COMMENTARIES
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Pakistan and Obama
Tanya Saira George · 09 Feb, 2009 · #2799 · Commentary
While the world tuned in to Barack Obama’s inauguration ceremony in the US in the hope that the next few years would mark the beginning of change and a semblance of peace, Pakistanis in general appear to have no expectations from the convent...
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Indonesia’s Foreign and Security Policy
Jasmeet Kaur · 09 Feb, 2009 · #2798 · Commentary
Chair: Amb Navrekha Sharma, Former Indian Ambassador to Indonesia
Speaker: Theo L Sambuaga, Member of Indonesian Parliament
Discussant: Prof Baladas Ghoshal, Visiting Professor Academy of Third World Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi
A...
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Myanmar’s Bid for SAARC Membership
Mirza Zulfiqur Rahman · 03 Feb, 2009 · #2797 · Commentary
Mani Shankar Aiyar, Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), often comments that Southeast Asia begins from Northeast India, and South Asia begins in Myanmar. It is useful therefore, to examine Myanmar’s bid to enter S...
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The West and 26/11: A ‘Contain India’ Policy?
Sanjay Kumar · 03 Feb, 2009 · #2796 · Commentary
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband’s remarks on 26/11, tracing its roots to the Kashmir issue, indicates that western countries and Britain’s perceptions on terrorism has not changed much since 9/11. This partisan approach to a...
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Gorshkov Deal: India’s Helplessness with Russia
Laxman Kumar Behera · 31 Jan, 2009 · #2795 · Commentary
The Gorshkov deal between India and Russia has run into controversy over the price and cost overruns of the planned induction of the 44,500 tonne aircraft carrier into the Indian Navy. The Russian failure to adhere by contractual agreements also r...
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Courting Astana: Nazarbeyev’s India Visit and Beyond
Raghav Sharma · 30 Jan, 2009 · #2794 · Commentary
Kazakhstan, with the largest proven oil reserves in the region and three of the world’s richest hydrocarbon fields, is hence of prime importance in India’s energy security policy formulation. The international branch of the Indian ...
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Not Quite an Empty Threat
Firdaus Ahmed · 29 Jan, 2009 · #2793 · Commentary
G Parthasarathy, a leading Indian realist and former High Commissioner to Pakistan, has written in an opinion piece (Times of India, 22 January 2009) that nuclear weapons constitute "an empty threat" for there is "little chance"...
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26/11: Yellow Journalism versus State Intervention
Alok Kumar Gupta · 29 Jan, 2009 · #2792 · Commentary
Coverage of the November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks by the Indian media has spurred a debate on the extent to which the media should be regulated in the public interest and the interests of national security. The Government of India is seriously t...
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Obama's New American Era: Pakistan's Policy Options
Rabia Akhtar · 26 Jan, 2009 · #2791 · Commentary
The question that needs to be raised post the 20 January inauguration of the new US administration is not how Obama will deal with Pakistan but rather how Pakistan should revise its foreign policy agenda with this transition in US government and...
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India and the 'Global NATO': Expectations and Reservations
Sonali Huria · 26 Jan, 2009 · #2790 · Commentary
NATO is gradually transforming from a Eurocentric military alliance into a global politico-military organization. Michael Ruhle, Deputy Head of the NATO Secretary General's Policy Planning Unit, at a recently concluded India-NATO dialogue in...