BRI recipient states undergoing democratic transitions are asserting greater influence over the direction of China’s efforts. This is likely to continue as long as China’s flawed business model remains unchanged.
At the very moment when secularism is on the ropes in India, its defenders appear to have abandoned it.
India and Taiwan are keen to cultivate closer economic and cultural ties, but doing so will require concrete actions and political commitments.
Real change will come only when the Pakistani polity begins to believe that the costs of the policies pursued by its army far exceed the benefits accruing to Pakistan as a country.
India’s recent anti-satellite test was a warning to China and will only exacerbate the rivalry between the two countries. India must prepare for a long-term space competition.
The upsurge in Hindu nationalism ushered in by Modi’s government is reshaping Indian society, secularism, economics, and diplomacy.
The ordinary voter still views Modi as a compelling leader who is personally incorruptible. Modi’s pitch this election season is simple: He needs more than a single, five-year term to undo 65 years of corruption and administrative rot.
Prospects for a sensible neighborhood policy can’t rest solely on having single-party governments at the center and ‘responsible’ chief ministers in the border states. India needs a measure of political consensus on regional policies.
For all the histrionics that have marked Modi’s term in office, three achievements, however incomplete, are likely to make a real difference to India’s strategic fortunes over time.
As countries debate an emerging security architecture in the Indo-Pacific, a key area is missing from the discussion: the role of islands. Much as they did in the past, islands will come to play a critical role in shaping the new order in the Indian Ocean region.