Abhijit Iyer-Mitra is a research officer for the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies' Nuclear Security Programme and a contributing analyst for the geostrategic analysis community Wikistrat. He has a Master's degree from Monash University in international relations. His work focuses on foreign policy and strategy issues related to nuclear states.
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India’s Conservative Leader Modi Outmaneuvers Rival
India’s presumptive prime ministerial candidate strengthens his position in the Bharatiya Janata Party.
After a disastrous election defeat and a stint as absentee leader of the opposition, Lal Krishna Advani finally resigned from India's opposition conservative party on Monday at the culmination of its national conference held in Goa. That conference was meant to sew up…
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Cabinet Reshuffle Changes Little in India’s Political Outlook
Congress still copes with unsustainable state spending and a feudalist party structure.
Sunday saw one of the biggest midterm cabinet shakeups in India since the United Progressive Alliance formed the government in 2004. The reason it is considered "big" is largely due to the fact…
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India Sends Message to Washington From Tehran
Manmohan Singh’s presence at the Nonaligned Movement Summit was quite significant.
The Nonaligned Movement has historically been seen as something of a talk fest---high on statements, missing in action and lacking in cohesion. This week's summit in Tehran, while mostly living up to…
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The Great Farce of Pakistani Politics
The army, the judiciary and civilian government struggle for political supremacy.
Recent developments in Pakistan have been variously characterized as a "judicial coup," a "prelude to a coup" (or not, depending on the commentator), an anticorruption crusade, a personality clash, a vendetta, an intelligence agency conspiracy and a military-judicial collusion. This plethora of views is best encapsulated…
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China Plays Energy Security Card in India Relations
Energy cooperation between China and India throws up many geopolitical conundrums.
The Chinese and Indian state hydrocarbon monopolies signed a far reaching agreement last week envisaging cooperation across the gamut of activities from exploration to the point of sales. This brings into play several business synergies but geopolitically, it throws up many conundrums and opportunities. Two possibly…
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India Stops Hedging, Backs American Naval Strategy
India’s defense minister effectively throws his nation’s lot in with the United States.
Most dull speeches are ignored but a few mask statements of such enormity that their importance is lost. In that context, Indian defense minister Arackaparambil Kurien Antony's words…