Articles | Vivekananda International Foundation

Commentary

NITI Aayog has warned of a crisis that must make policymakers and the rest of us act now, and not later, because later could be too late. The danger the panel has spoken of has not been considered important enough for prime time television debates an....

July 06, 2018 Governance and Political Studies , Commentary , Looming water crisis , Water Management Strategy

Middle East Peace Process- in the Docks

Amb Anil Trigunayat, Distinguished Fellow, VIF Commentary

Middle East Peace Process has been dormant and lying in a limbo for quite some time as a result of sporadic and non-sincere efforts, or for that matter, simple lip service. Last US initiative on reviving peace process was stalled in 2014. The Palest....

July 05, 2018 International Relations and Diplomacy , West Asia , Commentary , Middle East Peace Process , Trump’s Deal of Century

An Underrated Summit: Macedonia

Aayush Mohanty Commentary

The Greek Prime Minister and the Macedonian Prime Minister on June 17 concluded an agreement which led to Macedonia renaming itself as Northern Macedonia.¹ This is expected to bring an end to a 27 year dispute over Macedonia’s name that ....

July 05, 2018 International Relations and Diplomacy , Europe , Commentary , Greek-Macedonia agreement , Renaming Macedonia

India’s Soft Power and Heritage: A Gift to the World

Amb Bhaswati Mukherjee Commentary

In the foreign policy context, soft power and heritage have become as important a tool of diplomacy for States as hard power. It promotes inter-cultural dialogue, essential to counter the multiple challenges to the existing world order by non-State ....

July 04, 2018 Historical and Civilisational Studies , Commentary , India’s soft power , India’s civilisation heritage

Exhibition ‘India and the World’

Dr Arpita Mitra Commentary

In view of the completion of 70 years of Indian independence, the National Museum, New Delhi, conceived a project that has finally materialised as a landmark exhibition, India and the World: A History in Nine Stories (inaugurated in May 2018 i....

July 03, 2018 Historical and Civilisational Studies , Commentary , Exhibition , India and the World , New Delhi , India’s pre-modern global contact

Will Indo-US Relations Survive The Strain of Geopolitics?

Arvind Gupta, Director, VIF Commentary

The US permanent envoy to the UN Nikki Haley, known for her hardline views on Iran and Russia, visited India from June 26-28, 2018. The visit should have strengthened Indo-US relations but the impact seems to have been just the opposite. The percepti....

July 02, 2018 International Relations and Diplomacy , US , Commentary , Russia , Indo-US partnership , US sanctions on Iran

Is ‘Democratic Quad’ a Viable Construct?

Dr Vijay Sakhuja Commentary

The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QSD) members - Australia, India, Japan and the United States (US) - met in June 2018 in Singapore on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) senior officials’ meeting, and later issue....

July 02, 2018 International Relations and Diplomacy , Indo-Pacific , Commentary , QUAD , RIMPAC , Strategic Pertnerships

Beginning of a New End in the Korean Peninsula

Dr Teshu Singh Commentary

After almost three and a half months of high-powered diplomacy leading up to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in North Korea, the first meeting between a sitting United States and a North Korean leader took place on 12 June 2018 in Singapore. The mee....

June 28, 2018 International Relations and Diplomacy , Indo-Pacific , Commentary , US-North Korea relations , Denuclearisation of North Korea

Jordan is at the Cross Roads

Amb Anil Trigunayat, Distinguished Fellow, VIF Commentary

During the last weeks of the month of Ramadan, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan faced the public wrath and continued demonstrations due to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) sponsored taxation regime and a poor state of the economy and opportunity ....

June 21, 2018 International Relations and Diplomacy , West Asia , Commentary , Jordan unrest , Government change in Jordan

Yoga and an Indian Framework of Ethics

Dr Arpita Mitra Commentary

In September 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and the world by surprise when he proposed the adoption of an International Yoga Day (IYD) that will help create a change in lifestyle and consciousness, ....

June 21, 2018 Historical and Civilisational Studies , Commentary , International Yoga Day , Yoga , Yog