The state visit to Pakistan by the President of the Maldives, Mohamed Muizzu, from October 20 to 22, 2026, has drawn considerable attention in India and elsewhere. ‘What is the Maldives up to?’ deserves an objective answer, set in the larger context of its role in the region’s evolving power dynamics. A tiny country, with barely 300 km of land area, a population of half a million, and a nominal GDP of $8.5 billion, the Maldives is a cluster read more

The remarkable results of the recent midterm elections was a ‘bluenami’ that witnessed the Democratic Party’s sweeping victory in the House and the Senate. It stunned the world, but for India especially, this could provide some much-needed tariff relief, as the U.S. is one of the most consequential partners for India. The Democratic victory is not a guaranteed triumph for them in the upcoming 2028 US Presidential read more

During the Second World War, sections of the Indian intelligentsia expressed solidarity with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). This was manifest in the establishment of the Friends of the Soviet Union (FSU) which was set up in West Bengal on June 22, 1941, the day Nazi Germany invaded the USSR. It aimed to show solidarity with the Soviet people’s resistance, to support the global fight against fascism and, eventually to foster cultural ties and people-to-people contacts between British read more

Europe needs to set aside talk of populism, because it becomes an obstacle in evaluating what's at stake. For Europe's competitiveness in the world, it requires states which are fashioned or refashioned as sovereign states in individual countries as economic actors. A big problem these states will be facing is the unemployment issue with technological transformation displacing large numbers of jobs in industry in the service sector. In the case of Europe, this would also mean a loss of its read more

The global economy is entering a period of transition. Recent disruptions have shown that growth is increasingly influenced by factors beyond domestic capacity. Access to energy, critical resources, technology and reliable trade routes will determine how countries navigate an uncertain global environment. Global growth expectations have moderated from earlier projections of around 2.5% to below 2%, reflecting the impact of market uncertainty and geopolitical pressures. For emerging economies, these developments have reinforced the need to build stronger supply chains, secure read more