Courtesy: FreedomHouse2/Flickr
Simultaneous efforts to resolve the problem in Syria remain stymied even as more and more high level meetings and consultations take place. The more countries treat the situation as a proxy for political differences, the more it creates the conditions for a wider conflagration with an unpredictable outcome.
Courtesy: Martinmartin/WikimediaCommons
Latin America is witnessing an exponential rise in regional integration of business houses. The resource-rich nature of most Latin American economies has led to an inward concentration of investment, which makes it an extremely interesting prospect for Indian investors.
Courtesy: Embassy of India, Washinton D.C.
The third India-U.S. Strategic Dialogue saw more talk of ‘mutual capabilities’ than of a mere alliance. The larger endeavour in the bilateral is to find the right fit as partners, where both countries can preserve their strategic autonomy and benefit from their unique positions in the international community.
Courtesy: Open Democracy
The NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2014 should be done tactically so that it doesn't destabilize Pakistan. Despite having accepted Pakistani help in the past, the Taliban might empathize with Pakistani Pashtuns and spread the very secessionist tendencies which Pakistan’s Afghan policy was designed to prevent.
Courtesy: The White House
Apart from bilateral ties, also at play at the India-U.S. Strategic dialogue is the difficult triangulation in India’s relations with the U.S. and Iran. It does not serve India to get enmeshed in the U.S-Iran confrontation. Instead, the relationship must develop on the basis of realpolitik and mutual interest.
Courtesy: ESO/WikimediaCommons
The newly-formed Pacific Alliance bloc seems more like a political club to counterbalance the Atlantic-facing, Brazil-led Mercosur group. However, the bloc accounts for 30% of India’s trade with Latin America. Can India engage the group so it is not left out from their Asia focus?
Courtesy: IAEA Imagebank/Flickr
Ahead of nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 in Moscow, the West seems confident that sanctions will induce Iran to settle on its uranium enrichment. But rather than arriving at a negotiated settlement by applying the principle of reciprocity, the West may look to anaesthetize oil markets.
Courtesy: Flickr/t3rmin4t0r
Banks around the globe would be wise to take a second look at what now could be the most significant agreement in international finance since the Euro: the BRICS currency swap. Though certain geopolitical risks are involved, could this free India from unpredictable currency fluctuations?
Courtesy: Flickr/tao_zhyn
The failure of Western military interventions to bring peace raises questions about the effectiveness of human rights and calls for its redefinition. Instead of stigmatizing non-Western democracies that do not necessarily support intervention, the West should initiate an inclusive dialogue with these countries.
Momentous developments are taking place in Europe. In elections in Greece, France and Germany, Europeans expressed dissent against austerity policies adopted by their government to combat the economic crisis in Europe. How will these results affect the future of European policy-making?