COMMENTARIES
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IPCS US Election Special
Hillary's Nuclear Policy: A Time of Change, Dithering, or Sameness?
Vijay Shankar · 02 Nov, 2016 · #5163 · Commentary
An Inexpedient Second
The last time a Democrat President was elected to office after two terms of a Democratic presidency was 180 years ago. A certain Martin Van Buren succeeded Andrew Jackson in 1836. Coincidentally he was a former Secretary...
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IPCS US Election Special
Presidential Elections and US Nuclear Policy: Clinton Vs Trump
Manpreet Sethi · 02 Nov, 2016 · #5162 · Commentary
When the second largest democracy and the most powerful country of the world begins the process of choosing a new leader for itself, it is automatically a matter of global concern. Obviously then, for the last year or so, the twists and turns in t...
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Russia-Japan: Determinants of the Territorial Settlement
Shamshad A Khan · 01 Nov, 2016 · #5161 · Commentary
Japan and Russia have prepared the grounds to resolve their territorial dispute, which has lingered since the end of World War II, without a peace treaty. President Vladimir Putin will visit Japan on 15 December 2016 for a Russia-Japan summit me...
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Fragile States Index 2016
FSI Afghanistan: Limited Scope for Use
Rajeshwari Krishnamurthy · 26 Oct, 2016 · #5160 · Commentary
In the 2016 edition of the Fragile States Index (FSI) brought out by the Fund for Peace (FFP), Afghanistan is listed in ‘High Alert’, scoring 107.9 points. It is placed 28.3 points behind India ('Elevated Warning'); and 6.2 p...
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After the Collapsed US-Russia Agreement, Advantage Assad
Derek Verbakel · 21 Oct, 2016 · #5159 · Commentary
On 19 September, the Russia-backed regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad declared dead the flawed-but-hyped peace deal enacted a week earlier by the US and Russia. The agreement aimed to cease hostilities between warring groups; provide hum...
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The Strategist
The Misshapen Pivot
Vijay Shankar · 21 Oct, 2016 · #5158 · Commentary · Column
We note, with some anxiety, an unmistakable parallel to the current situation in the Western Pacific with what obtained in the run-up to the 20th century. An impending face-off between a rising and revisionist China against a loose entente of st...
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Fragile States Index 2016
FSI and Nepal
Pramod Jaiswal · 21 Oct, 2016 · #5157 · Commentary
The Fund for Peace's (FFP) twelfth annual Fragile States Index (FSI) ranked 178 countries based on measures of their stability and the pressures they face. Initially called 'Failed States Index', it was renamed as 'Fragile States...
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The Myanmar Border Attacks: Whodunit?
Angshuman Choudhury · 21 Oct, 2016 · #5156 · Commentary
On 9 October 2016, around 300 assailants, armed with swords, spears, and homemade weapons, launched a coordinated attack on several police outposts in Myanmar's Rakhine State close to the Bangladesh border, killing nine police officers and w...
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Social Component of Counterterrorism: The Need of the Hour
N Manoharan & Anumeha Singh · 20 Oct, 2016 · #5155 · Commentary
Thanks to Harinder Bains, Ahmad Rahami, the suspect in the New York and New Jersey blasts was recently apprehended by the police. Bains is neither an intelligence agent nor a security official but a common man, who spotted Rahami sleeping in the...
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Red Affairs
End Game: Fractured and Scarred Tribal Communities
Bibhu Prasad Routray · 19 Oct, 2016 · #5154 · Commentary · Column
For the left-wing extremism problem in India to be resolved, tribal population in the affected areas must be won over by the State. This truism is reflected in public statements of ministers and other politicians as well as official policy docum...
