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August 6, 2008 | Balancing Asia's Rivals

Joseph S. Nye: If the US wants to remain powerful, strong ties to the world’s emerging powers are crucial. Improved relations between the US and India could provide the basis for China’s international integration.

July 17, 2008 | Does the G8 Need a Redesign?

Anna Wojnilko: Changing economic and political realities are forcing the G8 to rethink its goals, mandate, and membership. The debate on the shape of a potential G8 reform divides the political world. Should the G8 be enlarged to include new major international players or contracted to ensure effectiveness? We invite you to vote.

June 22, 2008 | Fareed Zakaria: The Post American World

Ethan Christian Arrow:

May 17, 2008 | Foregone Conclusions

Amarjyoti Acharya: Democratic free spaces & their subversions are the immediate concerns for internal security of states. Between states like India & the UK - what do we see apart from the obvious differences that exist between the ‘two’ democracies, in their war against terrorism?

March 13, 2008 | Bangalore and the Challenge of Inclusive Growth

Hans F. Bellstedt: As a modern and economically booming city, Bangalore stands for the upside of globalization and offers a possible foretaste of what India will be like in the future. Yet Bangalore’s success story is still an exception in a country that suffers from deep-set structural problems.

November 15, 2007 | Beyond Heiligendamm

Katharina Gnath: I laud the ongoing Heiligendamm Process as an important step in involving emerging countries in global economic governance. Five months after the summit, there are still challenges to be met, and the two-year Process is only the first stage in increasing cooperation with China, India, Brazil, South Africa and Mexico.

November 6, 2007 | Nuclear Dealings

Mark Brzezinski: The US has missed opportunities to make sensible progress in India and Iran. In both cases, the United States should be promoting constructive engagement rather than undercutting long-held nonproliferation doctrine.

October 25, 2007 | Asia's International Order

Henrik Schmiegelow: I warn that Asia is building pillars to support a future international order. Reacting to the functional integration and regional community-building led by ASEAN and the big three—China, Japan, and India—will be “the West’s greatest challenge.”

October 6, 2008 | Avoiding the Worst-Case Scenario

Efforts to address carbon emissions must be undertaken with exigency. ++ Developing countries like China, India and Brazil are responsible for half of all carbon emissions worldwide; their output has doubled over the past two decades. ++ 8.47 gigatons of emissions were released in 2007, up 2.9 percent over 2006. ++ Polluters will not change their energy policy until the US takes action. ++ The US

October 2, 2008 | Pakistani Intelligence Battles Internal Extremism

Pakistan can no longer play its “dangerous double-game”: accepting money form the US while also supporting the Taliban and other extremists. ++ General Kayani has appointed a new spy chief, Lt. Gen Ahmed Shuja, who must work to clean up the intelligence service, root out corrupt officials, and cut ties to extremists that threaten Pakistan’s own fragile democracy. ++ American officials claim that

September 29, 2008 | "The Palin Effect "

Currently, the US is reeling from the “Palin Effect.” ++ The overall demoralization and financial crises damage the collective identity of Americans and that is why voters need to hear that their country is still ‘exceptional’. ++ Fortunately, “Palin finds everything ‘exceptional’, when it comes to America” and gathers a lot of popularity for saying this. ++ Not only the US, but also India face

September 26, 2008 | India Dodges Financial Crisis

The impact of the current financial crisis on India will be minimal. ++ Indian institutions, such as ICICI Bank, have relatively little exposure to Wall Street, and due to a good regulatory system, should escape fairly unscathed. ++ However, Tata AIG will admittedly have trouble ahead. ++ Finance Minister Chidambaram has already guaranteed that “firms will have the necessary funds to absorb

September 23, 2008 | Welcoming India to the Nuclear Club

India and the US are celebrating their new nuclear deal this week. ++ Critics fear an unraveling of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. ++ Notwithstanding, India will be one of the great world powers and there is an unfortunate, yet undeniable link between power and nuclear weapons. ++ Although it may be hypocritical to permit India and sanction Iran, India is a status quo power and a settled

September 17, 2008 | End the Blackmail of the Strong by the Weak

Oil prices have tripled in the last seven years and if they continue to rise, it may have profound political consequences. ++ Oil-consuming nations shouldn’t become hostages of the oil-producing countries – they must “end the blackmail of the strong by the weak.” ++ Reducing the price of oil by eliminating the speculative pressures behind price rises must be the paramount

September 16, 2008 | The BRICs Could Crumble After All

For a long time it has been thought that world markets are decoupling, enabling the emerging economies of the BRIC group to thrive regardless of the economic slowdown in the Western world. ++ The emerging countries were predicted to quickly overtake the veterans of the G7. ++ New data, however, seem to puncture that theory. ++ BRICs do not live in an enclosed world, and the credit crunch has had

September 12, 2008 | Learning to Act Like a Nuclear Power

The domestic political culture in India determines whether India will work out in its new role as a nuclear power. ++ So far, suspicion and accusation among the politicians hindered India’s democratic institutions to produce a coherent notion of national purpose. ++ External actors such as China and the US have again and again manipulated the preferences of India’s politicians. ++ But now it is

September 10, 2008 | Harmful Hype Over US-India Nuclear Deal

Washington and New Delhi are guilty of overselling the US-India nuclear deal. ++ The pact will not play as big of a role in bolstering US-India ties and boosting both economies as politicians want people to believe. ++ On the contrary, due to the controversy that surrounds it, the deal threatens to overwhelm the broader dialogue between India and the US. ++ If the partnership between both

September 8, 2008 | Kashmir Could Secede Through Consent

The former colony India is now confronted with separatists who call for an independent Kashmir. ++ India’s governance of the region was dreadful at times, but it is still a legitimate democracy. ++ Nobody should oppose an independent Kashmir, but instead they should ask for a consensual secession by taking a vote in Kashmir and in India. ++ The “Idea of India” would not be wounded if it let

September 5, 2008 | Asian Free Trade Agreements Balk at WTO and US

Meeting in Singapore, 10 southeast Asian nations along with India confirmed yet another FTA that clearly indicates the waning influence of the WTO and the US in the region. ++ Many such countries, especially India, prefer small-scale bilateral agreements and FTAs. ++ It was the Asian block that called on Europe and the US to change their farm subsidy policies at Doha, which contributed to

September 3, 2008 | Pakistan's Future Depends on India, China and the US

While
Pakistan is often called a failed state it is more accurately labeled as a flailing
state. The PPP-PML coalition cannot solve every problem alone but needs help
from India, China and the US. These nations, which had once contributed to the
distortion of Pakistani politics, may now play a positive role in assisting
Pakistanis develop a democratic order to cope with several critical

September 3, 2008 | India is not a Rogue State

Because India has not signed the Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), some oppose the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and their plan to waive the ban on its nuclear commerce. ++ But India has committed itself to fully cooperate with the IAEA and, if it should join the global efforts on limiting greenhouse gas emissions, it needs nuclear energy. ++ Therefore, in order to further promote

September 2, 2008 | It's a Poor World After All

The World Bank recently reported that in 2005 there were 1.4 billion people living below the poverty line - a figure which it had previously underestimated. ++ Still, this figure does not take into account the rising food and energy prices witnessed in the last two years. ++ This new data only stresses the necessity for aid stemming from developed countries, particularly the G8. ++ Having

August 7, 2008 | Indian Muslims Heed to Pied Pipers of Jihad

India is depicted in the media as “a squeaky-clean ally of the United States” and no inconvenient truths are allowed to mar Indian democracy’s supposed success story. ++ A passive receiver of this image will surely be surprised to learn that between 2004 and 2007 3,674 people died of terrorist attacks in India, a death toll second only to that in Iraq and over 3 times higher than in

July 30, 2008 | Doha's Demise

The global trade negotiations known as the Doha Round broke up yesterday without an agreement. ++ Despite expectations of a new international plan to cut tariffs, members of the WTO proved themselves unready for such a deal. ++ While the US and the EU had made some concessions on farm supports, India and China essentially torpedoed the talks asserting a broad right to raise tariffs to protect

July 28, 2008 | India Votes for the Nuclear Deal With the US

India just had its first vote of confidence because the government’s communist allies withdrew their support over the civilian nuclear deal, arguing that the pact made India a pawn of the US. ++ Prime Minister Singh’s Congress party-led coalition won 275 votes in its favor and 256 against in the confidence motion. ++ The win means India can now focus on pushing through a long-delayed nuclear

July 9, 2008 | US-India Nuclear Pact is Back on the Table

The US-India nuclear pact, declared “almost certainly dead” last month, will probably be signed by the Indian government after all. ++ The onus of getting it implemented is therefore back on the US. ++ Congress must stop pressuring India into backing US policy on Iran. ++ India shouldn’t have to choose between good relations with itself and Tehran. ++ PM Manmohan Singh will not agree to toe

July 8, 2008 | We Can Thank the US for Failure in Afghanistan

The US failed to capitalize on its initial military success in Afghanistan and what seemed to be a finished matter has now redeveloped into a serious threat. ++ “America has only itself to blame” for the current situation. ++ It was distracted with problems in Iraq, failed to eliminate al-Qaeda, and gave insurgents the opportunity to regroup in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas within

June 23, 2008 | India Foresees Collective Security in the Middle East

Coercive diplomacy is America’s only remaining option as its influence declines in the Middle East. ++ Especially in the case of an Obama presidency, this “changed constellation” in the region calls for India to readjust its strategy. ++ India needs to balance Israel and Syria, and constructively engage Iran. ++ Like China, India should acknowledge the region’s importance for its own energy

June 12, 2008 | Moving Doha Forward is Critical for Global Free Trade

Surprisingly, it is some of the fastest developing countries such as China and India, that are slowing down the Doha development talks. ++ Protectionism in one country triggers a chain reaction that blocks free trade in several sectors across the globe. ++ The losers are those for whom Doha was conceptualized: farmers and small businesses in slowly developing countries. ++ Opening up the

May 23, 2008 | Acting Responsibly is a Priority in Burma

Responsibility and emergency to act in Burma cannot be doubted but UN legitimacy is lacking and R2P stands for “responsibility to protect,” not “right to invade.” ++ Any action requires “a careful, informed calculation of the likely consequences.” ++ Now the junta has acquiesced to limited aid “under an Asian umbrella,” the West should drop plans for air and sea bridges that could entail the

May 22, 2008 | India's Government Needs to Bolster Competitiveness

India’s slide by two places in the global competitiveness ranking from 2007 to 2008 reveals the country’s infrastructural deficiencies. ++ “The government is unable to create infrastructure needed to sustain present levels of growth” especially with respect to primary education, energy, broadband networks, access to water, health, and the environment. ++ This is a threat

May 21, 2008 | China's Energy Consumption Must be Bridled

China’s recent need for energy resources has accelerated at an alarming rate. ++ US envoy to the Paris-based International Energy Association (IEA), Daniel S. Sullivan, maintains that China and India must join international organizations in order to control usage and ensure energy security. ++ As oil prices skyrocket, developing nations, desperately in need of energy resources, are less

May 16, 2008 | India Strives for Influence in the Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean will be a strategic bridgehead for the big players of the 21st century. This relates to the Indian sea doctrine, which has been determining India’s policies in the region since its release in 2004. China’s advance in particular is pushing the Indian government to strengthen its ties with the African countries on the coast of the Indian Ocean and to regain more influence in the

May 14, 2008 | Nuclearization has not Benefitted India

India’s ascension as a nuclear weapon state ten years ago was a mistake. ++ Fallacious confidence in the doctrine of deterrence has had the opposite effect, encouraging reckless behavior in Kashmir and strengthening Pakistan’s military leadership, making South Asia more volatile. ++ The ensuing arms race with Pakistan and China has been funded at the expense of the social-sector, and led to a

May 5, 2008 | India Less Threatening Than China

In Asia, the rise of India is perceived as less threatening than the rise of China. ++ India does have strong military capabilities, but is a democracy, which are said to be more peaceful. ++ India’s military is believed to be unthreatening because of the turmoil in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bangladesh that concerns India. ++ Many Asians want India to counterbalance China and hope that

May 5, 2008 | Challenge and Opportunity for India's Agriculture

India’s agricultural sector remains nearly stagnant at a time when global food production faces five major challenges: population growth, changing consumption habits in emerging markets, declining agricultural production capacity, climate change, and increased demand for biofuels. ++ India should increase competitiveness by improving technologies and education in agricultural studies,

May 2, 2008 | "India's Dalai Dilemma"

In the face of turmoil in Tibet, India has found itself in a delicate position. ++ As a democracy, India has a tradition of permitting peaceful protest, yet it is also intent on improving Indo-Sino relations and continuing to expand trade with China. ++ “India’s government has attempted to draw a distinction between its humanitarian obligations as an asylum country and its political

April 25, 2008 | "Existential Threats" Are Holding India Back

India is confronted with a multitude of territorial claims from its neighbors. ++ The Asian giant is vulnerable to “the tyranny of geography.” ++ The pluralist democracy’s fragile and instable surroundings and the subsistence of contrasting beliefs, interests, and ideals in the region justify New Dehli’s cautious approach to contemporary international crisis situations

April 24, 2008 | Focus on the Suppliers of Proliferation

Concerning the Iranian enrichment program, international attention shouldn’t exclusively be on the receiving country. ++ Indian and European companies deliver nuclear supplies to Iran. ++ Tightening up control over European nuclear industries and doing so transparently, while enlisting the cooperation of Russia and China in this effort is necessary to stop Iranian nuclear weapon

April 21, 2008 | Flawed Geopolitical Giants Fuel Global Tensions

Not the US but the new big globalizers are responsible for renewed global tensions since the 1980s. ++ BRIC countries, – Brazil, Russia, India and China – terrify because they compensate for weakness by projecting power. ++ Yet they struggle with inclusive development, demography, and financial transparency. ++ Small adaptable states are actually more likely to overtake performances

April 11, 2008 | India Competes with China in the Scramble for Africa

Since Africa is both a source of natural resources and an outlet for manufactures, it is an area where India and China’s needs overlap. ++ China’s
two-way trade with Africa is higher, yet it has been charged with neo imperialism and blamed for trading with dictators. ++ India is drawing nearer by dealing with Africa’s ethnic Indians and labeling its integration of the economy “contribution to

April 8, 2008 | Green Lighting Opportunities

London’s goal to become the first city with streets illuminated by LED’s indicates a promising trend towards green lighting technology. ++ Indian cities should pay more attention to LED lighting. ++ Through LEDs India could “leapfrog the ‘dirty’ phase of economic growth witnessed in the West.” ++ While China has built the infrastructure needed for advanced LED production, India has yet to follow

March 12, 2008 | India's Jatroph Nut: Perfect New Energy Source?

Indian state Chhattisgarh is positioned to become biodiesel hub. ++ Local jatroph nut is inedible, grows on wasteland, requires little cultivation, and produces 3x more oil per hectare than soybeans - a cheap energy solution. ++ Despite potential, jatroph remains largely untested and may be unwise for India to invest in too soon - particularly due to India’s reputation for poorly implemented,

March 11, 2008 | The Illusion of a Nuclear-Free World

Nuclear weapons with their incomparable destructive capacity are the determining center of international power. ++ As technological forces are increasingly being associated with national security and success, defenders of disarmament are losing ground. ++ In the face of this global trend towards “weaponisation,” it is high time India gave up the illusion of a nukes-free world and made a priority

March 4, 2008 | India's Infrastructure: Chances and Risks for Investments

India’s infrastructure is obstructing economic growth. Just the terrible state of the roads and the endless traffic jams cause economic losses amounting to 6 billion US dollars per year. The cities in particular are struggling with increasing traffic chaos and power cuts. At the same time, the number of inhabitants in the cities will increase by 20% over the next seven years. The Indian

January 28, 2008 | India and China on Climate Change: Let's Work Together

Apart from hosting international sporting events in the near future, Delhi and Beijing have a lot in common at the moment, according to Narayani Ganesh of the Times of India: both face increasingly serious environmental challenges.
However these common issues offer opportunities for scientific cooperation, as shown by a memorandum on environmental collaboration signed during PM Manohan

December 5, 2007 | Europeans and Americans Favor More Extensive Transatlantic Commerce

A new survey by the German Marshall Fund finds that further transatlantic trade and investment are seen by majorities on both sides of the Atlantic as crucial to the economic stability of the region. While Americans have grown more skeptical about their economic future, Europeans have become slightly more optimistic. Likewise, although most of those surveyed both in Europe and America support

November 21, 2007 | Alarm is Growing About Rising Food Prices

As the prices of basic food staples soar, the world’s poor are getting ever-hungrier and increasingly vulnerable. Furthermore, the World Food Program (WFP) is experiencing exponential growth in expenditures, informs the Economist. While 850 million people go critically hungry daily in poor countries, the rich world is concerned about 1.1 billion obese and higher incidence of cardio-vascular

November 12, 2007 | Rising Geopolitical Paradigms Require a Strong and United Western Alliance

As a community based on values, the West must strengthen its cohesiveness in order to grapple with the pace of globalization, and face a geopolitical axis actively shifting toward Asia, argues Stephen Szabo, executive director of the Transatlantic Academy, which is a partnership between the German Marshall Fund and the Bucerius Zeit Stiftung.

A division of the West could prove

August 20, 2007 | Closer Cooperation With India Expected From Next US President

Most US presidential candidates have very favorable views towards closer cooperation with India in the future, reports Joanna Klonsky of the Council on Foreign Relations. Klonsky’s findings belie the low coverage on this issue so far, showing that candidates from both camps generally support resolutions such as the United States-India Energy Security Cooperation Act (2006) or the US-India

July 26, 2007 | The Economist: Progress Towards UN Millennium Development Goals Varies Widely

The UN has declared July 2007 the halfway point towards its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), agreed upon in 2000 and scheduled to be achieved in 2015. The Economist magazine takes a close look at the interim results and comes to the conclusion that less has been achieved than the UN claims. Even though indicators such as the percentage of people living on less than one dollar a day are

June 21, 2007 | Dr. Isaac Kfir: Pakistan in a Pressure Cooker

Dr. Isaac Kfir, researcher at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism, examines threats to the Pakistani state and international implications relating to Pakistan’s role in the war on terror. Islamic, ethno-nationalist groups and the Taliban are gaining influence, and Pakistan remains one of the likely hiding places for bin Laden and other senior members of al-Qaeda. Additional

May 15, 2007 | Jeffrey D. Sachs on the Climate Change Revolution

The time is ripe for international action on global warming, argues Columbia Economist Jeffrey Sachs. Scientists have clearly identified the causes of the problem, as well as affordable solutions, and recommendations must be implemented in advance of the 2012 expiration of the Kyoto Protocol. Since public awareness of the risks at hand has risen sharply and demands for action are peaking in

April 25, 2007 | Boston Consulting Group On India's Ascent On The Global Market

India is no longer simply the world’s “back office,” and has moved beyond its perceived role as provider of data processors and call-center workers. A study of the Boston Consulting Group and Knowledge@Wharton examines India’s rapid economic rise and its impact on the global market to show that India is an emerging presence in the manufacturing market and increasingly outsources

April 16, 2007 | Deutsche Welle Watching Globalization Eat Its Parents

Globalization has come full circle, says Deutsche Welle. 10 years ago, Germany set the tone of its economic relationship with India. German companies outsourced parts of their production to India and attempted to lure Indian IT-Specialists into the country. Now, Indian companies are opening up subsidiaries in Germany, employing Germans, and an Indian steel giant is making bids to buy its

April 12, 2007 | Mirela Isic Argues For Transatlantic Free Trade

A Transatlantic Free Trade Area (TAFTA) could provide new momentum for the transatlantic relationship, reports Mirela Isic of the Center for Applied Policy Research in Munich. An alliance that handles one third of world trade and produces more than 40% of world GDP would be a good safeguard against variations in the world economy such as those caused by integrating India and China into the world

April 2, 2007 | Daniel W. Drezner on "The New New World Order"

Tufts University professor Daniel Drezner highlights the Bush administration’s recognition of the shifting geopolitical order. The author of All Politics is Global credits the US for its multilateral approach on incorporating China, India and other rising powers into a reconfigured foreign policy strategy. But there are clear obstacles to US leadership in twenty-first century international