Myanmar heads to the polls in December amidst a festering conflict, now running on five years. At home, the balance of power is constantly shifting between the military and the anti-junta forces. Internationally, there is a growing fatigue with resolving the conflict. However, for the ruling military this election is strictly about putting the derailed train of ‘limited democracy’ back on track.

India and the U.S. share a comprehensive global strategic partnership across trade, technology, defence, and education, yet high school exchanges remain overlooked. The ecosystem depends on two U.S. government-backed programmes, which have recently faced budget cuts of 90% and have both been paused, putting their future at risk. Nina Robinson, CFR International Affairs Fellow, explains why these exchanges matter and how their loss would limit opportunities for young students.

Rajiv Bhatia explains how this book brings together perspectives on the geostrategy, geopolitics, and geoeconomics of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Edited by Chintamani Mohapatra, it features 16 essays by experienced yet young academics. It highlights how the world changed after 2020, the ‘Age of Polycrisis’, COVID-19, conflicts in West Asia and Europe, and other global flashpoints. The book offers analysis that seeks to reposition the Indo-Pacific as vital to India’s strategic interests.

The G20 Summit in Johannesburg ended on a widely-shared sense of satisfaction and achievement, with the Global South’s perspective well-articulated, but divergent from some in the Global North. Now the G20's challenge is to restore its unity and credibility by working toward reconciliation with its next president, the U.S. Can India enhance its credibility and influence as a North-South bridge-builder?

Several Australian families and companies have had a deep impact on India, since the early days of its economic reformation – from telecom to entertainment. Now, with the two countries enjoined by a comprehensive bilateral trade agreement, it’s time to step it up and deepen common agendas on hard issues, from regulation on big tech to entertainment ecosystems to sports and stadium management.

A former diplomat and a journalist came together in 2009 to build what would become Mumbai’s first foreign policy think tank – Gateway House. It is India’s first women-founded think tank, and among the few globally established by two women. In this conversation with Akshobh Giridharadas of USISPF, co-founders Manjeet Kripalani and Neelam Deo reflect on Gateway House’s origins and the epiphany that India needed to shape global conversations with its own perspective, one that extended beyond New Delhi.

The G20 Summit in Johannesburg in November will close four years of developing countries holding the grouping’s Presidency. It has left a positive imprimateur on the G20. The next President, the U.S., will inherit a more diverse body, with equal attention being given to issues of the Global North and the Global South.

After a remarkable recovery from a very deep crisis in 2022, Sri Lanka’s recent budget for 2026 consolidates economic stabilisation and introduces a few markers for further growth. But more needs to be done to embed a growth strategy and transform its economy to avoid further IMF austerity programmes.

India-China relations move in waves of hostility and stability. The bilateral may be re-entering a period of stability, last seen in 2018. If the caveats of security, mutual sensitivity and a level playing field are respected, then much can be achieved by reviving the initiatives begun after PM Modi’s visit to China in 2015 and two informal summits in Wuhan in 2018, and Mahabalipuram in 2019.

There’s growing speculation about a power struggle in China and whether President Xi Jinping is losing control. Amid reported internal rifts within the Communist Party of China, Xi has launched a military purge, removing several top officials, while Chinese companies face mounting internal issues. Lt Gen S. L. Narasimhan, Adjunct Distinguished at Gateway House, analyses these rumours and reveals China’s internal dynamics.