SansadBhavan_tv Courtesy: Indianhillybilly and Ambuj.Saxena/Wikimedia Commons
7 April 2014

Election 2014: A view from the U.S.

As India goes to the polls, many in the U.S. and at home will hope that a new government will usher in a new era in the India-U.S. bilateral. Yet, past condemnations of the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate and the Obama administration’s liberal leaning bureaucrats might prove to be stumbling blocks

scs Courtesy: U.S. Central Intelligence Agency/Wikimedia Commons
4 April 2014

South China Sea: a new war brewing

China is reportedly taking advantage of the situation in Ukraine to further its claims in the South China Sea. Its aggressive stance has pushed the Philippines to approach The Hague for arbitration. There are concerns that the tensions could lead to a breakdown of trade routes in the Western Pacific

Foreign Affairs March 2014 Courtesy: Foreign Affairs
4 April 2014

Eastern Europe Goes South

Many eastern European states who are part of the EU and were admitted only after being deemed compliant with the Copenhagen criteria have seen political parties in these countries become increasingly illiberal

Operation Mountain Fire Courtesy: Staff Sgt. Christopher Allison/Wikimedia Commons
30 March 2014

Afghanistan: At a turning point

The presidential election is vital not only for Afghanistan’s future but also for the stability of the region. The ensuing race has thrown up candidates from various ethnicities and they face an uphill task with a resurgent Taliban and a former President who still hopes to be a force in the political arena

G8_Ireland Courtesy: GOV.UK/Flickr
28 March 2014

The G8 is G7 again

A slumped arms industry and the U.S. shale gas sector will gain from NATO’s threat of stricter sanctions and suspension of Russia from the G8. BRICS has protested, but unless we consolidate alternate international financial structures, even other big economies like India can eventually be the targets of sanctions

indchin Courtesy: dannyman/Flickr
27 March 2014

War report under wraps

Down the decades, every government has shown reluctance to declassify the contents of the Henderson Brooks Report, preventing a deeper analysis of what went wrong during the 1962 India-China war. In the absence of this, the key findings of this report remain shrouded in secrecy

BRICS versus the G8?
27 March 2014

BRICS versus the G8?

A new equation is emerging between the BRICS countries and the informal grouping of the most industrialized economies, called the G8. The G8 has been reduced to G7 following Russia’s suspension. Of late, BRICS have taken an assertive stand against the G8 in economic as well as the geo-political fora