Strategic Analysis

A Life Plucked Out of the Archives

It is not easy to turn somebody’s personal archive, even if it is well kept, into a book ? that too a biography ? without falling in love with the person, his times, the ideological cross-currents he swam with or against, and the historical significance of the character. Such efforts are really commendable when the person of the archives leaves an indelible mark as an ‘ideological beacon and moral compass’ to a leader of consequence, who steered a nation through one of the most tumultuous periods of its history.

Future ‘Gateway’ to the India–China Economic Corridor: A Strategic Approach

In the beginning of the second week of February 2019, Ladakh became the third division within Jammu and Kashmir to be demarcated as a separate administrative and revenue division, with Jammu division and Kashmir being the other two.

The Challenge of Coordinating India’s Multiple Border Forces: An Analysis of Cross-Border Infiltration Across the India-Pakistan Boundary

India’s international borders and disputed boundaries with its neighbours are guarded by five different Central Armed Police Forces, two Paramilitary Forces and the Indian Army.

Know Thy Neighbour: Growth of India and China—Socio-Cultural Precepts and Propositions*

It is very important for large and populous neighbours such as India and China to have a better understanding of one another’s history, culture and value systems. Perhaps no two peoples in the world are as similar as Indians and Chinese in terms of the agrarian foundations of our societies and many of our traditions with roots in Hindu-Buddhist rituals and philosophy, and even the undue importance attached in the past to the male child.

The Rise of Kim Yo-Jong in the North Korean Regime

The state narrative of North Korea, the story that keeps the Kims in power and the population uncomplaining, is built as much around international politics as it is domestic. In the mid-1990s, soon after the first transition of power from Kim Il-sung to Kim Jong-il, the country and the regime was in crisis. Always looking at themselves through the lens of South Korea and the need for reunification, official propaganda had been building an idea that their Southern brothers and sisters were impoverished in comparison and desperate to join with the North once again.

Reimagining Pakistan: Transforming a Dysfunctional Nuclear State

Pakistan as a state has been in constant turmoil since its creation in 1947. Institutions of a modern, functional state could never take root in the country. Consequently, it has been the military that has dominated the politics undermining the space available for democracy and democratic institutions. The politics in Pakistan and the interesting trajectory it has taken since its inception has drawn the attention of many scholars who have analysed various aspects of Pakistan polity, its security dilemmas and its fractious relationship with its neighbours.

Preventing Chemical Weapons: Arms Control and Disarmament as the Sciences Converge

This 652-page book has six main sections and in total 21 chapters, including the introduction and conclusion. The basic themes discussed in the book include the prevention and disarmament issues related to the Chemical and Biological Weapons and the possible role for arms control, the ongoing advancements taking place in the field of chemistry and biology and the role of civil society to address various challenges posed by such weapons.

Ajey Lele
January 2019 |
Strategic Analysis

China’s War on Smuggling: Law, Economic Life and the Making of the Modern State, 1845-1965

The process of state-building in China has taken place in phases, beginning with the efforts of the Qing dynasty (1644–1912), the Nationalist government (1928–1949) and later communist rule (1949- present). The literature on the subject has generated a debate on the Chinese endeavours towards state-building with regard to the question of institution-building, the legacy of coercion, intimidation and economic transformation.

Strategic Wisdom from the Orient: Evaluating the Contemporary relevance of Kautilya’s Arthashastra and Sun Tzu’s Art of War

Can non-Western sources of classical thought enhance our understanding about issues of statecraft, strategy-making, foreign policy, war and peace? Is it important to study such non-Western sources? And, can such studies contribute towards creating more effective strategies of war and peace in the contemporary world? These questions are particularly significant at a time when there is increasing interest in tapping non-Western sources of international relations theory to identify more effective ways of addressing contemporary strategic issues.

Akshay Joshi
January 2019 |
Strategic Analysis

Saudi Arabia–Iran Contention and the Role of Foreign Actors

The Sykes–Picot Agreement, the Iranian Revolution, the Gulf Wars, and other events that have unfolded after the Arab Uprising (the Arab Spring), have altered the course of West Asian history. Saudi Arabia and Iran are the new architects determining the course and its trajectory; also significant is the presence of foreign powers. As is evident that oil has been a crucial factor behind the West’s interests in the region. The article states that the new Cold War can be explained as a variance between Iran and Saudi Arabia; and the situation manoeuvred by foreign actors.