News
Is India betting big on Huawei?
A divided domestic telecoms industry, disagreement within the central government, and a desire for India to develop its own systems have made the country’s calculations on 5G all the more complicated.
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In times of fake news and manufactured outrage, how do we reclaim empathy?
As misinformation and propaganda become the mainstay of public discourse, the space for reason is shrinking.
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Shifting terrain for India’s foreign policy
A big election win for Modi lifted India’s confidence in tackling a changing global order and challenging its critics
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Key Developments in Africa in 2019
The year 2019 bore witness to multiple developments which dotted the continent and may lead to not only an impact in the immediate times but also have far-reaching impact on the society and polity of African nations.
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Terrorism and Counter Terrorism: Review of Year 2019 and Projections for 2020
The year 2019 had significant developments in global terrorism. The review covers the important activities of terrorism and counter-terrorism (CT) around the globe. There have been ongoing conflicts in Iraq, Syria and Yemen which includes terrorist activities at a large scale. These conflicts have, therefore, been kept out of this review. The 2019 Year review and Projections for 2020 are categorised into two sections: National (A), and International (B), with sub-grouping of the timeline of events quarterly.
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The Soleimani assassination: Epochal not apocalyptic
In 1998, after a rampaging Taliban conquered the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif, around a dozen Iranian diplomats posted in the Iranian consulate went missing. For weeks it was believed that they were in Taliban custody. A livid Iran demanded their immediate release. Iran pressured the Taliban handlers in Islamabad who, as is their wont, insisted that they had no control over their own proxies.
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2019 was a Challenging Year for Indian Foreign Policy, 2020 will be even more so
US-China trade war deepened in 2019 despite some signs of thaw towards the end. Unexpectedly, President Trump was impeached by the US congress on the charges of having misused his power and for not cooperating with the Congress. Trump described the impeachment as unjustified and driven by the Democrats’ anti-Trump agenda. Britain struggled to exit from the EU but some clarity emerged after Boris Johnson was elected as Prime Minister after the Conservative party won the parliament elections comprehensively.
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Protests are taking place worldwide, in dealing with them the norm is proportionate force
At the heart of democracy lies the concept of ‘rule of law’ and at the core of this the notion of ‘due process’, or procedural justice. A king or dictator can dish out justice, but it will be arbitrary and, possibly, whimsical. In a democracy, there is an elaborate mechanism that ensures the delivery of justice in the fairest way, with safeguards all along, even for those accused of a crime. Professionals deal with the law and its procedure which are codified, and there are multiple appellate layers punishing someone for a crime.
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Macron’s wake-up call to EU
The French President has rightly said that the bloc needs to assert sovereignty over its political and security decisions.
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Three dangerous myths
The errors and misapprehensions that led to constant optimism about Indian growth.
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