Opinion News - Page 27
China recalibrates its Africa outreach: Insights from Wang Yi’s tour
Africa-first diplomacy remains central to Beijing’s worldview, but it is now accompanied by sharper risk assessment, a rebalancing from loans to trade and investment, and a clear effort to anchor China’s role in institutions rather than individual regimes
How Khamenei regime’s economic failures are bringing about its fall
Bazaar merchants and the agrarian class, traditionally loyalists of the regime, have joined the anti-regime movement. Massive corruption and the IRGC officials’ mafia-like control over the economy have led to resentment among the business class
Pakistan’s arms exports: Not an economic breakthrough, but a narrative project
Pakistan’s sale of JF-17 aircraft and other systems is not a transient burst of export activity, but a deliberate effort to convert battlefield narratives into strategic capital
China in Africa: Lessons for Delhi from Beijing’s Long Game in the Global South
It would be unfair to compare the roles of the two Asian powers, as India and China differ markedly in perspective and capability. Nevertheless, China’s extensive engagement with Africa offers valuable lessons for India
Moor’s last sigh: The grand strategy behind Trump’s Venezuela raid and Greenland grab
President Donald Trump’s coercive actions might be the hegemon’s final throw of the dice to bend to its will a system that is slowly going out of America’s control
How US Justice Department disclosures dismantle Pakistan’s ceasefire narrative
In trying to conceal losses at home while urgently advertising fear abroad, Pakistan has ended up fooling itself more than anyone else. The very lobbying effort meant to contain the crisis has become evidence of its fragility
How Trump has a strategy in his madness for Greenland
Greenland, a vast island, occupies a crucial geopolitical position, bridging the US and Europe and straddling the GIUK gap—a maritime passage linking the Arctic to the Atlantic. Rich deposits of oil, gas, and rare-earth minerals further enhance its strategic importance
India hosts 28th CSPOC: Strengthening parliamentary democracy, global cooperation in uncertain world
The Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth has emerged as a unique institution that upholds parliamentary independence and is non-partisan, even as it derives much from the Westminster system and traditions, and underscores the neutrality and authority of speakers
Why fall of Ayatollah would neither mean liberalism nor revival of Zoroastrianism for Iran
Iran’s past is admired precisely because it is mummified — culturally contained and politically non-threatening. This does not mean that the end of the theocratic regime would usher in a revival of the pre-Islamic past or the return of a Western-style democracy
Why Dhaka should revisit China’s sinister role in the 1971 war
The shadows of the past—specifically China’s initial resistance to Bengali sovereignty—offer a sobering lesson in 'realpolitik' that remains relevant even today
Trumpism and the way forward for India
The future trajectory of relations will depend heavily on how both nations manage their divergent economic and foreign policy priorities
Why world should ignore Trump’s mockery of global leaders
President Trump mocking foreign leaders publicly makes even neutral international public dislike his behaviour, and it has little tangible or intangible gain for the US, which he statedly aims to ‘make great again’
How German Chancellor Merz’s India visit carries a strategic message
Germany’s ‘Zeitenwende’ (strategic turning point) is no longer confined to Europe; it now extends to Asia, with India at its core
It’s not the ‘Don-Roe Doctrine’: Silly US interventionism validated Putin’s invasion and gave China a playbook
Donald Trump is not reviving the empire so much as exposing its limits. The very need to assert hemispheric dominance so explicitly suggests that such dominance is no longer taken for granted
Pakistan’s Gaza deception: How Gen Munir said yes, meant no, and fooled Trump
Islamabad’s response to the Gaza peacekeeping proposal reveals a familiar pattern: Say yes to Washington, signal no at home, and let someone else take the blame
Ukraine to Venezuela: India’s geopolitical strategy amidst global turbulence
The world has moved from a predictable, albeit tense, Cold War bipolarity to a fluid, contested system defined by rising powers, intertwined economies, technological competition, and challenges to traditional state power
Iran at the brink: Is the Islamic Republic losing control?
Internal fissures within the system are reportedly emerging, and internal strife is likely once the prospect of regime change becomes clearer. Democracy, if it comes, is likely to emerge in phases
‘Arise, awake’: Why Swami Vivekananda matters to Gen Z
If India is to stand tall on the world stage, the greatest challenge it faces is instilling a sense of idealism among Gen Z. Remembering Swami Vivekananda on his 163rd birth anniversary and his importance for the Indian youth
Power, law and empire: Seismic implications of American military operation in Venezuela
If the United States, the self-proclaimed defender of international law, can bypass that law, then others will too
America exits the world: What Trump’s multilateral retreat means for India
The global architecture of cooperation is in flux, and the stakes for emerging powers like India are high
Germany and India at 75: Significance of Chancellor Merz’s Delhi visit
Irrespective of global turbulence and shifting geopolitics, the India-Germany relationship remains on a firm wicket and is likely to weather such storms despite vulnerabilities and uncertainties
From response to readiness: The surge in India’s disaster management arc
With the arrival of 2026, India’s disaster management system stands more capable, more anticipatory and better integrated than at any point in the past
Panama and Venezuela, 36 years apart: How Bush and Trump used law to break law
George HW Bush invaded Panama after CIA agent Manuel Noriega turned against the US, while Donald Trump attacked Venezuela to remove Nicolás Maduro and seize its oil. Both attacks were illegal
US withdrawal from international organisations: Implications for global order
Donald Trump’s policy is aimed at strengthening American military prowess, but withdrawing from international commitments in the name of saving money will undoubtedly dismantle the structures that sustained US soft power
Has UN become obsolete? Why India needs its own sphere of influence
As great powers retreat from multilateralism and redraw their spheres of influence, the United Nations is no longer shaping the world — it is merely reflecting it
Venezuela raid shows airpower drives dominance in modern conflicts
As the US raid on Venezuela, the war in Ukraine, Op Sindoor, and conflicts in West Asia show, it is clear that airpower continues to be the dominant means of prosecuting military operations. Major armed forces around the world are spending more than half of their defence budgets on airpower
Iran under siege: How internal unrest and external pressure have pushed Khamenei regime to the brink
The widening divide between Iranian society and the regime is increasingly evident through repeated waves of protest
Head-on | Could Usha Vance, a practising Hindu, be next US First Lady?
Whether JD Vance and Usha occupy the White House, or a Democrat wins the next presidential election, US policy on India will continue to reflect its hegemonistic instinct
Trump’s dystopian order leaves Europe angry and exposed — but Bharat and China may have the last laugh
Donald Trump’s ‘madness’ threatens to push the world into a crisis rarely seen since World War II. But it does offer new openings for emerging powers long strangled by Western institutional lopsidedness, monopoly and hypocrisy
Disinformation, deepfakes, and Dhaka: Inside dangerous anti-India narrative in Bangladesh
For the region, Bangladesh serves as a reminder – a bleak one – that in an age of weaponised information, truth is often the first casualty