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The 20th Party Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in October 2022 and the subsequent leadership reshuffle gave a new mandate to a ruling elite that will sit at the helm till 2027. It happened at a time when the CPC is facing strong headwinds, among them a tech war with the United States (US) and a downturn in the domestic economy as a result of President Xi Jinping’s ‘zero-COVID-19’ policy. The CPC saw the protests that ensued a

In December 2020, the government released the results of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 5 for 2019-20, covering 22 states and Union Territories (UTs). Contrary to expectations, NFHS5 found an increase in the percentage of stunted children in 13 states and UTs, compared to the results of NFHS4. This paper analyses such reversal of the three-decadal progress that India had previously made in reducing stunting in children. It analy

9 April 1989 had significant political consequences not only for Georgia but for the entire Soviet Union.

India can proposition an Aadhaar-based alternative — one that is seen to be a ‘privacy first’ solution that lets governments retain jurisdiction over their data, while allowing indigenous enterprises to flourish.

There are concerns about how well the newly merged cantonments will be governed under the ULBs

The signing of the Accords has helped remove strategic obstacles for New Delhi and aided defence cooperation

Rather than pinning all hopes to mitigate regional tensions in West Asia on the Abraham accords, regional actors should establish new channels of comm

Despite the narrative of ‘peace’ around the Abraham Accords, it is not to be forgotten that the harbinger of this accord is ‘deterrence’ — b

Berlin might not yet be ready to provide the kind of leadership that some expect, but the real "German question" seems to be whether Europe can really stomach German leadership. Given the uneasy reactions to Merkel's handling of the Eurozone crisis, the answer is clearly no.

It would be a mistake to assume that the US has changed its policy towards the region. It may have changed its style or the way it wishes to handle India and Pakistan but not its overall interests. The US wants to have a stronger presence in India without losing the hold it has on the military rulers in Pakistan.

For Washington, war weariness has set in deep.

Realities are changing in Afghanistan, and New Delhi must be nimble.

Should the EU build up its own EU-based security apparatus in light of the US withdrawing from Afghanistan without truly consulting its EU allies?

This issue brief examines how Afghanistan facilitates India's objectives vis-a-vis Central Asia and explores how engagement with Central Asia, in turn, could play a major role in furthering India's interests in Afghanistan.

Pakistan is an important player as far as determining the outcome of a post-2014 Afghanistan is concerned and should be engaged with. But to expect it to play a productive role or to expect Afghanistan and Pakistan to reconcile their differences and jointly work towards stability is a tall order.

Although Africa’s greenhouse gas emissions are low, its contribution to climate change mitigation is critical to global climate action. This report evaluates Africa’s climate policy through the lens of ‘common but differentiated responsibilities,’ an asymmetrical allocation of responsibility for climate action, determined by differences in countries’ contributions to historical emissions and their current capabilities to fight climate c

The African countries are set to launch the African Continental Free Trade Area or AfCFTA, the biggest free trade agreement in the world since the World Trade Organization was created in the 1990s. When implemented, the AfCFTA is projected to increase intra-African trade by 52.3 percent by 2022, from 2010 levels. In turn, higher trade levels can facilitate economic growth, transform domestic economies, and help the countries achieve the Sustainab

Unlike in other regions of the world, the value of intra-Africa trade has remained low over the years. Moreover, Africa accounts for just 2 percent of global trade. In 2021, African countries launched the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which aims to create a single African market for the free movement of goods, services, labour, and capital, and increase intra-African trade. AfCFTA may be able to provide Indian firms and in

Regional African blocs should try to find solutions through diplomacy before the coup in Niger causes regional instability and leads to a full-fledged

While India’s missile thought is certainly evolving, it is yet to be seen if its flagship nuclear-oriented ballistic missiles are meant to further i

The Agnipath Scheme might appear to be feasible on paper but won’t pan out well in practice.

The reforms that the Agnipath scheme entails will help revolutionise the Indian defence system.

Election Commission of Pakistan’s disqualification of highly popular former Prime Minister Imran Khan will have far-reaching consequences for the co

It is difficult and highly impractical for any AI regulation to be effective if the technology in question is hidden behind black boxes, be it trainin

In the quest for digitalisation, India has become an easy target for cyberattacks due to poor cybersecurity

ACT 1: March 2002. Abu Zubaidah, a Palestinian member of Al Qaeda, was arrested in Faislabad in Pakistani Punjab by the Pakistani authorities and handed over to the USA's Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was the operational chief of Al Qaeda; his arrest was a major breakthrough, we were told. This is hardly supported by the report of the 9/11 Commission.

How big a catch is Abu Faraj al-Libbi, a 40-year-old Libyan married to a Pakistani, fluent in Urdu and Arabic and suffering from lucoderma, whose arrest was announced by the Pakistani authorities at Islamabad on May 4,2005?

While the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board is well within its right to appeal to the Supreme Court against the Allahabad High Court verdict, the VHP's reaction does not represent the people's will at all.

The establishment of the Alliance of Sahel States by Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger and their withdrawal from ECOWAS undoes the decades of regional int

While the new DPDPB 2022 is a more comprehensive bill, the underlined aim is to protect the data fiduciaries than to protect users from exploitation.

By overcoming the multiple challenges posed against the MCC, the Nepalese government was finally able to ratify the long-delayed agreement.

Looking beyond ‘The Wall’: Continuity and Change in US policy towards the Americas under the Trump Administration

Often referred to as among the most strategically located island chains in the world, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are critical for India’s strategic interests. The islands comprise the sole archipelago in the Bay and they straddle important sea channels. As the long-standing protectionist regime in the islands morphs into a more flexible form of governance that will balance development with conservation, the stage appears set for India to c

The violent uprising of the people of Andijan in Uzbekistan on May 13,2005, seems to have been crushed for the time being by the Uzbek authorities with heavy force, resulting in the death of at least 20 civilians. The anti-Government elements, which organised the uprising, claim to have captured 30 Uzbek soldiers and to be keeping them in their custody.

The Libyan case is vastly different from that of Syria. The maverick Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi had few friends in the Arab League. Unlike Libya, Syria is a critical element of the regional balance of power in the Middle East.

With the Arab Gulf states hoping to renew ties with Iran, a collective-diplomacy approach has now kicked in.