256 results found
Indian decision makers face two hard choices: either reduce the size of the Indian Army or significantly expand the defence budget.
Analysts attribute the fall of Kabul to the Taliban in August 2021 to various factors. These include geopolitical shifts, and the Taliban’s tactics of warfare. However, fewer attempts have been made to understand the Taliban’s victory through internal mobilisation. This brief attempts to fill the gap, and examines the role of identity, grievance, and greed in the Taliban’s mobilisation and its contribution to a successful insurgency. It out
Narendra Modi came to power with an unexceptional agenda: push economic growth; transform the infrastructure; bring about a social transformation. But this agenda appears to be in danger of being drowned out by a cacophony of voices from Hindutva organisations.
The Government's honeymoon is perhaps already over and realistically it has another 6 to 12 months to start putting flesh on the bare-bone schemes and ideas announced this past year. If these do not eventuate, one may well witness emptier stadiums abroad and hear shriller voices at home.
Terrorism follows no rules and is not likely to disappear suddenly. Counter-terrorism can be harsh but is required to follow some rules. We need state-of-the-art intelligence but we need the freedoms. It is always going to be a difficult choice.
The two assassination attempts in quick succession on Gen.Pervez Musharraf, the President of an Islamic state, who is a key ally of the United States in the war in Afghanistan, came at a time when the US-led coalition forces in Iraq were rejoicing over the capture of Saddam Hussein, the enemy number two only after Osama bin Laden.
As immediate neighbours, India and Myanmar have little choice but to engage each other closely. Such engagement needs understanding of each other's social and economic interests, and respect for each other's political and strategic concerns.
At the start of the republic, India found a normative voice on the global stage through its moral stand against colonialism. Now a rising India needs
A former Ranji cricketer and writer has suggested regulation of betting through a comprehensive legislation to clean up fixing-scarred cricket. He has also voiced the need for converting the BCCI into a corporate entity along the lines of Cricket Australia.
Even today, the ownership of the Bretton Wood Institutions (BWIs) continues to reflect the realities of 1943-44. Giving more voice to emerging economies will require ratification by the US Congress that has so far shown no sign of progress.
As India's most influential voice on foreign affairs in the run-up to Independence and its chief diplomat for the first 17 years of the republic, Nehru said and did things that can't be stuffed into one box labelled "Nehruvian".
Despite former king Gyanendra's attempts to revive the golden days of monarchy in Nepal, it will not be an easy return given the monarchy's past role in muzzling the voice of democracy.
Despite the severity of the attack and the pressure for action, New Delhi’s choices are much more limited than they may initially appear.
The basic purpose for Obama to have undertaken the nocturnal visit to Kabul is to show the Republicans as the misguided war mongers who thrust two wars on a nation in recession. True, Afghanistan was a war of choice but now unpopular at home. He would like to appear to be the leader who called back the troops.
Disregarding opposition from the local population in Okinawa, Tokyo continues to state that it will go ahead with its current base relocation plan to Henoko. Tokyo and Washington should comprehend that when constructing a military base in a democratic country, the popular will and voices of local citizens should be carefully considered and heard.
There is only one way in which Pakistan can survive as a nation-state. That is, the Pakistan Army will have to confine itself to being an armed force and not usurp the powers and responsibilities of the legislature and executive branch of the government. The mission objective of an armed force is to safeguard the integrity and sovereignty of the country and not run it. The people of Pakistan have a choice here.
No one really knew what had happened on the high seas off Porbunder on the New Year Eve, yet everyone had an answer within hours. The boat was apparently in the wrong place at the wrong time, and the choice was limited to take the challenge to its logical conclusion, including shooting it down or blowing up the boat as soon as possible. The Coast Guard acted on intelligence inputs. There is no "what if" in such circumstances.
Paradiplomacy as it is conducted by sub-state governments introduces the idea of decentralisation of political power to make regional governments prominent actors in the international sphere. This paper examines the scope for subnational diplomacy in India, as the country seeks to appreciate the significance of federalism and regionalism in promoting local interests, as well as identity, in current international politics. Regional governments ope
The survival of the Communist Party and its legitimacy depends on how seriously they understand the ground voices and act accordingly. The urgency to bring comprehensive judicial reforms may be a survival strategy.
This paper examines the various constraints faced by India’s small and marginal farmers, which severely affect the productivity of their lands, and thus their incomes. These obstacles cover the gamut of farming activities, from production to storage, and accessing markets. A recent government survey has said that four of every ten of the country’s farmers disliked farming, and would prefer another occupation if given a choice. While the gover
During the meeting with visiting Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, Modi has indicated he would like to visit Sri Lanka in March. During the tour, the Indian PM may also visit Maldives, Mauritius and Seychelles. The visit has the great potential for these nations to emerge as a collective Indian Ocean Rim voice.
In the light of the fact that India is not a member of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, it is important for the country to forge a deal in RCEP. In the current scenario, there have been increasing attempts by Indo-Pacific region members to voice growing concerns regarding Non Tariff barriers hindering trade prospects in the regional bloc.
The current conventional wisdom now being voiced among American analysts is that the 2004 election is evidence of a conservative revolution in American politics. According to this view, the U.S. is now in the midst of a long-term shift to the right and the creation of an enduring Republican majority, akin to the Democratic majority coalition forged during the 1930s and the New Deal by Franklin Roosevelt.
With elections in progress we find that our choices are extremely limited.
“The more the number of people, the stronger we are” Mao Zedong In recent years microblogs have emerged as a serious challenge for the Chinese government as they have become an effective means for common citizens to voice their opinions. With more and more citizens joining this new and still emerging media, the Chinese State is doing all it can to curtail freedom of expression. Although the government is trying to have absolute control over
To supplement the still lagging Afghan and ISAF security capabilities, alternative structures have been used or created, especially in rural or hard-to-reach areas. Two important groups among these are private security contractors (PSCs) and 'community defence' organisations or local militias. This paper assesses the impact of these entities on Afghan stability. Beginning March 19, 2003, the United States invaded Iraq, drawing both material an
Unlike the crowded and competitive Republican presidential nomination field, the Democratic field, for a long time, looked empty with only Hillary Clinton. The strong entry of Sanders in the Democratic nomination has given the American voters a fair choice between Clinton and Sanders' respective brands of politics.
This paper looks at debates from the days of the British Raj until now that have shaped India's strategic thought on Afghanistan. It highlights the impact of India's territorial construct on its strategic imagination and argues that India's Afghan policy is determined by its political geography. Afghanistan has proved to be a security lynchpin in South and A Central Asia over the last two decades. Home to a variety of militant networks with regi
The knowledge and understanding of the past and the fundamental of democratic practice do not put any constraints on political parties to declare thei
असुरक्षितता निर्देशांकांना प्राधान्य देण्यासाठी, लहान
It appears that the LTTE debacle and the protest voices emerging from Tamil Nadu as an aftermath has no effect on the bilateral relationship of India and Sri Lanka if a recent visit of the Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon to Sri Lanka is any indication.
The talks must be viewed as an opportunity to transform the Afghan social and political landscape, by reflecting local voices – especially that of women, and other marginalised groups – in the agenda of the peace process.
“With improved implementation of the plan of action for South Asia, Trump has impelled the region to constantly recalibrate strategic choices while
With India’s assumption as the voice of the Global South, its progress in the maternal mortality ratio and maternal and child health can serve as a
The self-goal could have been avoided, but the ruling party saw the emerging warning signals with eyes wide shut. Some party sections clearly felt they were clever enough to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds, and that religious polarisation in domestic politics could work to electoral advantage even as the PM and his diplomats wooed the Muslim nations of the Gulf. Perhaps, they don’t recognise that we live in an interconnected world, w
President Mahinda Rajapaksa's choice of Russia for his maiden foreign visit after re-election has outlined the new set of priorities for post-war Sri Lanka
Afghan female journalists have no choice but to give up their profession as the Taliban increases pressure.
Reverberations of post-colonial themes of finding ‘voice’ fuse with the leapfrog of technology for cooperation in the emerging world on achieving sustainable development goals - a report from the Conference on Technology, Innovation and Society at Tangier in June 2019.
A near-bankrupt Pakistan has only two choices. It can go to the IMF and suffer reforms. Or it can carry on with its lies, vagaries and economic wet dreams
Over the past year, the European Union (EU) increased its efforts to develop a more holistic approach to its engagement with the Indo-Pacific. Specifically, the EU has signalled a more concrete intention to integrate defence and security considerations into the policymaking process, with the publication of a regional strategy of engagement in September 2021. This brief aims to tie existing threads of EU diplomatic, developmental, and security pra
It is crucial that we tell our daughters of the countless armies of women who have raised their voices, who have raged, and fought, and sung.
The recommendations are based on a stakeholder consultation organised by ORF on 1 December 2022. Although the authors have made the best efforts to give voice to the concerns of various stakeholder groups, this is not a consensus document and does not attribute comments to, or claim to represent, the positions of any individual or organisation. All statements, assertions or factual errors are attributable only to ORF.
The United Nations Security Council, the UN's most powerful body tasked to maintain international peace and security, is failing in its mandate. Its rigid institutional setting, the privileged status of core UN members, and the continuing lack of voice of many countries, have increased the risk of dramatic and systemic failures and shaken the legitimacy and centrality of the UN in the international system. This paper proposes a new solution in th
King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia is to be complimented for his vision and initiative. The vision that something was seriously amiss within the comity of Muslim nations, and the initiative to call them together in an extraordinary summit of the OIC (Organisation of Islamic Conference) to cogitate on the seriousness of the situation and to come forth with meaningful remedies.
It is well known that Xi Jinping is an avid reader because his speeches have often used quotes from Dickens, Victor Hugo and Paul Coelho. The very choice of the books has a meaning.
The burial of another superpower in the graveyard of empires resets the regional security balance in South Asia with New Delhi being left to make some
An attempt is being made to draw Damascus back into mainstream politics; however, the influence of foreign actors over the war-torn country will make
