Strategic Analysis

India Versus China: Why They Are Not Friends

‘We have no eternal allies and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow’, thus spoke Lord Palmerston in 1848, then still the foreign minister of the United Kingdom.1 ‘Nations neither have enemies nor friends but only interests, the national interest’ is an aphorism which has been subsequently attributed from Winston Churchill to Henry Kissinger.

Conundrum of an Island: Sri Lanka’s Geopolitical Challenges

Sri Lanka, one of the most strategic islands in the Indian Ocean, is mired in several domestic political, security and strategic challenges since the end of the armed ethnic conflict in May 2009. However, with the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), and the post-war economic boom, it was largely believed that no one would shed tears anymore in the teardrop island. Such hopes and expectations were belied when the country witnessed multiple terror attacks in different locations in Colombo on 21 April 2019.

EU-Turkey Relations: A New Direction for EU Foreign Policy?

Turkey’s desire to be part of the European state system goes back to the Ottoman era. The Ottoman elites began to recognize the need for military, technological and administrative modernization towards the late eighteenth century, setting the tone for future relations with Europe. Notwithstanding Turkey’s search for a European identity, the European elites always hesitated in accepting Turkey as part of the European civilization.

Irrawaddy Imperatives: Reviewing India’s Myanmar Strategy

Irrawaddy Imperatives has hit the stands at a time when one needs to remind Indian policy planners—now wholly focused west on Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover—that Myanmar is an equally, if not more important, neighbour saddled with an equally serious crisis, which may have a much more adverse impact on India’s ‘Act East’ policy.

The South Caucasus: Transition from Subjugation to Independence (Tracing India’s Footprints)

The South Caucasus region consists primarily of three countries, namely Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. The region finds scant attention in International Relations deliberations in India. It also lags behind in the foreign policy articulation of successive Indian governments despite being an energy-rich region and situated at the crossroads of Asia and Europe through which several important freight transit and energy corridors pass.

India Rising: A Multilayered Analysis of Ideas, Interests, and Institutions

For many years now, India’s position as a rising power has been a topic of discussion revolving around questions such as what are the factors that shape India’s conduct at the global level, and has there been any change in India’s foreign policy or is it marked by continuity? The book under review is a collection of essays by reputed scholars who attempt to answer such questions by assessing many important, yet complex issues of Indian foreign policy conduct at a microscopic level.

The Long Game: How the Chinese Negotiate with India

The author is eminently qualified to write the book under review, having been a distinguished member of the Indian Foreign Service during which period he served as Ambassador to China and eventually became Foreign Secretary. In the author’s words the underlying intent in writing the book is ‘… that the generations to come might benefit by learning about China from those who have dealt with the subject … the insights contained herein may prove helpful to them in their future dealings with the Chinese’ (p. 162).

Russia-India: Strategic Partnership, Not Alliance

Taiwan’s striving for institutional recognition has made its campaign to obtain observer status at the World Health Assembly (WHA) a distinct case in international relations (IR). The first section briefly introduces framing as an analytical approach governing the arrangement of this research. The second section articulates how Taiwan’s utilization of framing has shaped public opinion and helped advance its interests. The third section adopts ‘a scorecard approach’ to evaluate Taiwan’s efforts to engage with the WHA comprehensively.

Digital Yuan (e-CNY): China’s Official Digital Currency

The Chinese Electronic Yuan, or the e-CNY, is a central bank digital currency (CBDC) sponsored by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC). The e-CNY is identical to the currency of China, the Renminbi (unit being yuan) and is a legal tender in the country. The PBOC has been actively testing the electronic yuan (e-CNY)—with a population of around 21 million participating in the tests as of June 2021. Moreover, China aims to extend the use of digital yuan worldwide and facilitate cross-border payments and tourism.

What Can EAEU-India FTA Bring to Indian Industrial Development?

At the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in 2017, the Minister for Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission, Veronika Nikishina and India’s Minister of State of Commerce and Industry, Nirmala Sitharaman met to sign a joint statement on the start of negotiations on a free trade agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and India.