Parama Sinha Palit

Publication

Defence Diplomacy through the Prism of Soft Power: US–India Defence Partnership

India’s Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh’s mention of the term ‘Defence Diplomacy’ (DD) during his address at the Commander’s conference in April 2024,1 and its discussion in the Indian Defence Diplomacy: A Handbook published by India’s premier Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA) in 2021,2 underscore its increasing traction in New Delhi’s policy circles. Even earlier in 2020, India’s External Affairs Minister, Dr S. Jaishankar had chosen to speak on the relationship between defence and diplomacy at the Second Manohar Parrikar Memorial Lecture.

New US Administration and Its Approach to Foreign Policy

President Bush has announced Condoleezza Rice as the new Secretary of State in his second term. Her deputy at the National Security Council, Stephen Hadley, has been named as the new National Security Advisor. These two along with John R. Bolton, the Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs who serves as Senior Advisor to the President and the Secretary of State for Arms Control, Nonproliferation and Disarmament, represent the right wing of the foreign policy establishment.

The 9/11 Report: Reaffirming Pakistan-Terrorism Nexus

The 585-page National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States Report that investigated the plot, design and circumstances leading to the 9/11 attacks on the US has highlighted the dangers of organised terrorism in threatening global peace and security. The same threat has been reiterated in the recent Beslan tragedy in Russia. It is clear that terrorism has acquired global dimensions and has emerged as a fundamental concern for the international community.

US-Iran: The Changing Dynamics and the Likelihood of a Conflict

Washington-Tehran relations have come to occupy centrestage in the recent months given the United States’ current preoccupation with the Middle East. The US-Iran association can be traced back to 1953, when the CIA organised a coup to oust the elected government of Mohammed Mossadeq. Since then, the US has never really disengaged itself from the one of the most strategically important Middle East nations. This paper attempts to identify current US concerns regarding Iran and explores the possibility of a US offensive against Iran similar to that in Iraq.