Courtesy: The New Indian Express
Studying the reaction of key stakeholders to the India-Pakistan conflict, and how India’s diplomatic machine coped with it, is revealing. Some of the major powers like the U.S., raised the temperature, China expectedly stood by Pakistan while Russia once again proved a dependable friend. Unsurprisingly, South Asia had a consistently neutral stance toward the conflict.
Courtesy: Gateway House
Geopolitics is increasingly intertwined with the economic destiny of South Asia. Even before the U.S. tariffs were rolled out, growing polycrises had hit the global economy, which has been struggling since the pandemic. South Asia seems a relatively bright spark of regional trade and growth. This paper analyses South Asia’s trade architecture in the backdrop of a sluggish world economy in the 2020s, and makes recommendations for closer regional economic integration.
Courtesy: Gateway House
Over two centuries, the U.S. has amassed vast economic powers across the globe during and after the two World Wars , and sanctions slowly became an effective tool it used to achieve its foreign policy goals, becoming the global emperor of sanctions.
Courtesy: AFP
The victory of Mark Carney and the Liberals in the Canadian elections is a turnaround from the party's diminished position just four months ago. The former banker's campaign ran on a strong, independent Canada able to stand up to the new U.S. administration’s tariff provocations. Now come the challenges. The Carney government has much work to do in rebuilding ties abroad and bridging Canada's internal divisions.
Courtesy: Khyber News
The horrific attack on April 22 on tourists in Kashmir has exposed its stark and violent reality. Kashmir remains tumultuous even after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. Before confronting Pakistan, India must first address its internal challenges and deliver on its election promises to achieve enduring progress.
Courtesy: Reuters
Kurdish independence has been an unresolved problem in West Asia for over a century, but a solution may be in sight. Two recent developments highlight this: the unilateral ceasefire declaration by the Kurdistan Workers Party and the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Syria’s transitional government and the Syrian Democratic Forces. These may be key to resolving the Kurdish issue.
Courtesy: Körber-Stiftung
The world is undergoing profound transformations that are not being driven only by the United States, China or Russia. Small and medium-sized States are carving out a legitimate place for themselves in the emerging new order. This second edition of our annual Emerging Middle Powers Report is a reminder that the signs of the times are showing a new momentum for middle powers.
Courtesy: India Today
India’s new Agnipath scheme was launched in 2022, which offered young Indians a chance to qualify for four-year military service with 25% possibly being retained for a full service job. How have the ‘Agniveers’ fared now? In this time of multiple wars, how does the Agnipath scheme compare to ones offered globally?
Courtesy: Tata Steel
As a country building a strong fitness culture and renowned for its adventure tourism, India has an opportunity to become a power in adventure sports. Many of the nation’s top achievers are women, overcoming hard challenges to reach significant milestones. However, adventure sports is largely viewed as recreational. Better government coordination, corporate support and creation of a competitive environment will help put it on India’s sporting map.
Courtesy: Times of India
The allocation for defence in India’s annual budget for 2024-25 was, for the first time, not included in the budget speech. The country is upgrading its military, with new programmes and schemes, encouraging a start-up domestic defence industry, and reforming the defence research establishment. The separation will allay fears that India’s defence budget is never adequate.