IDSA’s Europe and Eurasia Centre conducts its research both topically and regionally, focusing on the key strategic importance of Europe and the Eurasian region – covering Russia and the former Soviet Republics – to India’s security and foreign policy. While the European continent itself is no longer a major source of threats to India, European involvement and outreach on the global and regional arenas demand active attention to the security and defence policies of European countries and the efforts of major multilateral institutions such as NATO and EU. The Centre continues to host visiting European policy makers, academics, military personnel, diplomats and political leaders for conferences, seminars, lectures, workshops, and informal briefings.
In addition, the Centre focuses on the security and foreign policies of Russia as well as of the post-Soviet republics. India continues to depend on Russian defence supplies and benefits from Russian cooperation in the fields of hydrocarbon and nuclear energy. In the past, India and the erstwhile Soviet Union had invested heavily in a strategic relationship. That continues to be an important goal in official pronouncements. Russia is still politically, diplomatically and militarily important for India.
The Centre has published several books, reports, articles and policy papers on a wide variety of issues in the region. It has been conducting a series of security dialogues with the countries of the region at the bilateral and multilateral levels. The Centre also focuses on security and strategic issues in Central Asia that impact on India. Attention is also directed towards the energy security and economic linkages between India and Central Asian States.
On 24 February 2022, President Vladimir Putin announced 'special military operation' in Ukraine. This triggered a series of sanctions by the West, resulting in restrictions on Russia's financial institutions, including its central bank and energy export, among others.
Over the years, India has been taking renewed interest in enhancing its strategic presence in Central Asia, but it is yet to capitalise on various opportunities and potentials. India's full membership into the SCO now opens up an opportunity for a closer engagement with region but New Delhi still lacks a political-strategic clarity.
This book is an attempt to provide an overview of the political and strategic process at work in Central Asia since its emergence in 1991 and the intricate issues that impinge on India. The book is mostly about identifying critical points that are important for evolving a sound Central Asia policy in India.
The book does not in any sense purport to be an academic endeavour on Central Asian studies but merely a narrative, as well as, an analytical account and a result of author's own self-education and understanding gathered through extensive interactions with wide sections of people in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, especially with the think tanks, academia, government officials and the diplomatic community. The chapters in book are capsulated to provide analyses of the impinging issues that shape the dynamic interplay between Central Asia's internal polity and its external outlook. The book contains aspects critical for enhancing India's strategic presence in the region.
Central Asia remains both stable and unpredictable after 20 years of its reemergence. The states here continue to undergo complex nation-building process, which is far from complete. The book is an attempt to provide an overview of political and strategic processes at work in the region by taking the case of Kyrgyzstan – tracing the events erupted since 2005 and more after 2010.
It would not be a cliche to describe the strategic contours of Asia as being at the crossroads of history. A number of significant events are influencing the likely course that the collective destiny of the region could possibly take in the future. Some of the key issues and trends have been analysed in this year’s Asian Strategic Review
The book contains an indispensable compendium of views of experts on a variety of security-related issues that have considerable bearing on the Indo-Russian partnership. This volume also symbolizes a continuing interest for interactions and linkages between the strategic communities of both the countries.
Publishers: IDSA and Shipra
ISBN: 81-7541-189-9
Rs 650
US $ 55
Publishers: IDSA and Anamaya
ISBN: 81-88342-27-0
Rs. 650.00
Publisher: IDSA and Knowledge World
ISBN: 81-86019-16-2
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.
The United Nations completed 75 years of its existence in 2020. The last 75 years have been a roller coaster ride for this global institution mandated to maintain peace. However, the UN has received widespread criticism for not reforming its various institutions, particularly the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The G-4 nations which includes India, have led the call for accelerating the long-awaited reform process.
Russia’s policy on Afghanistan has witnessed considerable transformation during the last two decades. This has allowed Moscow to change its stance towards the Taliban from confrontation to accommodation. The article explains Russia’s foreign policy trajectory towards Afghanistan, exploring the key determinants, approaches and potential outcomes. Drawing mainly on secondary sources as well as the statements of officials and experts, the article also seeks to highlight the recent trends in Russia’s Afghan policy.
The BRICS group has gone a long way from being the simple acronym to becoming global political player. While it remains undecided whether the BRICS will evolve into a comprehensive, consolidated alliance in global politics, the trend towards increased collaboration and institutionalization now indicates that this may well be feasible. The article examines the relationship between the European Union and BRICS and seeks to understand whether the EU and BRICS are more likely partners or rivals.
The article explores America’s evolving policy towards BRICS in the context of the Trump administration’s new ‘America First’ global strategy. Even though the BRICS grouping has not become an anti-systemic or anti-liberal force, its attempts to form an alternative centre of global power has prompted the US to manage multipolarity. The Trump administration has continued America’s previous policies of hedging potential BRICS consolidation and enhancing its regional engagement in the era of sovereignty revivalism and deglobalisation.
Given complexities currently underpinning multipolar realities of the international system, it seems that a pluralist internationalism is becoming a strategic consideration for a post-Western world order. This warrants new agendas for cooperation. Based on the latter this analysis examines to what extent the BRICS can articulate such a new agenda based on a South African-informed perspective. This involves exploring the basis of a BRICS-African agenda competing with the geo-political interests of sub-groupings such as the SCO, RIC, and the EAEU.
This article studies China’s approach to BRICS. It argues that China sees BRICS as a major asset in its effort to become a major world power and to reform the international system so that it becomes fairer and better serve its interests. However, in China’s view, these interests coincide with the interests of other major non-Western states which also suffer from this sense of unfairness, therefore this position is not self-seeking. This is a major problem which should be overcome with the help of other developing countries.
Russia India and China are paying more and more attention to international security issues. They have developed a broad common security agenda via cooperation through two international institutions created by them. BRICS serve as a mechanism for promoting their economic security interests, SCO is focused on traditional security issues. Along with forming a common position on main international security problems, Russia, India and China act as great powers and disagree on certain security matters mostly of regional and bilateral nature.
This article examines the evolution of Russia’s policy towards BRICS from the time of its formation as a group of four countries in 2006 to the present. The authors analyse the main political objectives that guided Moscow in initiating the creation of this format and in developing it in subsequent years. The article argues that, with Russia as a participant, the character of the organization has undergone major changes, due both to the changing international situation and fundamental changes that the foreign policy of Russia itself has undergone since 2014.
Having overcome its ‘middle-power’ complex during the centre-left governments, Brazil obtained a relatively robust position in international politics as global power, siding with G-20, BRICS and other multilateral bodies. However, since the 2018 presidential elections Brazil has been undergoing a visible shift in its foreign policy towards more alignment with the US and the West that questions its traditional international autonomy, multilateralism, South-South engagement and environmental activism.
