Courtesy: Rama/Wikimedia Commons
The year 2014 will witness elections in some of the biggest countries including India, Brazil and Indonesia. Like in India, the participation of youth voters is likely to be an important determinant in the outcome of the elections. Gateway House examines the presence of issues common to India and the major countries going to the polls in early 2014
Courtesy: rajkumari1220/Flickr
India’s political and economic future will be determined over the next few weeks. Gateway House recommends a priority diplomacy agenda for the next government – one which puts economics at the heart of our foreign policy
Courtesy: GOV.UK/Flickr
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
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
Courtesy: Foreign Affairs
When the average growth rate in emerging markets hit over seven percent a year in the last decade, forecasters hyped its implications. Today, more than five years after the financial crisis of 2008, the euphoria seems to have waned
Courtesy: W123/WikimediaCommons
Whether backdoor geopolitics rather than careful negotiations brought about the interim agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme, the next six months will determine its fate. Reactions have ranged from a furious and mistrustful Israel to collective relief by many countries, and a worried India welcoming the agreement
Courtesy: generalising/Flickr
The India-Japan alliance needs to be viewed through a prism broader than that of "containing" China, and by treating the Indian and Pacific oceans as a single entity. Such an alliance has the potential to strengthen the geopolitical security of India and Japan, along with that of all their allies and associates
Courtesy: Zeinab Mohamed/Flickr
Today, the role Wahabbism plays in geopolitics poses a severe security risk not just to the West but also to the Muslim world. The West needs to rethink its strategy of promoting Wahabbi International, and realise that Wahabbism cannot be a moderated geopolitical asset
Courtesy: Blog do Planalto
The launch of the BRICS Universities League in Shanghai is an important effort for the five nations to understand each other and define their place in global governance
Courtesy: NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center/Flickr
An increase in the global demand for rare earth elements, used in high-technology industries, coupled with limited supplies on Earth, has accelerated extra-terrestrial exploration. International cooperation and competition for these space-based resources will determine the next human footprint and race in space.