Wolf World or a Multipolar World

Wolf World or a Multipolar World? How Major Powers Exercise Power Will Determine Emerging International Order

The growing role of middle powers adds another layer of complexity. Yet the term itself remains imprecise. Not every country outside the United States and China qualifies as a middle power, and many reject the label altogether. India, for example, increasingly sees itself as a leading power pursuing strategic autonomy rather than as a middle power seeking alignment with one bloc or another.

Is Northeast India's Permit System Inhibiting India-Japan Paradiplomacy? Colonial-Era System may be Stumbling Block to Subnational Exchanges

If India and Japan genuinely envision Northeast India as the gateway connecting South Asia with the Bay of Bengal and the Indo-Pacific, then the next chapter of the partnership cannot remain confined to New Delhi and Tokyo. It must also be written in Guwahati, Shillong, Aizawl, Imphal, Agartala, Kohima, Gangtok and Itanagar 

Bangladesh's Strategic Balancing and India's Neighbourhood Challenge: China Will Consolidate Influence if New Delhi Fails to Deliver

In several neighbouring countries, including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal, China has demonstrated an ability to move from agreements to implementation far more rapidly than many competitors. India, despite enjoying unmatched geographic and cultural advantages, has often struggled with delays 

Are the Echoes of 1971 Growing Louder in Balochistan? Voices that Pakistan Refuses to Hear

The echoes of 1971 are not proof that Balochistan will become another Bangladesh. They are proof that Pakistan has yet to learn what East Pakistan was trying to tell it in the first place: that a state cannot indefinitely draw wealth from a people it refuses to hear. 

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Afghan refugees crisis: Collective international action need of the hour

The Afghan conflict has already turned shelterless a massive number of people, and it will not end until a morally inclined humanitarian intervention takes place, write Azeemah Saleem and MD. Imtiyaz for South Asia Monitor

Lessons from the Taliban: Only a secular democracy can keep India integrated

Implications for India are more worrisome since the Taliban now has overt support of China and Russia apart from its patron Pakistan, writes Brig Deepak Sethi (retd) for South Asia Monitor

Strong policies, asset management skills can raise mutual funds’ popularity in South Asia

Among many commonalities, South Asian nations have a large hi tech-savvy young population, and the asset management companies should tap this section to deepen mutual fund penetration significantly, writes Ram Krishna Sinha for South Asia Monitor 

Transparency, institutional checks and balances must for success of India’s ambitious asset monetization plan

If asset monetization is undertaken with strict oversight, it can be the most effective remedy to dispel the pervading gloom of an ailing economy, writes N Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor

Will Afghanistan provide the strategic depth that Pakistan has long been seeking against India?

Beijing will quickly establish a ruthlessly transactional and pragmatic relationship to exploit Afghanistan’s rich mineral resources as well expand its much-cherished Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) from Pakistan, writes Mayank Chhaya for South Asia Monitor

The blind men of Capitol Hill: Kabul bombings are America’s self-inflicted wound

Finally, the US has given the biggest boost to global terrorism - and will eventually have to face the consequences. A coupling between the ISIS and Taliban should not be considered an impossibility, writes Lt Gen P. C. Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor

Biden risks further Afghan entanglement in a who-is-fighting-who in Afghanistan

Biden's speech had an eerie echo of former President George Bush's September 20, 2001, address to Congress when he set the course for what became the 20-year war, writes Arul Louis for South Asia Monitor

Growing Bangladesh-Sri Lanka trade and investment ties have positive implications for the region

If a free trade agreement is signed, then only the sky would be the limit for Bangladesh-Sri Lanka business relations, writes MD Pathik Hasan for South Asia Monitor

Equitable vaccine distribution a must for South Asia's economic recovery

The Asian Development Bank has stated that in South Asia the new wave of Covid-19  between March and June 2021 has somewhat dampened the economic outlook of the region, writes Partha Pratim Mitra, for South Asia Monitor

The Taliban’s return in Afghanistan will reinforce the Al Qaeda threat

Al Qaeda is leading a scattered existence along the Afghan-Pakistan border and its leadership is undergoing a constant shift, writes Anuttama Banerji for South Asia Monitor

Afghanistan's grim future and its huge regional implications

India won’t let the developments in Afghanistan affect its interests, more so because Pakistan and China are rubbing their hands in glee, waiting to move in to fill the vacuum in Afghanistan left by the United States, writes Mehraj udin Bhat for South Asia Monitor 

The American debacle in Afghanistan: Did US negotiators know early in 2020 that the Taliban could take over easily?

It is hardly surprising that in a mockery of the so-called US intelligence projection that Kabul could fall in 30 to 60 days, the capital caved in within 48 hours, writes Mayank Chhaya for South Asia Monitor

India needs labor-intensive manufacturing employment to stall reverse migration

Indian industry must have a conducive environment to invest and employ more workers from farms, writes  N Chandra Mohan for South Asia Monitor

Taliban needs to reform ideology, cut terror links for ruling Afghanistan

The Taliban are aware that if they shelter foreign militants with transnational agenda. It could turn neighboring powers like China, Russia, Iran, India, or Pakistan against them, writes Ainur Khan for South Asia Monitor

Monk and the prime minister: Did a Sri Lankan scholar help to ignite interest in Buddhist studies in Israel?

Today many Israeli universities have departments of Buddhist studies and South Asian philosophies as interest among Jewish scholars on Buddhist meditation continues to grow, writes Punsara Amarasinghe for South Asia Monitor