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Russia-Ukraine Crisis: Decade of Humiliation, Betrayal and Crossing the ‘Red line’
Europe, Featured, World

Russia-Ukraine Crisis: Decade of Humiliation, Betrayal and Crossing the ‘Red line’

NATO was at its borders but the straw that broke the camel's back was always going to be Ukraine and the attempted regime change in the resource-rich Kazakhstan.For Vladimir Putin, the 1990s was a decade of humiliation as Russia was weak and one can even blame its President Yeltsin for failing to understand the Realpolitik of the U.S.The United States could have improved its relationship with Russia after the Cold War, instead, it plotted to weaken and demean a powerful nation by expanding NATO. The last century saw many epochal moments perhaps unprecedented in the previous one thousand years. The last century witnessed the First and the Second World Wars, the end of colonialism, and the birth of many nations in Asia and the African continent. If the first and Second World Wars def...
2022 QUAD summit – Agenda, Intent, and Future goals
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2022 QUAD summit – Agenda, Intent, and Future goals

The US is going with QUAD and the countries in the region to ensure that its supply chain in critical technologies remains intact. PM Modi's visit has ensured that India can solicit the technologies it needs without depending on any one country.India and other democratic countries cannot afford to simply watch Chinese advances in the South China Sea, weaponizing artificial islands, changing rules-based order or taking over other nations unilaterally. International Politics is seeing a fundamental change today after the end of the Unipolar world. Former US President Donald Trump's 'America First' and inward looking policy made the world vulnerable. Further, absence of a rules-based world order, threat in the South China Sea, control of key resources and supply chains,...
QUAD at the crossroads – Path of Pragmatism or Antagonism?
Asia, Featured, World

QUAD at the crossroads – Path of Pragmatism or Antagonism?

QUAD as it is, today stands in a turbulent environment following the Russia-Ukraine war. Many had suggested the relevance of QUAD going down but it seems like always, nothing is too predictable in international relations. However, while supporters celebrate the obvious optics, there is more to it. The USA - Their push to isolate Russia has not worked that well outside of the Euro region. Much like the same understanding drawn on blanks, the US has now finally admitted and decided not to push India repeatedly over its relationship with Russia. Both gains from this as QUAD or the anti-China Indo Pacific retains its relevance and the bilateral ties between them remain robust. The US now intends to reduce the Indian dependence on Russian tech while also enduring New Delhi's nation...
Analysis | Russia’s Transition from the Soviet Union (SU) to the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU)
Analysis, Asia, Europe, Featured, World

Analysis | Russia’s Transition from the Soviet Union (SU) to the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU)

Under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, Russia re-emerged as an economic and military power in the Eurasian region by forming strategic alliances.Russia formed the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) by merging the Custom Union and CESThe goal of the EAEU is to achieve free movement of people, goods, capital and people similar to that of the European Union and emerge as an alternative economic force to former Soviet republics.The declining power of NATO and the rising power of organizations such as the SCO and EAEU will further help Russia achieve its interests in the Eurasian region. Introduction The disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991 led to significant shifts in the international power structure. The downfall of communism, domination of the US and capitalism forced Russia ...
Role of Cryptocurrencies in the Russia-Ukraine Crisis
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Role of Cryptocurrencies in the Russia-Ukraine Crisis

(Image credit: CSIS) Cryptocurrency and block chain technologies have the ability to change the way the world uses money and financial assets, especially in times of war. The role of the encoding currency in the Russian invasion of Ukraine is one of the first major examples of the influence of encoding technology and the scrap chain on the political geography and the unique features of crypto-technology, such as increased privacy and portability, distinguish it from the traditional currency of fiat because it is not supported by physical or third-party goods. These characteristics allow individuals and organizations to use and manage their money in new ways. Ukraine, Russia and its citizens are now using the cryptocurrencies to raise money, avoid sanctions, and take the financial risks...
Why India needs to invest in Battery manufacturing on a war footing
Analysis, Asia, Featured, World

Why India needs to invest in Battery manufacturing on a war footing

(Image for representational purpose only) Wars have been fought, regimes changed and non-state actors used in order to control the oil and gas markets of the world. The energy market which was dependent on oil and gas so far is facing a transformation due to the EV revolution. It goes without saying that whoever controls the manufacture of batteries, its resources, research and innovation will control the geopolitics of the future. The US, Russia, the Middle East and China are in the race to control the battery market with China already racing ahead. Some IR experts have opined that the war in Ukraine is in fact to control the supply of oil and gas to Europe and reduce the dependence of the continent on Russia which is supplying gas to Germany and other countries of Europe through i...
Confucius Institutes: Soft-power or a Trojan Horse to push China’s worldview
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Confucius Institutes: Soft-power or a Trojan Horse to push China’s worldview

Communist China created the Confucius Institutes (CIs) in 2004. It is China’s National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (NOCFL), also known as Hanban. The Institute's aim is “establishing non-profit public institutions which aim to promote Chinese language and culture in foreign countries”. They teach Mandarin, finance summer camps in China, support cultural events and grant scholarships to foreign students. The Institute is present in 162 countries with more than 500 institutes worldwide. China plans to open more Confucius Institutes in Latin American and Caribbean countries and has committed to provide 5,000 government scholarships and 3,000 training locations in China over the next three years for the students from these countries. Confucius Institutes have grown f...
Human Rights Violations by China in Tibet
Asia, Featured, World

Human Rights Violations by China in Tibet

Introduction Tibet is a highly disputed region located between the mountainous borders of China, India, Nepal, and Bhutan. In 1950, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) invaded the Tibetan region and seized control by force. Before 1950 Tibet was largely isolated from the rest of the world. It constituted a unique cultural and religious community, marked by the Tibetan language and Tibetan Buddhism. Little efforts were made to facilitate communication with outsiders, and also the economic development was minimal. Tibet was invaded by China in 1950; a year after the communist party began its rule in China. Tibetans were forced to sign a "Seventeen Point Agreement for Peaceful Liberation of Tibet" in 1951, which was used as a legal document to validate its illegal occupation of Tibet. ...
G7 target Russia over Global Food & Oil Crisis
Europe, Featured, World

G7 target Russia over Global Food & Oil Crisis

G7 leaders on Sunday were joined by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky where the members condemned Russian President Putin for shaming Russia and its people. The statement comes a day ahead of Russia's Victory Day Parade where it will celebrate its victory over Nazi Germany in the second world war. The G7 member-states committed to help Ukraine by ‘macroeconomic stability in the face of the challenges posed by the full-scaled Russian invasion, massive destruction of critical infrastructure and disruption of traditional shipping routes for Ukrainian exports’. The leaders opined that Putin’s struggle is inflicting world financial disruptions, impacting the safety of world vitality provide, fertiliser and meals  provision, and the functioning of world provide chains typically...
Nuclear War Threats by Russia, China, Pakistan and North Korea – Empty Rhetoric or Cause for Alarm?
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Nuclear War Threats by Russia, China, Pakistan and North Korea – Empty Rhetoric or Cause for Alarm?

“A nuclear war can never be won and must never be fought"President Ronald Reagan Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare and thermonuclear warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction. In contrast to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can produce destruction in a much shorter time and can have long-lasting radiological effects. A major nuclear exchange would have long-term effects, primarily from the fallout of radiation, and could also lead to a "nuclear winter" that could last for decades, centuries, or even millennia after the attack. According to the Arms Control Association it is estimated that the world’s nine nuclear states China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, ...