Editorial: India’s Foreign Policy in Dynamic Global Affairs
To achieve its goals, a country has to depend upon other countries. This interdependence compels all countries to formulate their own policies and guiding principles which can be called ‘foreign policy’ and defined as set of principles, decisions and means adopted and followed by a country for securing formulated goals of national interest during course of its relations with other countries. Foreign policy is a framework within which government of a country conducts its relations with outside world in different formats - bilateral, regional and multilateral or global. Foreign policy of a nation is shaped by trajectory of formation of the nation itself, determined by various domestic, regional and global challenges and guided by its sine quo non and prevailing international situation. Read More
New Multilateralism: IMEC Corridor- Rationale and Prospects
The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) was started on November 09, 2023, at the G20 Summit in New Delhi. India’s participation in this initiative shows its commitment to multilateralism. The IMEC provides India with an alternative route to Europe through the Middle East, bypassing Pakistan, Iran, and the Suez Canal. The IMEC relies on the geopolitics of connectivity, a recent trend in international politics, which is necessary to comprehend. The concept of geopolitics of connectivity is explored in this paper, examining its relevance to IMEC and the potential prospects for IMEC. Read More
Hamas-Israel Crisis Underway: India’s Strategic Imperatives and the Changing Geopolitical landscape in West Asia
The West Asian region is considered as an ‘extended neighbourhood’ in Indian Foreign Policy and strategy. It, therefore, assumes profound salience in India’s geopolitical and geo-economic pursuits in line with its global aspirations under its ‘Extended Neighbouhood Policy’. With the dense diplomatic engagement and political outreach under Prime Minister Narendra Modi the region has become India’s close orbit of strategic partnership and geopolitical interests. India has pursued and maintained an extremely prudent balance of all three regional powers, GCC led by Saudi Arabia, Israel and Iran. The Abraham Accord has facilitated Indian interests to work with GCC Arab countries and Israel with increasing diplomatic ease and convenience in its pursuit of 5 trillion economy vision. The I2U2 platform has been a prudent process for placing India in the growing dynamics of integration of Arab Investment, Israeli innovation and partnership in infrastructure and shared economic progress. Read More
China’s Financial Grey Zone Warfare – Employs Money Laundering Strategies
China's rapid economic growth has led to increased global influence and expansionist ambitions with aggressive geopolitics. Analysts believe China is using its economic power to engage in economic warfare against other countries and subsequent concerns are growing about China's role as a global money laundering hub. China's shadow banking sector, complex legal framework, weak anti-money laundering enforcement, and large cash-based businesses make it attractive to money launderers. Chinese facilitators use methods like shell companies for discreet transactions and trade-based money laundering, manipulating prices of goods and services for illegal funds. Chinese banks also engage in dealings with rouge nations, sanctioned international parties, and black-listed personnel. China is under enhanced monitoring by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) due to money laundering, which harms economies, distorts financial systems, and increases crime and corruption rates. Read More
The Economic Impact of COVID-19 on South Asia and the Way Forward
The COVID-19 pandemic has been recognized as one of the deadliest episodes of human history, which claimed nearly 7 million deaths worldwide. It has also caused an economic slowdown with a significant drop of GDP growth all over the world. This economic crisis today can be compared with the Great Depression of 1930s and the Financial Crisis of 2008-09. Read More
Challenges and Scope of Maritime Drone Initiative in India
In recent times the concept of Naval Warfare is changing with the inception of cost effective and economical platforms like AUVs, ROVs, etc. Countries which are major sea powers have started to focus towards underwater systems for surveillance, intelligence gathering and to some extent offensive missions. India being a major player and net security provider of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) can't stay behind in this race. Unfortunately, not much research and development has taken place in India to create an ecosystem for production of such systems in the past, that too with offensive mission capabilities. Our belligerent northern neighbour China is slowly expanding its activities in the IOR. Hence it is urgently required to create and nurture an ecosystem to design, develop, and operate such systems with futuristic technologies having both offensive & defensive capabilities, thereby removing the existing challenges and reducing the dependency on foreign imports. Read More
Geopolitics of Terrorism and It’s Rising Threat
October 07, 2023 can be considered as a major turning point in the world of terrorism, when Hamas [Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya] aka the ‘Islamic Resistance Movement’ attacked Israel. For the first few hours Hamas terrorists rampaged through the border territory that separates the Gaza strip from Israel and carried out atrocities against humanity through their targeting of civilians, killing over 1200 and kidnapping 248 in this initial attack. Hamas adheres to an extreme ideology of Islamic terrorism blended with Palestinian nationalism that gives a veneer of legitimacy in the Arab world while being dedicated to the destruction of Israel; and its preferred methods to achieve dominance include rocket attacks, random shootings, kidnappings and suicide bombings. However, since Hamas has not been designated as a terrorist organization by the United Nations, it receives constant funding from Qatar and Iran that allows it to build grassroot support among the Palestinians in Gaza, while constantly upgrading its military capacity. Read More
Analysing India’s Step Towards Drone and Underwater Warfare
This review paper provides a comprehensive analysis of India's strategic advancements in the domain of drone and underwater warfare. As the world witnesses a paradigm shift in military technologies and tactics, India has been actively pursuing innovative approaches to bolster its national security. This paper explores India's evolving drone capabilities, encompassing both unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and autonomous ground vehicles (AGVs), and its burgeoning expertise in underwater warfare, including submarine technology and underwater drones. We examine India's strategic imperatives, technological developments, operational challenges, and regional implications in these critical defense domains. The paper underscores the significance of India's endeavors in shaping the future of warfare and offers insights into the nation's evolving role on the global stage. Read More
Engagement of China and Russia in Latin America - A Comparison
After the end of the Cold War, a vibrant and resource rich region, Latin America opened its horizons in engaging various countries of the world. During the 20th century, the United States regarded Latin America as its strategic sphere of influence and drawing from the Monroe Doctrine (US Department of State 2023), disallowed other nations to play a key role. In the era of globalization, Latin American countries opened in creating active partnerships and diversifying their foreign relations. In this context, it would be important to highlight the roles of China and Russia in Latin America and their various points of engagement. The approaches of China and Russia have certain commonalities such as deepening their economic and strategic engagement and countering the United States in its vicinity. The differences are in terms of levels of engagement, such as China’s engagement is mostly economic in nature while Russia seeks a more strategic aspect to its relations with Latin America. Read More
