Commentaries & Articles
Russia’s Fuel Export Ban and its Implication for Africa and Beyond

Background On September 21, by a decree signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Russia banned the export of all types of diesel, including summer, winter and Arctic blends, as well as heavy distillates, including gasoline and diesel.....

Japan’s Engagement with ASEAN: Economic Dimension - Part I

Introduction There are certain issues evolving in the Indo-Pacific region that are driving Japan to be drawn closer to the countries of the ASEAN grouping. The most striking example of the driver that pulls both Japan and the ASEAN closer....

Great Game in Reverse: Decoding Central Asia’s Geopolitical Rebalancing

Central Asia’s geostrategic location is critical, making this region a focal point of geopolitical struggle for centuries. In 1904, British geographer Halford Mackinder presented his ‘Heartland Theory,’ in which the Eurasia region is referred t....

Hidden Contours of Israel Hamas Conflict

Hamas executed a well-planned multifaceted military operation, breaching the Gaza fence after neutralizing Israel’s sensors, automatic machine gun towers and communications nodes to execute civilians; take hostages and desecrate bodies of the dead.....

Japan’s Defence White Paper 2023: Plea for a Robust Defence Posture

The Japanese government released the 2023 Defense Paper[1] in July, at a time when Japan finds itself in the midst of an era of crisis, facing its most severe and complex securit....

Iran’s Domestic Political Situation: Implication on Relations with India

The coup against Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh, facilitated by the United States (US), put Reza Shah Pahlavi into power, and the people in Iran lost hope of establishing democratic rule. Although progressive and westernised in some aspects, the S....

The Nagorno-Karabakh Seesaw – an Unstable Equilibrium

Setting the Stage This little area of a mere 1700 square miles nestled in the South Caucasus between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea and forming the south eastern stretch of the Lesser Caucasus mountain range has seen war, destruction....

Turbulence in South China Sea: Need to Enforce UNCLOS

The expansive South China Sea, covering an area of more than 3.5 million square kilometres consisting of atolls, reefs is arguably the most contested waters of Asia. The reserve of hydro carbons and its strategic location in the vicinity of shipping ....

The Israel-Palestine Crisis

History It was 1916, and the World War I was not going too well for the imperial powers Britain and France. These powers then started thinking in two directions – one, by weakening the adversary - the Central Powers comprising of the G....

African Union G20 Membership: Opportunities and Challenges

The Group of Twenty (G20) is a global platform for the world's largest economies to discuss and coordinate global economic and financial policies. The African Union (AU) offers the continent a legal and institutional framework to combat post-cold War....

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