The recent allegations of corruption against the sale of AgustaWestland helicopters has renewed serious concerns on foreign defence acquisition in India. The larger question is this: to what extent does corruption really affect national security? Aakash Brahmachari blogs.
In the backdrop of the European Union’s (EU) economic crises, the international community’s focus has shifted towards Asia. Gateway House interviews renowned historian and scholar Timothy Garton Ash on the lessons Asia can learn from Europe, Britian’s role in the EU and political morality.
Courtesy: Shwkyn231/Flickr
The year 2012 has been a busy one for foreign policy: from escalating disputes in the South China Sea to alternate financial instruments from the emerging world. India’s foreign policy too has its shown strengths and weaknesses. We present our top foreign policy Hotspots, Sweet spots and Blind spots for 2012.
The Chinese have learned from Russia’s past mistakes at reforming state-owned enterprises (SOE), and some well-connected politicians have reaped the economic benefits that followed. Will the new administration in Beijing reform China’s SOEs or maintain the large role of government in industry?
The deterioration of growth prospects is at the core of the financial crisis in Europe. Can Europe successfully form a banking and monetary union? Gateway House interviews Nicolas Véron, a French economist, to discuss the repercussions of the financial crisis in Europe and the potential for Indo-EU cooperation.
Courtesy: Foreign Affairs
There’s been much talk about the “the rise of the rest,” with Brazil, Russia, India, and China leading the charge. However, few countries can sustain unusually fast growth for a decade, and even fewer, for more than that. As the boom years begin to end, the international order won’t change as much as expected.
Courtesy: Foreign Affairs
Jeffrey D. Sachs argues that the mono-causal analysis of the book, 'Why Nations Fail,’ – that economic development hinges on a country’s political institutions – ignores important factors (such as geography) that can also affect growth.
Courtesy: trendscout::/Flickr
All the major economic forces in the world have come together in Africa in a new version of the Great Game. The competition for the continent’s resources will ultimately harm Africa unless Africa uses this opportunity to its advantage and to address its own serious problems.
Courtesy: Columbia/WikimediaCommons
In the 1700s, one man antagonized the European powers, and insisted on the Maratha Empire’s rights to taxation and sovereignty over Maharashtra’s coast. He was Kanhoji Angre, the head of the Maratha navy. How did he, 283 years ago, set an important precedent for the Subcontinent’s local powers?
With the Free Syrian Army being supplied aid by the West and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, the endgame for the Syrian regime has begun. Does Assad's exit guarantee the replacement of autocracy with democracy? What implications will it have on regional politics?
