IMG-20191024-WA0003 Courtesy: Asad Lalljee
24 October 2019

A Lebanese Spring

Lebanon has been the scene of some of the biggest mass protests through the month of October. They arose in response to cumulative economic crises due to low economic growth and the government’s controversial austerity measures. But can they also be seen as an awakening of Lebanese society to the need for a more equitable political and social discourse?

IMG_51561_small Courtesy: Princess Nora bint Abdul Rahman University
3 October 2019

Post-Abqaiq Saudi Arabia

The immediate panic in the aftermath of the missile attack on Saudi Aramco’s facility at Abqaiq underlines the still-critical role of the Kingdom to the world economy. The subsequent recovery of oil production – with no disruption – showed that Saudi Arabia is a reliable partner/guarantor of energy supplies. Our Energy and Environment fellow Amit Bhandari was in Riyadh recently for a conference, and describes a post-Abqaiq Saudi Arabia

shutterstock_1330442825 Courtesy: Shutterstock
15 August 2019

Sequencing Governance and Economic Growth

The Narendra Modi government came to power in India in 2014, promising "minimum government, maximum governance". Its roll-out of numerous government schemes meant that democracy and governance came before economic growth. But it returned Modi to power.Analysing the current debate on growth and governance the author explores how the sequencing of governance and economic outcomes is different in China, Turkey and India

23072016-BlueMosque3 Courtesy: LBB
14 August 2019

The Persian merchants of Bombay

Bombay’s trade with the Persian Empire grew rapidly in the 19th century because of regular steamship services between the city and prominent Iranian ports such as Bushire. The wealthy and public-spirited Persian merchants, who settled in Bombay, endowed their community with a religious and social infrastructure, in use even today

46118329451_16cf134eac_o Courtesy: MEA/Flickr
27 June 2019

Gateway House on the G20

The 2019 G20 Summit in Osaka on June 28-29, is the 14th meeting of the Group of 20 leaders. The G20 is the world’s most influential economic multilateral forum. It is the agenda-setting forum that develops and guides rules of global economic governance. Under the Japanese Presidency, this summit will be the first to discuss and establish the rules for the worldwide governance of data, including current hot-button issues like data localisation and data sovereignty. India has both a preparatory and a contributory role to play in the G20 this year. For in 2022, it will be the President of the G20. India must identify its agenda early on; its a weighty responsibility but also an opportunity to set the global economic agenda.

BN-WC464_BURMAP_GR_20171113114119 Courtesy: The Wall Street Journal
6 June 2019

Suu Kyi, more politician than icon

The Aung San Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy, which has been in power for three years, has shown a modest score card, winning more censure than praise. Suu Kyi’s civilian-military equation has been good, but not her reluctance on the Rohingya issue. What chances does her party have of winning in Myanmar’s elections in 2020?

merlin_155315436_159aa613-01d1-4b5e-8c01-f33ad69d0626-superJumbo Courtesy: NY Times
30 May 2019

Foreign policy continuum with the BJP

India’s foreign policy is increasingly blended in with its domestic agenda – and vice versa. Prime Minister Modi’s past proactive foreign policy has paid dividends in bringing global attention to India, a fact young voters have noticed and approved. In his second term, what will India’s foreign policy look like? A continuum of the past, but also new frameworks for the future