Strategic Analysis

Twenty-First Century Sea Power: Cooperation and Conflict at Sea by Peter Dutton, Robert S. Ross and Oystein Tunsjo (eds.)

The volume under review is part of the CASS Series on Naval Policy and History edited by the acclaimed maritime affairs expert Professor Geoffrey Till, and is also the 50th book in the series. Maritime and naval scholarship is a niche area in security and strategic studies and the Cass series is a welcome initiative to address the prevailing sea-blindness and related ignorance in the policy-making circles of the world.

IBSA: Avoiding Being BRICked Up

In his opening address at the 2011 India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) summit held in Pretoria/Tshwane, President Jacob Zuma of South Africa said the essence of the grouping was ‘Back to Basics: When Democracy and Development Work Together for a Better Life’.

Sri Lanka and the Defeat of the LTTE by K.M. de Silva

The story of post-colonial Sri Lanka is, in large part, the story of how two groups have interlaced and, in the process, engaged in a 30-year war which saw its end in 2009. In Sri Lanka and the Defeat of the LTTE, K.M. de Silva addresses the history of ethnic tension in Sri Lanka, and presents a case study of the emergence, maturation and eventual collapse of the terrorist organisation the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Neville Maxwell’s War

Neville Maxwell's book, India's China War (Jaico Publishing House, Bombay, 1970) has already been subjected to extensive comments by a number of senior journalists in this country. By and large, the comments are not commendatory and one correspondent reflected the official view that it had woven a string of half-truths and misrepresentations around a preconceived conclusion. It is natural for an ordinary Indian to be indignant over the book.

US–Burma Relations: Change of Politics under the Bush and Obama Administrations

The article analyses US–Burma relations under two different US administrations. Since the failed 1988 democracy uprising in Burma, the United States of America and the Union of Burma have had a strained relationship. This resulted in the US government's downgrading of its representative from ambassador to chargé d'affaires. The Republican administration of President George W. Bush pursued an isolationist policy by imposing sanctions on Burma from 2001 to 2009. When President Barack H.

Pakistan, Afghanistan and the West by Ahmed Rashid

In the recent past, Pakistan has earned the distinction of being the most dangerous place on earth. According to some analysts it is a failed state, while others insist that since there is every possibility of resurrection, it should not be considered a failed state. However, almost everyone would agree that the state is in the midst of a severe crisis and poses a great danger to peace in the world in general and the region in particular.

Beyond Succession—China’s Internal Security Challenges

China is undergoing a transitional period of rapid economic and social development. The way in which this period is managed will hold significant implications for the Chinese state concerning both its internal and external security. While fundamentally resting upon progressing from a developing to a developed economy, this transition highlights deep issues and tensions affecting China—ranging from rising societal inequalities to various separatism threats to mounting individualism.

Rethinking Class in Russia by Suvi Salmenniemi (ed.)

Class is a normatively charged concept rooted in ideas of oppression, exploitation and domination. The collapse of the Soviet Union engendered an unprecedented rise of social inequalities in Russia. Social differentiation, poverty and the emergence of a newly rich class on the eve of the Soviet collapse have seldom been analysed from a class perspective. Rethinking Class in Russia addresses this lack by exploring how class positions are constructed and negotiated in new Russia, by taking an ethnographic and cultural studies approach to the topic.

The State of Islamic Radicalism in Pakistan

The soil of Pakistan, because of its culture, customs, traditions, values, the temperament of the people and even state policies, provides the ideal ground for Islamic radicalism, extremism, sectarianism and terrorism.

Russian Energy Security and Foreign Policy by Adrian Dellecker and Thomas Gomart (eds.)London/New York, Routledge, 2011, 256 pp., $135, ISBN 0-203-81673-0 (master e-book), 978-0-415-54733-8 (hbk), 978-0-203-81673-8 (ebk) Russian Energy Security and Forei

This book is a collection of essays by eminent scholars focusing on the energy security of Russia and how it plays a dominant role in Russia's foreign policy. The main objective of the book is to probe the link between Russia's foreign and energy policies. However, energy security is a key element in Russia's national security is analysed systematically and coherently.