COMMENTARIES
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Forecast 2016: Afghanistan
Rajeshwari Krishnamurthy · 25 Feb, 2016 · #4993 · Commentary
In 2015, Afghanistan swung back and forth between several transitions. Insurgency reached levels insofar unseen since 2001. As late as December 2015, the Afghan Taliban, notwithstanding its internal problems, showed no signs of retreating for wi...
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Strategic Space
Pak's Nuclear 'Normality' through External Deals: Chasing a Chimera
Manpreet Sethi · 22 Feb, 2016 · #4992 · Commentary · Column
Several recent writings have recommended how Pakistan could and should be accommodated into the nuclear mainstream. Mark Fitzpatrick, a non-proliferation analyst at the IISS, London, had advocated this through his Adelphi paper entitled “Ove...
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India-Nepal
Significance of Prime Minister KP Oli's New Delhi Visit
Pramod Jaiswal · 19 Feb, 2016 · #4991 · Commentary
The Prime Minister of Nepal, KP Sharma Oli, will his maiden visit to India, from 19 February 2016. During his six-day visit, he is scheduled to meet Indian President Pranab Mukherjee, Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari, Indian Prime Minister Nar...
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Examining Iran’s Ballistic Missile Test
Kimberley Anne Nazareth · 21 Feb, 2016 · #4990 · Commentary
Iran’s recent firing of its ballistic missile – the second since the nuclear deal – has further fueled regional apprehensions regarding the deal. Do these concerns mirror those of the international community? What are the motiv...
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The Maldives-EU
Should Europe Impose Sanctions on the Maldives?
Richard Howitt · 17 Feb, 2016 · #4989 · Commentary
One key test of democracy in countries where it has only recently emerged is based on how far the rights of the political opposition are fully respected. There is a temptation for governments to dismantle the tools that enabled them to be electe...
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Red Affairs
Forecast 2016: Shrinking Space for Left-wing Extremism
Bibhu Prasad Routray · 17 Feb, 2016 · #4988 · Commentary · Column
Left-wing extremism (LWE) in India has more or less ceased to be a national problem. Over the past two years, there has been a significant drop in the extremists' ability to orchestrate violence, and consequently, extremism-related deaths ha...
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Forecast 2016: China’s Rectifications and ‘New Normals’
Bhim Bahadur Subba · 10 Feb, 2016 · #4987 · Commentary
Externally, China’s ever growing power has been felt significantly, even more than it previously was. With the Renminbi’s inclusion in the Special Drawing Rights (SDR) basket under the IMF basket of currencies, the influence of Beiji...
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Forecast 2016: Monumental Challenges for Taiwan’s New President
You-te Howard Liao · 09 Feb, 2016 · #4986 · Commentary
Dr Tsai Ing-wen won Taiwan’s presidential election on 16 January 2016 - her pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) defeated the ruling Nationalist Party/Kuomintang (KMT) and captured the majority in the legislative body for th...
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Forecast 2016: Jammu and Kashmir Politics and Security
Ashok Bhan · 08 Feb, 2016 · #4985 · Commentary
The sudden passing away of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has created a serious political uncertainty in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). Governor’s rule had to be re-imposed within a little over 10 months of coming into existence of a Jammu and Kashmi...
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Spotlight West Asia
Forecast 2016: West Asia
Ranjit Gupta · 08 Feb, 2016 · #4984 · Commentary · Column
Insofar as existing flashpoints are concerned, West Asia continued to present a bleak picture in 2015. The major change in 2015 from the end of 2014 was that the Islamic State (IS) lost ground in terms of the total territory it controls, and mor...
