Strategic Analysis

Taliban and Al-Qaeda: The Unbreakable Relationship

After the Taliban successfully took control of Kabul through diplomatic and intimidatory means, which included using force and striking deals with warlords and local military commanders, it has reached out to other states for recognition.1 The Taliban realizes that without international recognition it would be difficult to achieve both domestic and international legitimacy.

The Myanmar Coup: Evolving Ethnic Rebel Politics and Civil Resistance

Myanmar has been in a turmoil since the Tatmadaw (country’s military) ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s government and seized power in February 2021.1 The coup took place hours before the new parliament could convene following the 2020 general elections. The junta has detained her since then and reimposed military rule after running a short experiment under a power-sharing arrangement with the National League for Democracy (NLD).2 There are concerns that Myanmar could morph into another Syria with widespread displacement and hunger, aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

NATO Eastward Expansion and Russian Security

The United States of America (USA) and its military allies made various attempts and agreed on a mechanism of consultation between representatives of members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Russia before taking the decision on expansion of NATO eastward in view of Russia’s objection to such a move. But they failed to nullify Russia’s national security concerns and apprehensions which emerged because of the proposed NATO expansion.

Counterterrorism between the Wars: An International History, 1919–1937

The 11 September 2001 attacks in the US changed the course of world history and made Al-Qaeda a state-like actor in international affairs, thereby confounding a core Realist idea. The event also increased interest in terrorism studies, creating two competing schools of thought within it, the classical and the critical school. The debates between these two broad perspectives have led to many fruitful advances and insights concerning the motivations, methods, and impact of both terrorism and counter-terrorism.

China’s Quest for Foreign Technology: Beyond Espionage

One of the major drivers of China’s growth has been technological advancements either through indigenous innovations or technology imports through legal, illegal and extra-legal means. Gradually, the Chinese thought process has given way to the idea of technological dominance to challenge the great powers including the United States. The volume China’s Quest for Foreign Technology: Beyond Espionage edited by William C. Hannas and Didi Kirsten Tatlow with contributions from seventeen specialists reflects upon China’s rise as a neo-totalitarian technological power.

A Russian Revisionist Strategy on the Rise?

This article deals with the Russian Revisionist Strategy, the redistribution of power and the changes that this policy might bring. Accordingly, it examines whether this hypothesis is correct. NATO’s policy and the wars in Crimea, Georgia, Syria and the current one in Ukraine are the case studies that the article analyses. It discusses how Russia aims to restructure the regional and global system by forming strategic arcs and ‘pincer movements’ from the North Sea to the Middle East via the Caucasus Region. The war in Ukraine is at the epicentre of the Russian revisionist strategy.

Stepping Away from the Abyss: A Gradual Approach Towards a New Security System in the Persian Gulf

In a recently published book, Stepping Away from the Abyss: A Gradual Approach Towards a New Security System in the Persian Gulf, co-edited by Luigi Narbone and Abdolrasool Divsallar, the contributors provide a fresh analysis about the prospects for cooperation among local, regional, and international actors in the Persian Gulf.

Republic of Korea, Indo-Pacific and the Emerging Regional Order:Engaging without Endorsing

Despite being a key stakeholder in the emerging regional order, South Korea’s approach to the Indo-Pacific has been a policy of ‘strategic ambiguity’. It entails a cautious engagement with Indo-Pacific initiatives of different countries under the ambit of ‘New Southern Policy’ without endorsing the concept or articulating the Korean position on the Indo-Pacific regional construct.

Forgotten Kashmir: The Other Side of the Line of Control

The political dispute over the territory of Kashmir is an intricate problem confronting the modern South Asian leadership. The intricacies of the conflict have led to voluminous writings on the region and evident from them is a greater focus on Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) as compared to the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The ‘escape’ of Pakistan–occupied Kashmir from the scholarly radar has begun to change only recently.

Strategic Universality in the Axial Age: The Doctrine of Prudence in Political Leadership

The debate on the epistemological significance of leadership versus domestic politics or strategic culture remains fervent in modern International Relations. We suggest that there is a consensus found in classical Greek and Chinese texts about the core elements of realism and the consequentiality of political leadership on strategic choice.