Pakistani analysts say the civil-military 'hybrid arrangement' has been severely dented and mutual mistrust has set in, writes Mahendra Ved for South Asia Monitor
The Changing Transatlantic Relationship: Why Europe is Reluctant to follow Donald Trump on Iran
For decades, Europe generally followed Washington when American and European strategic interests broadly coincided. Iran exposes what happens when they do not. Europe still needs the United States for security—but increasingly wants to retain the right to say: “We share your objective, but we do not necessarily accept your method.”
Downturn in India-Bangladesh Relations Needs Deft Handling: Dhaka's Alienation Has Security Fallouts for India
Rather than relying solely on high-level political rhetoric, India can employ a combination of economic diplomacy, institutional de-escalation, water-sharing agreements, and people-to-people engagement to rebuild trust and stabilize relations with Bangladesh.
Ghost Communities of the Wakhan: How an Imperial Buffer Zone Became China’s Next Frontier
The Wakhan Corridor has become a possible trade road for China's economic expansion. The corridor provides China with strategic advantages. First, it offers potential overland access to Afghanistan and on to Pakistan and the Arabian Sea
Iran and the Strait of Hormuz Blockade: Why Tehran did not Close the Strait Earlier
Before the mid-2020s, Iran lacked the specific low-cost tactical capability (drones, missiles and tech int) required to hold SoH against the US military. Today, the newly acquired capabilities allow Iran to enforce an effective, sustainable, and lethal denial-of-access corridor at a much lower cost.
More on Geopolitics, Security and Strategic Affairs
A case for a Western Leg of the Quad for the Indian Ocean
A potent Western Leg of Quad in partnerships with Russia, France, Japan and possibly Oman, South Africa, Indonesia and Singapore remains a must to craft, writes Lt Gen Yash Malhotra (retd) for South Asia Monitor
Regional ferment: Questionable US moves as Turkey moves closer to China-Russia-Iran-Pakistan bloc
A US drone base in Pakistan will adversely affect Pakistan-China relations; it will arouse Taliban anger with whom Islamabad is negotiating to curb the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), writes Lt Gen P. C. Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
Behind the attacks on Bangladesh's Hindus: A battle for a nation's identity
Attacks on Hindu localities and places of worship, like temples and Durga Puja mandaps, are aimed at terrorizing Hindus so that they don't assert politically, stay away from voting and even vote against Awami League in frustration at lack of protection, writes Subir Bhaumik for South Asia Monitor
Soft power rivalries: Imran Khan backs Turkish-Pakistani co-production to diminish 'Hollywood-Bollywood influence'
The Turkish actors are immensely popular in Pakistan, even as the women actors, glamorous and without any veils, even sporting swimwear in real lives, have drawn criticism from the Pakistani conservatives, writes Mahendra Ved for South Asia Monitor
Minorities under assault in Bangladesh: Can civil society turn the tide?
While the ruling Awami League remains committed to protecting the minorities, the administration has been often unable to prevent Islamist rampages, writes Tapas Das for South Asia Monitor
India’s philosophical, spiritual traditions can give a new direction to global sustainable development
Instead of following the unsustainable growth example of the US and China, which is based on extreme greed and a very materialistic outlook, we should give the world a new direction of development where high technology is guided by spirituality, writes Anil K. Rajvanshi for South Asia Monitor
Rare praise from Pakistan is grudging recognition of Bangladesh's success story
Had it not been exploited by Pakistan economically for 24 years (1947-71), Bangladesh would have gone further ahead, writes Pathik Hasan for South Asia Monitor
India, Israel, US and UAE: Making of a new Middle East Quad?
In a cooperative set-up of the four nations focused on the Middle East, UAE has the capital, Israel and the US the technology edge and India the manufacturing and execution capability, writes Arul Louis for South Asia Monitor
Global Hunger Index 2021: India needs to do more on child nutrition, responsive village-level governance
The GHI ranking given to India is certainly a wake-up call for the country, writes Partha Pratim Mitra for South Asia Monitor
The new Great Game in Af-Pak theatre: Is Afghanistan again becoming a springboard for international terrorism?
Pakistan has shifted anti-India terrorist camps into Afghanistan and there is evidence of the Taliban allowing Harkat-ul Ansar (HuA) to push terrorists from Afghanistan into Kashmir, writes Lt Gen P. C. Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
EU's new Indo-Pacific strategy is in sync with India's security perspective
The new strategy is a most welcome development for India, which had been juggling its national security interests in this vast and volatile region with support, as usual, from France, writes Amb. Bhaswati Mukherjee (retd) for South Asia Monitor
India-Bangladesh ties in review: Youth of both countries need to have a stake in bilateral friendship and cooperation
In this 50th year of Bangladesh’s liberation, need India remind them that in 1971 it sheltered over 10 million Bangladeshi refugees without a whimper, with hardly any foreign aid, and that all Indians kept paying for decades afterward to defray the cost to the nation?, writes Amb. Sarvajit Chakravarti (retd) for South Asia Monitor
Can India's looming power crisis impact Indian economic revival?
India’s energy problems, however, are not unique as its powerful neighbor, China, too, is experiencing serious shortages of electricity, writes N. Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor
South Asia's housing crisis: Yawning gap between slogans and ground realities
South Asia has an approximate population of 1.9 billion —about 23 percent of the world population — with a substantial number of slum dwellers and homeless, writes Nirupama Sekhri for South Asia Monitor
