Al-Ula Summit: Restoring the Unity of the GCC Even as the Al-Ula summit has set a positive tone for the restoration of unity in the GCC, a high level of commitment is required by all parties to bridge the trust deficit. Prasanta Kumar Pradhan | January 12, 2021 | IDSA Comments
Demystifying Trade Warfare Historically, navies have been employed for the conduct of trade warfare. However, naval discourse on the subject has ranged from advocacy as prime employment of naval power to relegation as a secondary role that is best avoided. World Wars I and II witnessed wide-ranging application of trade warfare with varying degrees of success. Global seaborne trade has transformed significantly since the great wars, with large merchant fleets servicing an interconnected and globalised trading system. Himadri Bose | January-March 2021 | Journal of Defence Studies
Asymmetric Competition Ahead for Indian Air Power This article deliberates on some ‘disruptive’ issues that will affect employment, doctrine, force development and the very future of exclusive manned air power. Currently, causing asymmetry on the battlefield is considered a virtue rather than a weaker adversary’s option. Pakistan’s strategy against India and Chinese anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) are examples of cheaper but effective means. Driven by rapid advances in technology and confluence of emerging scientific capabilities, warfighting’s character is changing. Rajesh Isser | January-March 2021 | Journal of Defence Studies
Role of Internet of Things in Biological Warfare Abstract The weaponisation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has been a new element in twenty-first century warfare where ‘biowarfare’ is no exception. Active research has been taking place on… Continue reading Role of Internet of Things in Biological Warfare Utkarsha Mahajan | January-June 2021 | CBW Magazine
The Perils of Vaccine Nationalism COVID-19 vaccine hoarding by wealthy nations will prolong the pandemic, and result in greater economic and social damage. Rajeesh Kumar | January 04, 2021 | Issue Brief
Imran Khan and Pakistan’s Enduring Political Crisis While Imran Khan’s efforts to build legitimacy around his ‘personality’ as a religious person and a crusader against corruption do not seem to have convinced many people, his government’s inability to bring the much-promised tabdeeli (‘change’) to Pakistan is beginning to hurt him politically. Nazir Ahmad Mir | January 04, 2021 | IDSA Comments
India–China Rivalry: Asymmetric No Longer: An Assessment of China’s Evolving Perceptions of India Publisher: KW Publishers In recent years, there has been growing interest in deciphering the nature and contours of bilateral dynamics between India and China, since the contours bilateral dynamics between the two rising powers have potential implications for the evolving geopolitical order in the region and even beyond. This book is not about understanding the nature of rivalry dynamics between India and China but prominently focuses on China’s mental and emotional image of India, which has remained an underexplored dimension in contemporary scholarship. The aim of the book is two-fold. First, this book is an effort to analyse China’s contemporary perceptual image about India primarily through the analysis of Chinese publications on the subject. Second, this book questions the prevalent notion of characterising India-China rivalry as ‘one-sided’ or ‘asymmetric.’ Unarguably, power asymmetry, with substantial Chinese advantage, has been a persistent characteristic of India-China relations and is likely to remain or even grow further. India, being weaker in this dyad, naturally has a greater threat perception vis-à-vis China. However, this apparent power asymmetry does not provide China with an overwhelming advantage over India. The book argues that India has been and continues to be a ‘strategic rival’ in Chinese perception even though it is not categorised by China as its ‘principal rival.’ In the contemporary period, as India expands its defence capabilities, extends its regional outreach and deepens its engagement with major powers, Beijing has begun to factor New Delhi into its strategic calculus even more seriously. ISBN: 978-93-91490-01-0 , Price: ?. 980/- E-copy available Abhay Kumar Singh | | Book
China’s Agricultural and Industrial Policies in 1971* The performance of the agricultural and industrial sectors during 1971 acquires an added significance as 1971 happens to be the first year of China’s ambitious Fourth Five-Year Plan. This Plan visualized new dimensions for the policies in these two basic sectors. This policy has aimed at optimum utilization of all factors of productions increasing the operational efficiency of both peasants and industrial labour through material incentives like private plots T. Sreedhara Rao | January 2021 | Strategic Analysis
Islam, Authoritarianism and Underdevelopment: A Global and Historical Comparison Islam, Authoritarianism and Underdevelopment: A Global and Historical Comparison, by Ahmet T. Kuru, Bruce E. Porteous Professor of Political Science at San Diego State University, is a recent book on economics and history that compares the history of Islam and Europe, and through it, finds the roots of authoritarianism and its role in (under)development. Kuru seeks to answer the question why Islamic societies, as developed before the ninth century, gradually took the path of decline and underdevelopment, and this trend has continued to this day. Javad Heiran-Nia | January 2021 | Strategic Analysis
South Asian Regionalism: The Limits of Cooperation Regionalism in South Asia continues to evoke intense academic interest among scholars. SAARC, an organization that was conceptualized in the early eighties, evinced both hope and despair. A hope to overcome the factitious past and move onto the path of prosperity, and the despair that was embodied in its inability to achieve its potential. The fight against poverty and the path to prosperity has mostly been an individualistic journey among countries. Smruti S. Pattanaik | January 2021 | Strategic Analysis
