COMMENTARIES
-
Taiwanese Presidential Elections
A 'New Era' of Democracy in Taiwan: Implications for Regional Security & Economy
Teshu Singh · 18 Jan, 2016 · #4963 · Commentary
Elections are the bedrock of democracy. Taiwan is a multi-party democracy and the only ethnic Chinese society that can boast of being a Democracy. On 16 January 2016, 23 million citizens of the island voted to choose their fourteenth president. ...
-
Strategic Space
Forecast 2016: Nuclear Issues That Will Dominate the Year
Manpreet Sethi · 18 Jan, 2016 · #4962 · Commentary · Column
Ever since the power and potential of nuclear energy first entered human consciousness and inter-state relations, nuclear issues have always remained at the centre stage. Expansion of peaceful uses of nuclear energy and risks of nuclear weapons ...
-
The Strategist
Forecast 2016: Pakistan, Aberrated Strategies and Strategic Stability
Vijay Shankar · 18 Jan, 2016 · #4961 · Commentary · Column
In the immediate aftermath of the 26/11 terrorist assault on Mumbai, a grisly prayer was being intoned in many of the two lakh mosques of Pakistan. The Qunut-e-Nazla, a prayer in times of war, was accompanied by a fervent imprecation that al Qae...
-
Japan in Northeast India: A Potential Boost for New Delhi’s ‘Act East Policy’
Ateetmani Brar · 18 Jan, 2016 · #4960 · Commentary
India’s northeastern states are strategically important and are endowed with reserves of a variety of natural resources such as uranium, coal, hydrocarbons, forests, oil, and gas. However, among the biggest challenges the region faces, is ...
-
Maritime Matters
Forecast 2016: Indian Ocean Politics and Security
Vijay Sakhuja · 15 Jan, 2016 · #4959 · Commentary · Column
‘Continuity and change’, ‘continuity and no change’ and ‘new challenges and opportunities’ are important formulations for any geopolitical and geostrategic forecasting. These help analysts to understand events...
-
Forecast 2016: On China-Pakistan Relations
Dr Ghulam Ali · 15 Jan, 2016 · #4958 · Commentary
It appears that the recently announced China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will remain at the centre of Sino-Pakistan ties during 2016, and even beyond. The CPEC, signed in 2013, got a boost in April 2015 during Chinese President Xi Jinping&...
-
Eagle Eye
Forecast 2016: Difficult Days Ahead for Washington
Chintamani Mahapatra · 15 Jan, 2016 · #4957 · Commentary · Column
The Obama administration faced many thorny challenges in 2015, and none of those are likely to fade away in 2016. While foreign policy challenges encountered by the US are global, the most critical of those come from a region that is very much p...
-
The Pathankot Terrorist Attack and India’s Afghanistan Policy
Monish Gulati · 13 Jan, 2016 · #4956 · Commentary
The first weekend of the 2016 witnessed two almost simultaneous terrorist strikes on Indian assets. The first was on the Pathankot air base, and the second, on the Indian consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan. Both attacks were well-planned a...
-
Nepal’s Constitutional Questions and Madhesi Aspirations
Pramod Jaiswal · 07 Jan, 2016 · #4955 · Commentary
For the past four months, the Madhesis, people from the southern plains of Nepal, have been conducting a ‘non-cooperation movement’ against Nepal’s ‘non-inclusive’ newly promulgated constitution. They have blocked t...
-
Special Commentary
Pathankot Attack: Airfield Ground Defence in Perspective
PI Muralidharan · 06 Jan, 2016 · #4954 · Commentary
The terrorist attack on IAF’s Pathankot airbase makes one recapitulate on the important - but at times ignored - aspects of Passive Air Defence/Ground Defence (PAD/GD) as it used to be called back in the day. The non-flying staff of an air...
