Academic and columnist M.D. Nalapat, in this interview with Manjeet Kripalani, speaks of how a tardy bureaucracy has brought about “a too-cautious” policy towards the U.S. and China as opposed to the former Gujarat chief minister’s greater openness in consulting people before handing over policy implementation to the bureaucracy. He also discusses the prime minister’s shrewd approach to South Asia, the dependable warmth of the Japanese and a range of other topics
Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
America’s withdrawal from a Cold War arms control agreement seems to be dictated by China’s development and deployment of thousands of short and medium range ballistic missiles.
Courtesy: Foreign Affairs
The immediate threat is more corrosive than explosive. States are using the tools of cyberwarfare to undermine the very foundation of the Internet: trust. The result is that an arena that the world relies on for economic and informational exchange has turned into an active battlefield.
Courtesy: Gateway House
America is increasingly using sanctions as a geopolitical tool against its rivals, Russia, Iran and Venezuela. These countries are important partners for India, which needs to find ways around unilateral American sanctions.
Courtesy: Caixin Global
China’s foreign direct investment is shifting away from natural resources to high-tech areas, such as Artificial Intelligence and robotics. The scale of these acquisitions, along with questions about intellectual property and national security, are causing widespread concern in the West
Courtesy: U.S. Department of State/ Flickr
Scrapping the JCPOA will badly bruise Iran’s economy, citizens and foreign relations; it will have an impact on the U.S.’ allies too
Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
American sanctions on Russian defence companies may end up hurting an innocent bystander: India's defence sector. In particular, they could threaten Indian military procurement, and also may complicate India’s attempts to produce more of its own defence hardware. India needs to study the issue closely to prepare for what may come
Courtesy: Government of South Africa/ Flickr
Internal political constraints dog it currently, but if overcome, South Africa can be a good chairman to BRICS and IORA in 2018. It also has a tough balancing act to perform between two great Asian powers, China and India
Courtesy: Western Naval Command
China has expanded its presence in the Indian Ocean Region. President Xi Jinping has abandoned Deng Xiaoping’s conciliatory posture for an aggressive, money-fuelled search for super power status
Courtesy: Narendra Modi/ Flickr
BRICS, which has always been committed to enhancing solidarity, is now entering its second decade – even as tensions between its two most consequential members remain unresolved and member states and other emerging markets are set to serve as “the main engine” of global growth
