Strategic Analysis

India and Pakistan: Will They Move beyond ‘Sharing of Intelligence’?

Intelligence sharing by the Pakistani National Security Advisor (NSA) with his Indian counterpart in early March 2016 came up as an interesting outcome of the ongoing engagement between them since December 2015. Such exchange of critical information has raised the levels of expectation among the peaceniks in the subcontinent about the prospects of peace talks between the two countries, after a whole series of false starts since 2008.

Asian-African Century with Two Centres of Gravity: Reconciling the Potential of India with China, Already a Peer of the US

While China and the United States (US) have recognised the strategic significance of the re-emergence of Asia, India has yet to see itself as one of the two centres of gravity in Asia, as has been the case throughout civilisation, having close trade links with Africa.

The China–Pakistan axis: Asia’s new geopolitics by Andrew Small

‘“It is a little naive to think that the trouble with China was essentially due to a dispute over some territories. It had deeper reasons.”—Jawaharlal Nehru’ (p. 68).

‘“China has a good understanding of almost everything in Pakistan, political security or economic, that might affect the bilateral relationship, but there is one piece they just don’t get: Islam”—Pakistani Sinologist, Islamabad’ (p. 81).

Routledge handbook of Chinese media by Gary D. Rawnsley and Ming-yeh T. Rawnsley

In the last three decades, the Chinese economy and society have witnessed unprecedented change and development. Since the introduction of the economic reforms in 1978 under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping, China has transformed itself from an agrarian, underdeveloped economy to become the second-largest economy in the world, also uplifting its large population out of poverty; 600 million have undergone this transformation.1 Economic reforms have had a very strong impact on many aspects of Chinese society. One sector which has faced massive change is the Chinese media.

Midnight’s furies: the deadly legacy of India’s partition by Nisid Hajari

In 2015, when India and Pakistan are into their 69th year of independence, this is an occasion to look back on the lost plot of their strategic engagements. The partition of an undivided India, built upon a malicious traction of ‘two-nation theory’ was further firmed-up with Pakistan’s dealings with its neighbourhood through a consistent conflict-ridden worldview. More so, this idea turned into action—and further obsession, when matters would relate to India.

Re-emerging Powers and the Impasse in the UNSC over R2P Intervention in Syria

The article examines the influence of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) members that acts as an important condition of success for implementation of the three-pillared Responsibility to Protect (R2P) principle in case of Syrian conflict. Analysis has revealed two distinctive features of the BRICS’s positions. Firstly, BRICS has placed particular emphasis on there being a reasonable prospect of success before supporting intervention.

Landlocked and Transit Developing Countries: Nepal’s Transit Route Negotiations with India

There are multiple levels of relationship between India and Nepal. This article deals exclusively with their bilateral transit relations, focusing on their negotiations in the context of Nepal as a landlocked developing country (LLDC). While LLDCs consider their free access to the nearest seaport through a transit country as a natural right, the transit countries often bargain with them from a position of strength.

Modelling Multi-actor Security Dilemma

Regardless of the everlasting debate whether the nature of the international system is anarchic or cooperative, ‘security dilemma’ remains a well-known and oft-cited concept. Intimately connected to it is the phenomenon of the arms race, which continues to play a significant role in global affairs and in determining relationships among countries. The first part of the article follows a dynamic model which reproduces the behaviour of the Cold War bipolar arms race.

Significance of the November 2015 Myanmar Elections

Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) won by a landslide majority in the openly contested elections Myanmar held on Sunday, November 8, 2015.The NLD won a convincing majority with 255 seats in the lower house, 135 in the upper house and 496 seats in the state and regional legislatures. This paves the way for election of President of its choice and forming a government. The election had 33.5 million eligible voters (over 18 years) of Myanmar’s 52 million population.

India–Myanmar Relations: Changing Contours by Rajiv Bhatia

Myanmar is an underrated neighbour with the potential to influence India’s vital strategic and economic interests. To keep track of the pulse of the mystic nation that is India’s closest Southeast Asian neighbour demands not just a scholarly approach but an empathy and an emotional connect. Rajiv Bhatia’s book, India–Myanmar Relations, is timely as it comes during a period when Myanmar is going through a significant phase of transition. Myanmar today stands at a crossroads confronted by a combination of developments on the domestic, regional and global planes.