COMMENTARIES
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Obama's Syria Policy: The Dynamics of Engagement
Priyama Chakravarty · 23 Jun, 2016 · #5067 · Commentary
One of US President Barack Obama's core campaign promises during the 2008 Presidential election was a military withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan. Following through, his actions seem to have prioritised diplomacy over interventionist milit...
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The Strategist
There is a New Symphony at Play
Vijay Shankar · 22 Jun, 2016 · #5066 · Commentary · Column
Change, more often than not, is driven by circumstances rather than scholastic deliberation. As President Obama once put it, perhaps as an unintended barb to the legions of geopolitical seers that stalk Massachusetts Avenue, Washington DC, &ldqu...
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Complementing the Foreign Policy Establishment
The Rise of Think-Tanks in India
Dr D Suba Chandran · 21 Jun, 2016 · #5065 · Commentary
Suhasini Haidar in her recent commentary (South Block in the Shade) in The Hindu has highlighted an interesting foreign policy phenomenon in India – the rise of think-tanks. Though she sees it as a factor in checking the Indian Ministry of...
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Red Affairs
The Re-cleansing of Nallamala
Bibhu Prasad Routray · 20 Jun, 2016 · #5064 · Commentary · Column
In the latest of the state's march against the left-wing extremists, the Andhra Pradesh police in June 2016 declared the Nallamala forests 'extremist free'. In a media statement, the state police claimed to have been able to deal wit...
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Bangladesh War Crime Executions: Reconciliation or Revenge?
Summaiya Khan · 20 Jun, 2016 · #5063 · Commentary
The recent death sentences awarded to Motiur Rahman Nizami, Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid and Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury, the top leaders of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami, have triggered mixed reactions within the coun...
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Assessing NSS Outcomes: CPPNM Amendment Ratification
Hina Pandey · 16 Jun, 2016 · #5062 · Commentary
The 2016 Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) reached one of its goals in May with two-thirds of the state parties to the Convention on Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM) ratifying its 2005 Amendment. On 8 May 2016, CPPNM/A came into force...
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Eagle Eye
Implications of Modi’s US Visit
Chintamani Mahapatra · 13 Jun, 2016 · #5061 · Commentary · Column
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s fourth visit to the US and second meeting with US President Barack Obama at the White House had not raised heightened expectations, and thus, the outcome of his visit also failed to generate much excit...
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Spotlight West Asia
Iran, India and Chabahar: Recalling the Broader Context
Ranjit Gupta · 13 Jun, 2016 · #5060 · Commentary · Column
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Iran has generated huge euphoria around the country and reams of adulatory commentary. While it is worthy of applause, this author also sombrely recalls that few weeks ago, an Iranian had in a...
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Looking East
Migration Issue in Assam: Going Beyond The Rhetoric
Wasbir Hussain · 13 Jun, 2016 · #5059 · Commentary · Column
On 24 May 2016, the day he took oath as the new chief minister of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led coalition in Assam, Sarbananda Sonowal said, “Our government will strive to make a illegal migrant-free and corruption-free State.&rdquo...
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Dateline Colombo
New Delhi-Tamil Nadu Relations and India’s Sri Lanka Policy
Asanga Abeyagoonasekera · 13 Jun, 2016 · #5058 · Commentary · Column
“Could a state hostage the central government’s decision especially affecting its foreign policy towards another nation? State can’t put pressure for the central government decisions. I am tired and like Muhammed Ali I will all...
