Courtesy: MEAphotogallery/ Flickr
The opposition People’s Democratic Party in Bhutan won the National Assembly elections held on July 13 taking another large step towards democracy. However, India became the unwitting subject of campaign discourse after the government abruptly halted fuel subsidies to the country
Courtesy: openDemocracy/Flickr
Hassan Rohani’s victory in the June 14 presidential election has demonstrated a growing urge among Iranians for democracy, freedom and integration with the outside world. Will Rohani be able to create an environment where pragmatic policies and national interests take precedence over revolutionary zeal?
Courtesy: Ministry of External Affairs, India
While the recent India-Japan Joint Statement contains significant breakthroughs, the China-Pakistan Joint Statement reveals the absence of warmth between India and China. With the current flurry of bilateral exchanges, India is fine-tuning its approach to emerging regional realities, as are others.
Courtesy: WikimediaCommons
Will the India-Pakistan trade relationship improve after the elections in Pakistan on May 11? How India and China manage their trade, even when the exchange is strained, as it was after the recent military impasse on the Ladakh border, holds important answers
Courtesy: U.S.Navy Imagery/Flickr
An understanding between China and India not to develop a permanent presence on each other’s maritime territories may be helpful in reducing tensions between the two navies. Given the broader context of Sino-Indian strategic rivalry, however, this seems unlikely.
Courtesy: DVDSHUB/Flickr
India and China have divergent approaches to terrorism emanating from Pakistan. How can New Delhi prod Beijing to act on its concerns about the terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan?
Courtesy: Martin H./WikimediaCommons
Will former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif prove to be his country’s saviour, one that can make Pakistan the ambitious transit economy it can be? However, the most needed and least controversial angle from which India and Pakistan’s new government can begin to engage is through business and trade.
Courtesy: WikimediaCommons
New Delhi has taken some opportunistic actions, such as its vote against Sri Lanka in the UN Human Rights Council, to pacify internal political demands. But these extract a price in the international arena. Should we anticipate a further decline in India’s regional and international credibility?
Courtesy: Rajiv Ashrafi/Flickr
The youth of Bangladesh, a generation born well after 1971, are now demanding long overdue accountability, secularism, and neighbourly friendship. If the movement is successful, Bangladesh will have shown all South Asian countries that to transcend the past it is necessary to be transparent and secular.
Courtesy: Pete Souza/The White House
The announcement of the Pacific pivot by the U.S. in 2001 has led to several nations making bold political moves. However, the U.S. isn’t yet ready to be a regional protector against China. What does Washington have to do to prepare itself for the Pivot?