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Whilst the US presidential polls are never about foreign policy issues, the 2016 elections would be markedly different and foreign policy is going to be central to the elections. And Marco Rubio's ability to articulate the message of America's international leadership will sustain him in the long race to the Oval Office.

Resolution of the maritime dispute between India and Bangladesh has opened up a new horizon for cooperation between the two countries. They can now join together to exploit the natural sources in the Bay. Both countries should try to transform the Bay of Bengal region into a major hub for trade and commerce, bringing prosperity to the region.

The Indo-Pacific, often regarded as the ‘maritime underbelly’ of Asia, has emerged as the world’s economic “centre of gravity”. The home of vast geo-economic opportunities, and facing manifold security challenges at the same time, this maritime domain has attracted the keen attention of global powers in recent years. This births prospects for multilateral collaborations in maritime security, and justifies the significance of a �

In recent years, the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) of the South-West Indian Ocean (SWIO) region have emerged as vital security and developmental partners in the geopolitics of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR)—thereby gaining prominence in India’s foreign policy priorities. This paper examines India’s bilateral and multilateral engagement with the SIDS of the SWIO region, and argues that India should consider the concerns of the

This paper examines security collaboration in the Bay of Bengal. It argues that despite increased cooperation in the maritime domain, the security perceptions of Bay states differ significantly, arising primarily from disagreements associated with China’s presence in the region. Crucially, the Bay states are wary of being seen as siding with India to counterbalance China. Even in nontraditional security areas where cooperation is readily possib

Debate on whether Indian armed forces need a continental land defence strategy or a sea-based maritime strategy has gained currency in recent years, but there is yet a clear answer to emerge.

As part of the Maritime Security Programme which was launched by then Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Arun Prakash on 19th May 2006 at ORF Chennai, Observer Research Foundation, the National Maritime Foundation and the College of Naval Warfare, ORF Mumbai joined hands to conduct an International seminar at ORF Mumbai on 11th and 12th January 2007.

At this juncture of weak economic performance, India has done well not to sign the treaty. It can still join if its main complaint about rapid tariff reduction by 80 to 90 per cent on imports from China is resolved. Also, its concerns about services have to be dealt with, especially regarding the movement of service workers within the region. India could not at this point have opened its huge market to ASEAN and China unconditionally.

I am not suggesting that public anger at CWG mismanagement is misplaced. Excess of it is, when the baby is thrown out with the bath water. Those awkward smile of anchors, a sort of disguised self denigration, is actually a function of acute inferiority complex which has deep roots in colonialism and beyond.

How can access, equity, equality, and technology shape maternal health in India and South Africa?

Task Force 6: Accelerating SDGs: Exploring New Pathways to the 2030 Agenda

There are quite a few things which are known about Maulana Azam Tariq, chief of the banned Sunni extremist group, Sipah-e-Sahaba (SSP), who was shot dead in broad daylight in Islamabad on October 6. What is not so well-known is that the Maulana and his organisation had a cosy working relationship with Pakistan's intelligence and security forces for more than a decade.

With Maldives veering towards China, Mauritius is emerging as a decisive factor in ensuring India’s dominance in the Indian Ocean Region

Theresa May arrived in India in her first bilateral visit outside Europe to reinvigorate the India-UK strategic partnership.

The growing US-India defence relationship would have been unthinkable in the past days of sanctions. Whether communication between the two countries' systems can be improved or not will be a key determinant in how far, and fast, it can go.

Goals 4 and 5 of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) focused a great deal on maternal and child health, which has now been carried forward to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While India made significant strides in reducing maternal and child mortality, the country did not succeed in achieving its health goals. This paper makes an assessment of the current state of Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child health (RMNC

The South Asian region lacks a common plan of action to deal with the impact of climate change despite possessing common ecological habitat. Africa and Latin America fare a tad better on this front. India should take the lead to create elaborate policies for joint management of common resources and ecological preservation.

MDP's decision to call off the daily protest demonstrations, demanding early presidential polls, has revived the hopes of early resumption of the All-Party Roadmap Talks, initiated by President Mohammed Waheed Hassan at the instance of Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai in March.

Combined with the Maldives government's demonstrated preparations for a face-off, the tone and tenor of the Opposition's preparations for the May Day rally, and their call for the civil society to chip in, indicate a possible repeat of the 'December 23 movement' protests (2011-12) that led to President Nasheed's exit.

A news report in the internet edition of Times of India, on March 16, 2004, said Naxalites of the People¿s War Group (PWG) possess Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) launchers. It further claimed that, at a meeting of the Andhra-Orissa Border Special Zone Committee (AOBSZC), PWG leaders asked their cadres to disrupt the April 2004 parliamentary and Legislative elections process from the beginning.

The media in India enjoys a great deal of freedom and when it is threatened, the response is vociferous. Nevertheless, there is the need to maintain a balance between free expression and other community and individual rights; this responsibility should not be borne by the judiciary alone, but by all those who enjoy these rights.

The "old, new and the social media" in India are "swayed less by ideology and more by commercial interests," according to a senior media professor, Dr Maya Ranganathan.

Attributing activism by media to rapid decline in governance, economic scams, failings of Government agencies and religious heads, management and media consultant T.V. Krishnamurthy says the present media scenario in India is 'regulatable' but cannot be done by the government.

Participants at a seminar on "Media regulation: Is Status Quo the Option?" said India cannot afford to be an exception among democracies, with no regulation of cross-holdings in the media. Editorial independence is indispensable if the right to freedom of expression is to be effectively exercised.

Media Regulation: Is Status Quo the Answer? This was the topic of an interesting panel discussion organised by Observer Research Foundation and The Hammurabi & Solomon at the India International Centre on August 6.

While a combination of statutory regulation and self regulation is at work in the UK, India will find it very hard to improve the standard of its media industry through self regulation alone, according to panellists at a conference on "Perspectives on Media Regulation: Lessons from the UK".

If proof were required, the DMK-Congress spat on the Sri Lanka related vote at the UN Human Rights Council has once again provided it. Foreign Affairs will increasingly impinge on national politics.

India ranks 10th out of 46 top medical tourism destinations in the world, owing to its affordable healthcare facilities and capabilities in specialised treatment. This paper is focused on medical tourism as a pillar of India-Bangladesh partnership. Notable numbers of Bangladeshis seeking medical care visit India annually; of the typical destinations of these “medical tourists”, Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, is among the most preferred.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev added some flair to the normally staid Indo-Russian diplomatic engagements by visiting the Taj Mahal and "rekindling Russia's Bollywood love affair" with a trip to a film studio in Mumbai.