Strategic Analysis


India as Kingmaker: Status Quo or Revisionist Power: Michael O. Slobodchikoff and Aakriti A. Tandon, Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press, 2022

The two authors of the book under review are academics at separate campuses in the United States, with the first having to his credit previously published books in international and strategic affairs. In their collaborative effort, the authors have chosen to draw attention to the perceived challenge being posed to the existing world order—a creation of the Western alliance led by the United States. Important members of the alliance—Britain, France, Germany and Japan—favour continuity of the existing order. They have been labelled as status quo powers.

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Innovate to Dominate: The Rise of the Chinese Techno-Security State: Tai Ming Cheung, Ithaca and London, Cornell University Press, 2022

The outcome of the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, held in October 2022, was on predictable lines. It was no surprise that President Xi Jinping was chosen CPC supremo for an unprecedented third time, defying the two-term limit set by Deng Xiaoping to prevent a single person from gaining absolute and autocratic power like Mao Zedong. Xi, considered the most powerful leader in China since Mao, is determined to put China on the ‘rejuvenation’ path and attain superpower status for the Middle Kingdom by mid-century.

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Efficiency in Emergency: A Perception Study of Hierarchical Versus Flat Organizational Structures for Joint Disaster Response in the Bay of Bengal Region

Large-scale disasters have far-reaching impacts that transcend national borders, making a coordinated, “one region-one response” approach essential, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bay of Bengal region has recognized this need and is actively developing structures for regional cooperation, including in disaster management.

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Blame Game on Article 370: Patel, Nehru, and Ayyangar

On 5 August 2019, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a bold decision and made drastic changes to Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, thus changing the legal status of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. This further sparked a debate over the real architect of the Article. There has been a lot of debate and discussion around Article 370. Article 370 provided a special status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The debate around Article 370 is highly political, biased, and targeted.

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Economic Rationale for the Proposed Bridge Between India and Sri Lanka: An Analytical Perspective

The Governments of India and Sri Lanka signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to build a bridge across the Palk Strait in July 2002 to join the island nation with the mainland of South Asia by road and rail. The objective of this article is to highlight the likely impact the proposed bridge would have on trade in goods and services and travel between the two countries and beyond.

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Emerging Dynamics Between the Chinese State and Big-Tech: The Case of Alibaba

The past few years have been tumultuous for the Chinese State and big-tech relations. The ground reality for the big-tech internet companies in China has transformed from being indulgent and overreaching to scrutiny and crackdown. This article attempts to analyse the dynamics between the Chinese State and big tech, taking Alibaba’s journey as a case study.

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The International System: Economic and Science and Technological Perspectives

Two phenomenal developments characterized the change in the international system in the years after the Second World War: (i) the spread of Multi-national Corporations (MNCs) and (ii) the rise of a Third World, with its pluralization of political systems, economic forms and social doctrines. While the former is an important factor in the North–South relationship, the latter development has brought about new changes in the international economic system.

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Iran’s Strategic Behaviour Against ISIS: Religio-Cultural Context of Shrines and Martyrdom

The killing of Qassem Soleimani in 2020 again brought the religio-cultural significance of ‘martyrdom’ into limelight in Iran. He got recognized as the ‘Defender-Martyr of Holy Shrine’ given his role against ISIS in protecting the Shi’i holy shrines. This article analyses the relationship between ‘shrines and ‘martyrdom’ in Iran’s strategy against ISIS.

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India in the Emerging World Order

The fact that bipolarity is passing and a new multipolar world structure has emerged, merits a deeper examination. In the political sphere, the interests of the super powers, collaborative or competitive, do influence the existing international order. At the level of avoiding mutual conflict or ensuring peace in Europe, the super powers have taken many steps to reduce tension. But their competition for dominance of the Third World continues. Their influence is particularly evident in conflict situations obtaining, for instance, in Southern Africa and West Asia.

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