Maritime India’s Global Destiny
With the 21st century being heralded as the 'century of the seas', there is much need for India to reclaim its historically dominant maritime position in civilian and military endeavours.
With the 21st century being heralded as the 'century of the seas', there is much need for India to reclaim its historically dominant maritime position in civilian and military endeavours.
15 August 1947 saw the division of more than a country. There were other spoils that were split: the Royal Indian Navy was one of them. This included not just a division of assets, but also of staff, whom the British Royal Navy had trained. This led to a piquant situation
The attempted coup on July 15 in Turkey as well as its aftermath have irreparably dented President Erdogan’s international image and impacted Turkey's standing as a democratic state, a military power, a NATO member, an EU aspirant, and an emerging economy. This downtrend is unlikely to be reversed in the near future and the country is in for an extended period of instability
Regulations are the new focus of economic statecraft. Their increasing importance is reflected in the negotiations on global financial standards, plurilateral trading rules, and regional economic unions.
India's North Eastern States are part of one of the largest fluvial regions, they share this region with five other nations. At a recent conference, held on the sidelines of the the Nadi Festival in Shillong, the message of 'Listen to the dignity of the river' struck a chord with all present, and is a message which should be carried across the region.
The victory of Donald Trump in becoming the presidential nominee for the Republican Party is a significant moment in American history. However, the cause for common unity in the GOP is associated with a hatred towards Hillary Clinton, not support for Donald Trump. Controversies like the recent WikiLeaks of Democrat Party emails are sure to increase in the road to November, making it a rocky and treacherous one.
In the aftermath of Brexit, the recently concluded NATO Summit highlighted the emerging asymmetry between NATO and the EU on their respective policy positions towards Russia. Has the expansion of NATO and the EU to absorb Eastern Europe, and the consequent large migration flows, been responsible for the visible cracks within the Europe?
China's refusal to accept the ruling of The Hague greatly harms its international reputation and will fuel regional concerns about China's rise. Nationalist sentiments stirred up by a sustained media campaign heighten the risk of a confrontation, but there is also a possibility for the Philippines to use its new leverage to its advantage through new negotiations.
France's state policy of 'laïcité' (secularism) and its military interventions in Islamic countries has made it the prime target of IS in the West. The hardline French response to step up bombing campaigns against jihadis in Syria, Iraq, and Mali will likely continue, but conversely feeds IS strategy, which is to foment anti-Muslim sentiment among the non-Muslim French population.
Indian infrastructure financing has for long suffered from rating concerns, but recent changes to credit enhancement are helping to plug this gap, enabling investment by foreign insurance and pension companies, and stimulating project exports.