COMMENTARIES
-
Strategic Space
Limits of Practising Nuclear Brinksmanship
Manpreet Sethi · 21 Dec, 2016 · #5208 · Commentary · Column
Thomas Schelling, a noted nuclear strategist who passed away recently, explained brinkmanship as a strategy that “means manipulating the shared risk of war. It means exploiting the danger that somebody may inadvertently go over the brink, ...
-
US Policy Orientation
Trump and West Asia: Reading the Tea Leaves
Ranjit Gupta · 19 Dec, 2016 · #5207 · Commentary
Not only is Donald Trump the least-prepared president-elect in US history, but he compounds this handicap by showing little interest in preparing for perhaps the most important position in the world. He has been brazenly blasé about avoid...
-
US Policy Orientation
President Trump's Prospects for the Middle East
Derek Verbakel · 15 Dec, 2016 · #5206 · Commentary
Predicting the implications of Donald Trump’s presidency for the Middle East requires informed guesswork in drawing links from campaign rhetoric to a more coherent approach or ensuing foreign policy. Trump, who apparently favours ‘is...
-
Xi as "Core Leader": Re-emergence of Strongman Politics?
Tapan Bharadwaj · 15 Dec, 2016 · #5205 · Commentary
The sixth plenary session of the 18th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee was held in Beijing on 24-27 October 2016. Plenary sessions are important in understanding the opaque political functioning of the Chinese government. T...
-
China's Belt and Road Initiative: Should India be Concerned?
Anand Kumar · 14 Dec, 2016 · #5204 · Commentary
The Belt and Road Initiative, also known as the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) project, launched by the Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013 is one of the most ambitious projects of recent times. This project, which has both overland and maritime com...
-
Annihilation of the Marginalised: The New Normal in Myanmar
Bibhu Prasad Routray · 12 Dec, 2016 · #5203 · Commentary
They have been called by different names - Rohingya, Bengali, Kalar - depending on whether one is referring to their ethnicity, the language they speak, or to the colour of their skin. These pejorative descriptions have provided their Buddhist a...
-
Eagle Eye
Paradigm Shift or Business As Usual: Trump’s China Policy
Chintamani Mahapatra · 12 Dec, 2016 · #5202 · Commentary · Column
Candidate Trump’s positions on China during the long election campaign and President-elect Trump’s tweets and phone calls have generated the impression of a coming paradigm shift in Washington’s approach to China under the Trum...
-
IPCS Discussion
Women & Public Policy Journal [Vol. 2] Launch: 'Afghan Economy in the Decade of Transformation (2015-2024)'
Report · 12 Dec, 2016 · #5201 · Commentary
The Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS) hosted Mariam Safi, Executive Director ofthe Kabul-based Organization for Policy Research and Development Studies (DROPS), for the launch of the second volume of DROPS’ Women and Public Po...
-
Muse Rebel Attacks
Dangers of Myanmar's Two-Faced Peace Process
Angshuman Choudhury · 08 Dec, 2016 · #5200 · Commentary
On 21 November 2016, a group of four Ethnic Armed Organisations (EAOs) launched a joint offensive against security outposts and bridges near the border town of Muse in northern Myanmar's Shan State. The daring assault prompted a strong react...
-
US Policy Orientation
Donald Trump and East Asia
Dr Sandip Kumar Mishra · 05 Dec, 2016 · #5199 · Commentary
During the US elections, visualising Donald Trump as the next president was a daunting prospect. China, Japan, and South Korea wished for Hillary Clinton’s victory. Now, however, they have no choice but to accept and recalibrate their opti...
