COMMENTARIES
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Why don't Nuclear CBMs work?: Indian and Pakistani Perspectives
Pradeepa Viswanathan · 23 Sep, 2011 · #3461 · Commentary
As repeated attempts at confidence building remain far from implementation, this article look into two specific questions. One, what are the major impediments to nuclear CBMs between India and Pakistan and second, how similar or different are th...
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Iran’s Climb-down: The Quixotic Backdrop
Abhijit Iyer-Mitra · 22 Sep, 2011 · #3460 · Commentary
Iran’s seemingly conciliatory offer of allowing the UN 'full inspection' of nuclear facilities came out of the blue. Almost immediately opinions from the West dubbed this a 'delaying tactic'; and some other analysts claimed...
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The Anna Hazare Effect: Pakistan in Search
Ankita Shree · 21 Sep, 2011 · #3459 · Commentary
The Jan Lokpal Bill movement led by Anna Hazare that swept across India last month had a spill over effect in Pakistan generating a mixed response from this Islamic nation. This article analyzes the different responses that arose in Pakistan rel...
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North Korea and the Six Party Talks: To or Not to Resume?
Ankita Shree · 21 Sep, 2011 · #3458 · Commentary
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) pulled out of Six Party Talks in April 2009 following United Nation Security Council (UNSC) condemnation of its attempted “satellite launch”. It declared an open intent to enrich...
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Ten Years After: Prompt Global Strike and US Deterrence Post 9/11
Alankrita Sinha · 18 Sep, 2011 · #3457 · Commentary
11 September 2011 proved that the logic of deterrence which had prevented a nuclear war during the Cold War era was incapable of dealing with challenges which had arisen thereafter. This realization held manifold implications for the US. Adaptin...
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Ten Years After: 9/11 and ‘Justified Realpolitik’
Alankrita Sinha and Tanvi Kulkarni · 18 Sep, 2011 · #3456 · Commentary
Apart from the many changes that the 11 September 2001 terrorist attack on the US resulted in, it also changed the way historical references are now made. Major events in the world are now referred to in terms of either pre-9/11 or post 9/11. Ad...
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Ten Years After: 9/11 and the Collapse of Western Realpolitik
Abhijit Iyer-Mitra · 18 Sep, 2011 · #3455 · Commentary
The biggest victim of 9/11 was the realpolitik that was the bedrock of America’s immensely successful foreign policy. While anecdotal evidence suggests that the Bush administration had always been intent on creating a world in America&rsqu...
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China’s One-Child Policy: Origins, Status and Implications
Avinash Godbole · 14 Sep, 2011 · #3454 · Commentary
The population policy of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) was in news recently after Vice-President Joe Biden mentioned it, quite nonchalantly, in his speech at the Sichuan University in China. Biden’s soft approach has irked his...
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China’s Military Modernization: The Pentagon Report and Indian Fears
Bhartendu Kumar Singh · 14 Sep, 2011 · #3453 · Commentary
The recent edition of Pentagon’s Annual Report on ‘military and security developments involving China (2011)’ received unexpected coverage in Indian media. In particular, the focus was on how the Chinese PLA has deployed advanc...
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Xinjiang’s July Syndrome: Terrorism or Misgovernance?
Bhavna Singh · 13 Sep, 2011 · #3452 · Commentary
When Zhang Chunxian (Xinjiang’s current Communist Party Chief) took over as the secretary after hardliner Wang Lequan’s dismissal following the Urumqi riots in 2009, he was expected to usher in an era of peace and tranquility i...