• Strategic Analysis

It is a privilege to be invited to contribute to the special issue commemorating the 50th anniversary of the IDSA. The institution and the time span are respectively multi-hued and vast and the managing editor has thoughtfully suggested that I dwell on three aspects: my personal association with the institution; its major punctuations and contributions; and the way ahead, as it were—all from my limited perspective.

• C Uday Bhaskar |
• September 2015 |
• Strategic Analysis

For a long time Japan has upheld the values of pacifism, democracy and industrial and economic prosperity. However, protection of these values seems to be at stake now as Japan is grappling with a number of challenges on the domestic and foreign policy fronts. Various scholarly works have been undertaken to research these challenges. However, given the limited scope of these studies, they have so far failed to offer a comprehensive view of all the major challenges. This book rectifies that and offers an in-depth analysis of nine major challenges faced by Japan.

• Pranamita Baruah |
• September 2015 |
• Strategic Analysis

Established to fill a gap between policy research and policy innovation, the IDSA is the original gurukul of strategic analyses in modern India. My reminiscences of IDSA in the seventies are a décollage selected to share in a sense of national pride for witnessing some momentous events that became bench marks in shaping India’s defense posture. It (décollage) also expresses professional gratification for being a part of the IDSA faculty with K Subrahmanyam as its Director.

• Swadesh Rana |
• September 2015 |
• Strategic Analysis

Rendezvous with Rebels is the passionate account of Rajeev Bhattacharyya’s daring journey to the rebel bases in Myanmar’s Sagaing Division where several separatist outfits from India’s troubled Northeast have established a presence. He stayed at the camp of the anti-talks faction of the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) headed by chief of staff Paresh Baruah, who happens to be one of the most wanted men in India.

• Atul K. Thakur |
• September 2015 |
• Strategic Analysis

The foreign policy of a state is determined by its domestic policy, the internal balance of power. The domestic political configuration of any state has a predominant role in understanding its foreign political moves. Therefore, an attempt to analyse the orientation of a state’s foreign policy without considering such key factors as its political system, interest groups, intra-elite competition and personal ambitions of its leader and others is not feasible.

• Nargiza T. Bektemirova |
• September 2015 |
• Strategic Analysis

There is a growing tendency among many Western nations to defer to Germany the responsibility for dealing with an ever more recalcitrant Russia. Despite the perils involved, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, with her Russian language skills and East German upbringing, has been obliging. Indeed, Russia’s policies towards the European Union (EU) and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) often have their first port of call in Berlin.

• Lincoln E. Flake |
• September 2015 |
• Strategic Analysis

While we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the reunification of Germany and remember more than 25 years of the Peaceful Revolution towards the end that took place in Leipzig and across the German Democratic Republic (GDR), it is also important to turn our attention to the still divided Korean Peninsula, and to maintain the vision of ‘One Korea’. The emphasis should really be on the word ‘vision’. More than 60 years after the devastating Korean War, the Peninsula remains divided and families separated.

• Conrad Rein |
• September 2015 |
• Strategic Analysis