Editorial - India at 75 - Middle Power or Great Power?
Standing in front of the historic Red Fort in Delhi, while addressing the Nation on occasion of the 76th Independence Day on 15th August 2022 Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged to transform India into a developed country in the next 25 years. “The way the world is seeing India is changing. There is hope from India and reason is skills of 1.3 billion Indians”, Modi said. “The diversity of India is our strength. Being mother of democracy gives India inherent power to scale new heights”, Modi said an aspirational society is very precious for any country and in India, people’s aspirations are on the rise. “Aspirations are on the rise in every section of the society. Read More
Is Pakistan still an Irritant in India -US Relations?
Pakistan factor has played a significant role in India-US relations during the Cold War period. Subsequently, in the post-Cold War era Pakistan began getting de-hyphenated from the India-US relations. Both these democracies strengthened their partnership in the 21st century based on common political, strategic, and economic interest. The article concludes that currently the Pakistan factor though has faded away in India-US relations but has not completely disappeared. Read More
India-Taiwan-SLOC
Since 1995, there has been substantial efforts to enhance India-Taiwan relations in a multidimensional manner. However, the relations between the two states have been subject to considerations that pertain to China that is a mutual neighbor to both India and Taiwan. Furthermore, Chinese actions in Hong Kong and Doklam have led both New Delhi and Taipei to rethink or reconceptualize their relations with China and with each other. Meanwhile, India retains a key position in Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy and Taiwan’s geopolitical location including nearby sea lines of communication (SLOCs) provide an important avenue of collaboration with India in maritime security. The research has attempted to understand the historical context of the geopolitical importance of the India-Taiwan relations with a special focus on SLOCs; to assess the contemporary significance of India-Taiwan relations and the SLOC; and the future implications of closer India-Taiwan on SLOCs in the region. Read More
Operationalising Game Theory in International Relations: Concepts, Modelling, and Interpretation
Although a relatively new phenomenon, the game theory holds considerable significance for actors in the international system who have conflicting relationships. This paper will try to analyse the concept, modelling process, and implementation of game theory in IR, with a sole focus on non-cooperative game structures in the area of international security studies. The paper will provide a thorough understanding of the dynamics of game theory in general and its application in IR in specific. This paper attempts to sum-up the various theoretical and structural requirements needed for understanding and analysing the game theory in tandem with international relations. Read More
Tawang- Bhutan road: opening the region and understanding the opportunities and challenges
The growing Asian giant China has long been in contestation with border conflict with its Asian neighbours. India feared Chinese ambitions are not contended to its rise and counter-hegemony to U.S world order but the security dynamics of the south-Asian countries which India considers to be ‘sacrosanct’ for its geo-political needs. Bhutan shares 470-kilometre-long border with China and according to some reports over 25 per cent remained in dispute for decades. Recently, China has brought a new land dispute regarding the Sakteng wildlife sanctuary (Tashigang district) lying in the eastern sector of the India-Bhutan border. The region of Tawang and Tashigang has much potential to explore if the connectivity of the road is opened. The road will enable India to deploy troops faster to respond to any military moves by China, not only across Tawang but also towards the eastern region of Bhutan and it can also play an important role in Arunachal Pradesh’s economy. Read More
India-Taiwan –SLOC: An overview of the Geopolitical dynamics and its economic consequences to India
‘Sea lines of communication’ (SLOC) describes the primary maritime routes between ports, used for trade, logistics and naval operations. In peace, they serve as commercial trade routes but in times of war, these routes turn into strategic pathways that become increasingly vital to a nation’s internal peace, security and economic growth. It thus becomes a strategic imperative for all nations to secure efficient and uninterrupted SLOCs to expand trade and global commerce as more and more people connect to the international supply chain aided by technology. Read More
Argentina and Chile- Emerging convergence on a pan-Latin American vision
Argentina and Chile witnessed transformations in their respective governments with Alberto Fernandez and Gabriel Boric being elected as Presidents respectively. While Fernandez won in 2019, Gabriel Boric became Chile’s youngest President in 2022. Both the presidents have embarked on a mission to promote their respective countries. President Alberto Fernandez made trips to Russia and China and recently returned from a trip to Europe, President Boric visited Argentina and Canada. While economic troubles continue to plague Latin America, only Chile and Argentina are taking the lead towards creating a pan-Latin American vision. Both these countries are aspiring to become regional leaders at a time when the region must overcome its troubles related to the economy and the aftereffects of the pandemic. Read More
Indian Guided Missiles
Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was known as Missile Man who successfully led the "Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (lGMDP), which was undertaken in 1982 by DRD0. Under the IGMDP five world class missiles were developed viz. Prithvi, Akash, Trishul, Nag and Agni. After the successful development of these Indian missiles DRDO got technological foundation and full confidence to develop missiles to meet the current challenges. On 27 Mar 2019, it precisely shot down the "Micro Sat-R" satellite in the orbit at altitude of 300 km which was revolving around the earth with very high speed in the order of 7 to 10 km/s. named as "Mission SHAKTI", and now India became the fourth country in the world to have this type of technology and showed the space power to the world. Read More
BOOK REVIEW: The India Way – Strategies for an Uncertain World
The global order is undergoing changes. If it was largely bipolar during the Cold War and then briefly unipolar after disintegration of Soviet Union, there are signs of emerging multipolarity. China is already world’s second largest economy and major military power. Russia has come out of itself – imposed strategic retreat. From Germany to Japan and India to Brazil, middle powers are also expected to play key roles in new order. In present context of world politics, global community is witnessing significant paradigm shift in the world order. Countries are repositioning their stance in global architecture of political hierarchy. The upsurge of Asia, reinvention of Russia, economic potential of Africa and inward-looking policy of America in 21st century has reconfigured the overall geo-strategic matrix. Read More
