37019468915_3c74a9c724_o Courtesy: Government of South Africa/ Flickr
25 January 2018

South Africa leads BRICS, IORA in 2018

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

aa-Cover-aku7um6k6ta50ut215mv8qrrj6-20180107020128.Medi Courtesy: AP (Courtesy of The Asian Age)
7 January 2018

The unchanged U.S.-Pakistan dynamic

Logistical support for this mission, movement of heavy equipment, fuel and other supplies, needs connectivity via Pakistan.

Indo-Pacific Security Quad Courtesy: Indian Navy
3 January 2018

A case for the Quad’s reappearance

A noticeable feature of 2017 was China’s aggressiveness, which it deployed openly to advance its interests in the eastern rim, Southeast Asia, Central Asia and South Asia. This could well be the impetus for the consolidation of a broad front of China-wary nations in 2018

2017-11 7389 Courtesy: Independent
1 January 2018

Trump’s NSS and Great Power competition

The camaraderie that Trump and Xi projected in November 2017 generated unease. At year end, Trump’s National Security Strategy did away with the multipolar niceties, but the challenges remain: for the U.S., it’s promoting rule of law while opting out of multilateral bodies. For China, it’s taking stock of how its image corresponds to reality

38665014532_cfcdf709c3_o Courtesy: MEA India/Flickr
1 December 2017

Ivanka Trump: family matters

The successful conclusion of Ivanka Trump's visit to India is yet another example of the expansive influence exerted by the President Trump's “special advisors”. India’s decision to receive the First Daughter is not only reflective of the country's adaptive diplomatic rulebook, but of a changing state of play in Washington