Coming into age of the SCO

DAVID SPEEDIE, Director of U.S. Global Engagement Program at the Carnegie Council states that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) that was established in 2001 could no longer be dismissed as a sub-regional force given its toehold in Central Asia and potential to exert influence over 20% of the world's proven oil reserves and 40% of natural gas resources. In a Carnegie Council article, "Good Neighbours? The Shanghai Co-operation Organization" he concedes that a potential inclusion of Iran in the SCO would result in the organization being seen as an anti-American alliance and echo NATO's eastward expansion in the 90s and calls for increasing NATO's engagement with the SCO.

Liberal bloc

MARK LEONARD, Director at the European Council on Foreign Relations states that Beijing's diplomacy could be characterized as defensive multilateralism, where it joined international organizations such as the UN, WTO etc. to protect its own interests rather than to support the broader goals of those institutions and this approach had been relatively successful in changing the global order and reducing international pressure on states such as North Korea, Myanmar and Iran. In an op-ed in the Süddeutsche Zeitung,"How to deal with a more assertive China?", he calls for a more assertive Western approach that would preserve the liberal bias in the international system with the EU and the US acting in concert to break up illiberal international coalitions and focus on integrating states such as India, Indonesia, South Africa and Brazil into the liberal bloc.

Degrading the LeT network

STEPHEN TANKEL of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace profiles the growth of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) network from its origins during the anti-Soviet jihad to its current role as Pakistani military's strategic asset against India with a support network stretched throughout the subcontinent, the Gulf and the West. In a policy brief for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, "The Long Arm of Lashkar-e-Taiba", he concludes that the West had to compel Islamabad to use its leverage to prevent any LeT attack against India and also degrade its transnational network.

Aircraft Carriers: Hunter or Hunted?

ARUN PRAKASH, former Chief of Naval Staff tracks the growth of the aircraft carrier as the mainstay of major navies as well as the different paths in the arena of carriers and carrier aviation adopted by the major navies and what could come in the future. In a valedictory address as the Chairman of the National Maritime Foundation, "Aircraft Carriers in the 21st century: Doctrinal, Operational and Technological Challenge", he counters critics of aircraft carriers and states that optimal utilization of carrier deployment for sea control, protection to friendly units, power projection and survivability rendered them invaluable in any military's arsenal and the greater need was to overcome operational, doctrinal and technological challenges.

Festering sore

MUSTAFA QADRI states that the strong public support in Pakistan currently for its war against the Taliban insurgency within its territory arose due to a host of factors including a perception that Pakistan was fighting a war for its  existence, with the armed forces as brave guarantors of national security against foreign actors. In a briefing paper for the Pakistan Security Research Unit,"Public perceptions of Pakistan’s war against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan", he cautions that this prevented the Pakistani society from confronting the very real, and serious infiltration of militant, political Islam into mainstream society and effectively absolved the state and religious leaders from their culpability in creating the very environment that enabled the TTP to form and so rapidly expand throughout the tribal areas.

Counterinsurgency training for Afghans

SUMIT GANGULY, Ngee Ann Kongsi Chair in International Relations at the Rajaratnam School for International Studies, Singapore declares that the most effective and economical way to prepare Afghan troops in counterinsurgency operations was to rely on the Indian Army. In an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, "Let India Train The Afghan Army", he states that the Indian Army with its decades of counter-insurgency experience in multiple terrains, training capacities, cheap labor and training costs, cultural similarities, and its record of civil-military relations made it the ideal candidate to train the Afghan national army.

Basic banking in India

BINDU ANANTH and NACHIKET MOR lament the low penetration rate (20%) of bank accounts in India stating that the technology, on-ground capability, cost  and process maturity of banking intermediaries such as business correspondents do not warrant such a low access rate to finance. In an article in Mint, "Basic economic freedom: why can’t we get it done?", they argue that currently no single entity was currently accountable for the low penetration rate and recommend that Finance Minister designate the Reserve Bank of India to own the process, mandate Government payments through business correspondents and to direct banks to set up well-distributed automated access points.

How to remain Sheriff ?

ASHLEY TELLIS of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace calls on the US and the West to pursue twin objectives of deepening globalization while simultaneously investing in preserving its military superiority in the wake of increasing Chinese national power. In a paper for the German Marshall Fund "Power Shift: How the West Can Adapt and Thrive in an Asian Century", he prescribes increasing coordination between the transatlantic allies to ensure deepening economic interdependence, multifaceted diplomatic engagement of Beijing not being hostage to single-issue politics such as human rights etc. and continued enhancement of the national power and the constituent military prowess of the United States as the global arbiter of security.

Lumbering out of policy inertia on India's Financial sector

ARVIND SUBRAMANIAN, fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics recommends greater interaction between the government and the Reserve Bank of India on strategic and long-term issues such as the liberalization of the financial sector and that of the capital account. In an op-ed in The Business Standard, "What Globalization Strategy for India?", he states that a combination of factors such as greater availability of foreign capital seeking higher returns in India and a domestic political economy that favored foreign capital would ensure that India moved to a model based on reliance to foreign capital by default and this called for a jolt out of policy inertia and a greater co-ordination between the key stakeholders on strategic issues.

Planned Urbanization: The Singapore Story

Cheong Koon Hean, CEO of Singapore's Urban Redevelopment Authority draws lessons from Singapore's successful urbanization experience and states that sustainable urban development required first of all, a strategic long-term and forward-looking framework and then a judicious mix of strategic planning, environmental management and pragmatic approaches to technology. In an article for Chatham House monthly, "Future of Cities: Urban Opportunities", she outlines how the long-term framework guided multi-year plans across departments driving targeted infrastructure investments that deliver on goals for liveability and sustainability, and also states that these measures would ensure Singapore could deliver a reduction in carbon emissions of 16% by 2020.