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

The ability of history to intrude into the present has often been underestimated. Nowhere is this more evident than in India’s relations with territories to its immediate east. Colonial rule by the British in Northeast India and Myanmar left a lasting impact on the two countries, which is felt to this day. Japanese control of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands also left its own historical imprint.

• Udai Bhanu Singh |
• July 2015 |
• Strategic Analysis

Based on the work of the Maritime Security Working Group within the Strategic Studies Network (SSN), this report provides both diagnosis and prescriptions regarding security threats in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). The IOR, a large maritime area that extends from coastal Africa through the Middle East and South Asia and on to Australia, is a major conduit for global trade, a littoral zone of developing powers, and the focus of a series of rising security challenges.

• Untitled |
• July 2015 |
• Strategic Analysis

Nigeria is currently going through a very delicate phase. The kidnapping of more than 275 Chibok schoolgirls by the terrorist organisation Boko Haram shocked not only Nigeria but the international community at large. This act by Boko Haram was widely criticised and led to worldwide condemnation and an international rescue effort. More seriously, the group leader Shekhau threatened to sell the girls into slavery and used Islamic teachings as justification.

• Aslam Khan |
• July 2015 |
• Strategic Analysis

The Boko Haram insurgency has emerged as one of the greatest threats to human security in Africa, and the Lake Chad region in particular. This is a region with a total area of 427,500 km2, which covers/ Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria. The movement known as Boko Haram (Western education is forbidden) originated in Nigeria in 2002. The official name of the movement is Jama’atu Ahlis Suna Lidda’awati Wal Jihad (People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet’s Teachings and Jihad).

• Samuel Oyewole |
• July 2015 |
• Strategic Analysis

Humanitarian cyber operations would allow democratic states to utilise cyber operations as a humanitarian intervention to capture information and create a foundation for decision making for collective international action supported by humanitarian international law. This follows the legal doctrine of responsibility to protect, which relies first on the nation state itself but when the state fails to protect its citizens, then the international community can act, ignoring the repressive or failed state’s national sovereignty.

• Jan Kallberg |
• July 2015 |
• Strategic Analysis

Xi Jinping’s new reformist approach of 2013 is a close reflection of Deng Xiaoping’s prescription of 1978. The Chinese political leadership is tightening its political grip and loosening economic control. China has a tradition of leadership being an economic rightist and a political leftist at the same time. The thesis of Xi Jinping is based upon the conception that one should not use post-reform history to negate the pre-reform years. It also says that one should not ‘exaggerate’ Mao Zedong’s mistakes but should acknowledge his contributions.

• Keshab Chandra Ratha , Sushanta Kumar Mahapatra |
• July 2015 |
• Strategic Analysis

The contemporary strategic and political environment has gone through tremendous changes in comparison to the context in which the 1950 treaty was signed. The Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s August 2014 visit to Nepal, the first by an Indian prime minister in 17 years, has rekindled the hope of improving Nepal–India relations, including revision of the 1950 treaty. Against this backdrop, this article argues that without understanding India’s strategic, security-related and political concerns, revision of the 1950 treaty is highly unlikely.

• Rohit Karki , Lekhnath Paudel |
• July 2015 |
• Strategic Analysis