Based almost entirely on declassified government documents, this article seeks to provide, for the first time, a comprehensive evaluation of the Federal Republic of Germany’s (FRG) defence cooperation and the transfer of small arms, ammunition and missiles under a 1962 secret defence agreement as well as the saga of the clandestine transfer of aircraft and (unsuccessful) export of tanks to Pakistan

India’s all-out war with Pakistan for the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971 may have been brief, but it came after a lengthy prelude. For months, New Delhi laboured to convince the world—especially the West—about the grim consequences of Islamabad’s oppressive bid to stomp out Bengali nationalism in East Pakistan. While there is adequate literature chronicling the diplomatic persuasion undertaken by

This commentary explains various implications of a possible Turkish–Egyptian reconciliation. Based on an extensive analysis of Turkish and Egyptian newspapers and open-ended and semi-structured in-depth interviews, this commentary addresses the significance of a Turkish–Egyptian reconciliation for both countries, its regional implications and the prospects of bilateral relations. In this respect, the

Bhaswati Mukherjee, Bengal and Its Partition. An Untold Story (Rupa, 2021). Pp. 200 + Bibliography + Acknowledgement + Index, ₹575. ISBN: 978-93-5333-958-6.

Séverine Autesserre, Frontlines of Peace: An Insider’s Guide to Changing the World (Oxford University Press). 2021, Pp. 241, ₹1558. ISBN-13: 9780197530351.

Achal Malhotra, The South Caucasus: Transition from Subjugation to Independence (ICWA/Macmillan Education, 2020). Pp. 248, ₹1985.

As India celebrates 75 years of its Independence this year, it is also a time to reflect on the trajectory of one of the most interesting and significant democratic experimentations in human history. India’s journey has been bold, audacious and, at times, even tempestuous, but it has always been linked to the wider trends in the global order. From the very beginning, Indian policymakers wanted to carve

This article aims to understand India’s remarkable nuclear journey in the last 75 years. It categorises India’s atomic trajectory into four distinct periods: Ambivalent (1948–1988), Reserved (1989–1998), Responsible (1998–2008) and Resurgent (2009 onwards). In doing so, the article provides an account of how the changing nature of India’s nuclear programme has impacted the scope and depth of its nuclear

India has been a point of attraction for world throughout the history as ‘Golden Bird’ as land of spiritualism, architectural marvels and cultural heritage. Buddhist ‘Middle Path’ to Kautaliya’s pragmatic political thought and Gandhi’s strategy of Satyagraha and non-violence attract appreciation around the world. The two decades of 21st century has immensely boosted India’s soft power. Yoga and Ayurveda

This article explores India’s economic diplomacy since its early years of Independence, from the margins to a relative significance in the global economic hierarchy. It begins by identifying the constant, governing first principles and core objectives of India’s economic diplomacy that have remained constant over the years. The first three sections broadly embody the distinctive phases of India’s economic

The temptation to explain India’s foreign policy behaviour in the Middle East through the lens of power alone has obscured a rich history of Indian diplomacy in the region that escapes power-centric explanations. India’s relentless advocacy for Palestinian statehood, its diplomatic support for the weaker Arab states against Israel and Western powers and its role in UN mediation and peacekeeping missions

Earth’s climate is changing drastically and its effect is being felt over the entire world. Some nations suffer more because of several geographical and demographical factors. People have started migrating from their homeland because of the disasters occurring due to climate change. These migrants commonly known as climate refugees are homeless and rightless. However, the United Nations High Commissioner

India has been a long-time supporter of nuclear disarmament. Much before other countries supported these measures, India had proposed universal nuclear disarmament, a nuclear test ban treaty as well as a freeze on the production of fissile material. Opinion is however divided on India’s approach and rationale behind pursuing disarmament. Some call it utopian while others describe it as a pragmatic

Shivshankar Menon, India and Asian Geopolitics: The Past, Present (Penguin, 2021). pp. 406, ₹699. ISBN: 9780670091294. B. M. Jain, The Geopsychology Theory of International Relations in the 21st Century: Escaping the Ignorance Trap (Lexington Books, 2021). pp. 249, ₹8000. ISBN: 9781498573597. Itty Abraham, How India Become Territorial: Foreign Policy, Diaspora, Geopolitics (Stanford University Press

In this article, the authors highlight the need for refugee legislation in India while India celebrates its 75 years of independence. India should have domestic legislation to uniformise legal and conceptual understanding of refugees, to uniformise the procedural standards for all refugees without discrimination, to address the increasing influx of refugees due to increase in conflicts in the neighbouring

Nosheen Ali, Delusional States: Feeling Rule and Development in Pakistan’s Northern Frontier. Cambridge University Press, 2019, pp. 304, ₹795 (hardback), ISBN 9781108497442.

Adeeb Khalid, Central Asia: A New History from the Imperial Conquests to the Present. Princeton University Press, 2021, pp. 564, $31.98 (hardback), ISBN 9780691161396.

Purusottam Bhattacharya, Status of European Integration: Possible Trajectory. Macmillan, 2021, pp. vviii+174, ₹1600 ISBN-10: 9390370116 ISBN-13: 978-9390370115

Nivi Manchanda, Imagining Afghanistan: The History and Politics of Imperial Knowledge. Cambridge University Press, 2020, pp. vii+266, ₹7,000 (hardback), ISBN 978-1-108-49123-5.

India and South Africa approached World Trade Organisation to negotiate the temporary waiver of Intellectual Property (IP) rights on Covid-19 vaccines to remove the artificial barrier of patents and boost vaccine production. This commentary advocates for the waiver of IP rights on Covid-19 vaccines. First, the article makes a case for the debate on the validity of the Covid-19 vaccine to qualify for

More than 25 years of ethnic war in Sri Lanka ended in 2009. Expressing ‘serious concerns’ on human rights situation in post-civil war Sri Lanka, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has adopted critical resolutions. The eighth such resolution was adopted in March 2021. India abstained for the second time from voting on a resolution against Sri Lanka at the UNHRC since 2014. In 2012 and

In early 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic was indiscriminately spreading around the world, the seeming ability of India, the world’s second most populous country (with over 1.3 billion people), to contain the virus within its borders and keep COVID-19 infection and mortality rates low relative to population size was seen as miraculous. However, the miracle ended when ‘second-wave’ hit India in April

John Maynard Keynes proposed the concept of ‘Bancor’ 1940 as a supranational currency that would serve as the international reserve currency. The concept did not take off at the time, although the underlying need to liberate the international system from the hegemonic tendencies of a national currency serving as a global medium of exchange. The emergence of Bitcoin makes it possible to revive the idea

African countries have been hit by a dual shock of COVID-19 pandemic and global oil crisis, which have caused severe economic and social disruptions. Most studies shed light on the correlates between COVID-19 and the global oil crisis, including their economic impacts on oil producing/exporting countries. However, the objective of this study is to examine the effects of the global oil crisis on the

Among other things, the recent pull-out by the United States from Afghanistan is yet another indication of global turbulence involved in a reset of geopolitical alliances. While the reset goes back to the end of the last century’s global economic shifts the rapidity with which the old order is unravelling gives rise to many questions. These involve the tenacity and resilience of regional institutions

Diesen, G., & Lukin, A. (Eds), The Return of Eurasia: Continuity and Change (The Palgrave Macmillan, 2021). Pp. v-xv, 213, €10399 (Hardcover). ISBN: 978-981-16-2178-9.

U. L. Baruah, A Bangladesh War Commentary: 1971 Radio Dispatches: Vol. 1. Indian Council of World Affairs, Macmillan Publishers India Private Limited, 2021, ISBN: 93-5455-048-7 ₹1,650, pp. 148.

The article reviews India’s contested role of a great power in global politics. Although showing tangible results across all the aspects pertaining to the great power status, in international relations India is still largely underestimated and even overlooked. Politicians and scholars generally mention three main reasons behind that phenomenon: weak social and economic figures, the country’s relatively

The India and Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) partnership began in the early 1990s mainly in the economic domain. Reeling from a major internal crisis, India wanted to tap onto the region’s economic vibrancy to strengthen its own waning economy. Since then, amidst India’s domestic constraints, economic ties have largely sustained the India–ASEAN partnership on a steady course. India’s

The renewed and reinvigorated engagement of India with the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) over the past few years has been one of the significant factors leading to the gradual and irreversible transition of the regional organisation from a declaratory phase to one of implementation (Bhagwati, 2008). The recent developments in the South Asian region, especially the new growth

As the commercial use of outer space becomes feasible, the nature of possessory rights will potentially emerge as the central focus of future space-related activities. The existing international law relating to outer space does not address in detail the nature of possessory rights in outer space and is subject to multiple interpretations. Alarmingly, the recently adopted space policies and legislations

The rapidly transforming Arctic has led to rethink the concept of security in the region. The increasing global warming and opening up of the Arctic have brought multiple geopolitical issues before the Arctic and non-Arctic states.1 In pursuit of their perceived geopolitical, geo-economics and strategic interests, a race to ‘securitise the Arctic’ has started amongst the major Arctic states. This process

One of the key terms to understand the nature of violence and conflicts world over is ‘radicalisation’. Sri Lankan case is instructive in understanding various dimensions of Islamic radicalisation and de-radicalisation, especially in South Asia. Though a small state, Sri Lanka has witnessed three radical movements, the latest being Islamic that got manifested in deadly Easter attacks of April 2019

This commentary recounts the important hallmarks of the institutional history of the Indian Council of World Affairs, one of India’s first publicly funded research institutions. It presents a brief account of its long history since 1943, its career in acquiring prominence, its decline and its revival. This commentary takes off from its recently published institutional history (Raghavan, T., & Mishra

Zorawar Daulat Singh, Power & Diplomacy: India’s Foreign Policies During the Cold War (Oxford University Press, 2019). pp. 398, ₹950. ISBN 978-0199489640. Sudhanshu Tripathi, India’s Foreign Policy: Dilemma Over Nonalignment 2.0 (SAGE Publications, 2020). pp. 203, ₹895. ISBN 978-9353286422.

Jayaram, Dhanasree, Climate Diplomacy and Emerging Economies: India as a Case Study (Routledge, 2021). Pp. 154. Price £44.99 ISBN: 9780367634025 (hardback), £16.99 (e-copy).

Rasheed, Adil, Countering the Radical Narrative (Knowledge World, 2020), Pp. 198, Price ₹1280 ISBN 978-93-89137-71-2 (Hardback).

Narayan, S., & Datta, S. (Eds.), Bangladesh at 50: Development and Challenges (Orient Blackswan, 2020). Pp. 263, ₹995 (paperback). ISBN: 978-93-90122-60-8.

In the last few years much has changed, with existing global regimes under stress to step up to new realities and new and old powers reassessing the grounds of their relationships. Hence, the big debate of the last few years has been the fate of the normative principles at the heart of the liberal order and the future shape of the institutions built on these. In the Global South, the debate has rested

We would like to thank our contributors for the issue 77.3.

India’s limited partnership with the liberal international order (LIO) of the post-Second World War period had seen a substantial transformation after the end of the Cold War through its economic integration with the world economy. At this critical time of liberal internationalism triggered by the relative decline of American hegemony, rise of the non-Western powers and the tendency of populism in

Anthropogenic climate change has emerged as the most disruptive socio-political issue in the last few decades. The Kyoto Protocol’s failure to curb the rising greenhouse gases emissions pushed the UNFCCC-led negotiations towards a more flexible, non-binding agreement at the Paris COP21 meeting in 2015. The Paris Agreement’s hybrid approach to climate change governance, where flexible measures like

The recent vigorous campaign by Nigerian government for a permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council is, like previous attempts, hinged on the country’s ‘track record’ in peacekeeping operations. However, in recent years, particularly since the uprising of the Boko Haram terrorist group, it appears that Nigeria’s commitment to this role has diminished considerably in its foreign policy

Since the early 2000, Balochistan is yet again embroiled in a cobweb of violence after a hiatus of more than two decades. The Baloch nationalist militancy began to reinvigorate after the seizure of power by General Pervez Musharraf in 1999. Musharraf marginalised the moderate Baloch nationalists and repressed dissident voices. The differences over power and resource sharing escalated quickly into a

The growth of economic corridors in developing regions has become instrumental in boosting economic growth and infrastructure. Economic corridors integrate existing road and rail networks to build effective multimodal transportation networks within a particular geographical setting with the aid of quality distribution networks, logistics and infrastructure. This helps in interlinking various markets

The articles in this issue represent a collaboration between the India Quarterly and the Vietnam Journal for Indian and Asian Studies, Hanoi. They address the understanding of the Indo-Pacific as a new geopolitical concept and the many issues related to the politics, structure and institutions of this domain.

H. P. Ray, Coastal Shrines and Transnational Maritime Networks Across India and Southeast Asia. Routledge, 2021 Hardback, 255 pages, ISBN: 978-0-3677-0804-7 Price: ₹995.

J. P. Panda, The Korean Peninsula and Indo-Pacific Power Politics. Routledge, 2020, pp. 272, £96.00 (hardback). ISBN 9780367364236.

Ravinder Kaur, Brand New Nation: Capitalist Dreams and Nationalist Designs in Twenty-First-Century India (Palo Alto: Stanford University Press, 2020), pp. 360., $28, ISBN 9781503612594 (Paperback).

Anu Sharma, Through the Looking Glass: Iran and its Foreign Relations. KW Publishers, 2020, pp. 306, ₹1,480 (hardback). ISBN: 978-93-89137-57-6.

Ahmet T. Kuru, Islam, Authoritarianism and Underdevelopment: A Global and Historical Comparison (Cambridge University Press, 2019). pp. 323. ISBN: 9781108419093 paperback (£26.99).

The international order today is characterised by power shift and increasing multipolarity. Countries such as India and Vietnam are working to consolidate the evolving multipolarity in the Indo-Pacific. The article maps the convergences in the Indian and Vietnamese foreign policy strategies and in their approaches to the Indo-Pacific. Both countries confront similar security challenges, such as creeping

India and Indonesia are two key emerging economies in the Indo-Pacific region—both with a strong reliance on the maritime domain for sustained economic growth. After a relatively tumultuous phase in their bilateral relations during the Cold War, the countries have embarked on a path of reconciliation and developing stronger ties. During this phase, there has understandably been a strong focus on enhancing

It is noticeable that India–Vietnam relations have remained stable and had signs of development despite the new challenges in the global and regional environment due to COVID-19 pandemic. The authors of this article are of the view that one of the factors that help maintain the stability and development of bilateral relations in the current context is public diplomacy. Since the beginning of the twenty-first

Literature in Diplomatic Studies often reference a phenomenon where diplomats sent for too long to another country develop an affinity for their assigned country, sometimes to the detriment of their home country. This has profound implications when we examine diplomatic agents as personalities in their own right and their ability to perform as state agents. This article investigates the basis of such

The history of Indian diplomacy conceptualises diplomacy racially—as invented by the West—and restrictively—to offence. This is ‘analytic-violence’ and it explains the berating of Indians for mimicking diplomacy incorrectly or unthinkingly, and the deleting, dismissing, or denigrating, of diplomatic practices contradicting history’s conception. To relieve history from these offences, a new method is

Sreeram Chaulia, Trumped: Emerging Powers in a Post-American World, New Delhi: Bloomsbury India, 2019, pp. 256, ₹799 (Hard Cover). ISBN 978-93891-6592-0.

The first British application to join the European Economic Community (EEC) in July 1961 came at a time when India confronted an acute foreign exchange crisis and chronic trade deficits and when it was heavily dependent on the UK as a major market. Unlike the widely held belief, this article argues that India engaged Community institutions in a proactive and calibrated manner from the outset till de

Aparna Pande, Making India Great: The Promise of a Reluctant Global Power (Noida: Harper Collins, 2020), xxviii + 208 pp., ₹599, ISBN 978-93-5357-801-5 (Hardback).