Whichever side emerges victorious in May, the consensus in India is that the Nehruvian construct of secularism is dead—killed by its one-time supporters as much as by its dogged opponents. What will replace it is unclear. In the battle for India’s soul, only one side has shown up ready to fight. Read Here – Foreign Affairs
After almost a century in which economic policymaking was the preserve of technocrats and social scientists, scholars from narrative-based disciplines have begun to feature prominently in policy debates. But by using partial knowledge to advance specific policy prescriptions, they have become even more dangerous than economists. Read Here – Project Syndicate
India’s euphoria over Azhar being branded as a global terrorist is certainly misplaced, especially when India has never exercised the sub-conventional option against Pakistan or the terrorists it harbours. Pakistan may have been made to look somewhat sheepish in the wake of the UNSC action, but India should brace for a riposte from other quarters. […]
There are two great “what if” questions in modern Chinese history. The first was in 1949, which is when China fell to the Communists. What if the Nationalists had been more effective on the battlefield? What if the United States had given them more support? What if Chiang Kai-Shek had won the civil war instead […]
Most international analysts focus on the India–Pakistan nuclear equation as a bilateral issue, but it’s essentially triangular in its origin and core dynamics. China has largely escaped accountability for its cynical role in nuclearising the region. Beijing’s irresponsibility needs to be called out. Read Here – The Strategist
Failure of the China talks would prove no one can do it, because China is fundamentally at odds with the U.S. That shift would set up a new dynamic with China: a relationship in which the hawks feel unbound to do what they deem necessary to protect the United States. Read Here – The Atlantic
The expiration of U.S. sanctions waivers for buyers of Iranian oil exemplifies how difficult it is today, even for the United States, to achieve foreign-policy goals without significant loses. Russia is in a prime position to deliver the oil removed from markets because of U.S. sanctions against Iran, which will result in development of cooperation between Moscow […]
Globalization, digital technologies, and other factors have allowed competitive US corporations to achieve market dominance. If the past is any guide, it is only right that these “superstar” firms should now be challenged by grassroots political movements protesting against an unholy alliance of private-sector and government elites. Read Here – Project Syndicate
Whereas Sino-American arms dynamics could well be attributed to traditional concerns related to interstate dynamics over unresolved flashpoints, much of the rest of the Asia-Pacific region confronts a holistic array of security concerns, especially those that are transboundary and transnational in nature – natural calamities, violent extremism and even the mundane, daily occurrences of cross-border […]
Despite the temptation to blame violent extremism on foreign fighters returning from Iraq and Syria and the subsequent rise of the Islamic State’s virtual caliphate, the fact is that the seeds of extremism in South Asia were sown long ago by elites from Kabul to Colombo. Often dressed up in the garb of anti-imperialism and […]
