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Asia as an idea has been constantly evolving and changing over the years making the conception of an integrated Asia hard to define. Asia is rather a conglomeration of diverse regions and the idea of an Asian "culture" and a set of Asian "values" as a singularly defined coherent alternative does not exist. Similarly, Asia does not adhere to a particular notion of an ideal state. The "Asian Century" was essentially formulated on the basis of developments in certain parts of Asia-the remarkable economic growth in East and South East Asia; the emerging significance of China and India in global affairs and the rapid positive demographic trends as compared to those in the rest of the world. Asia's success story, however, has overlooked failed states, struggling economies, dysfunctional infrastructures and disparities in the distribution of resources. Large parts of Asia continue to be mired in issues of sectarian violence, governance, legitimacy, dignity and security of human life, racism and intolerance-all in a stark contrast to the expectations of Asia as an emerging model. Based on the projections of the Asian performance in various spheres, the papers in this volume engage with a number of issues like pan-Asianism, reform movements across Asia, routes and roads, infrastructure and technological development, leadership and legitimacy, governance and institutions and the rise of China.

Since the outbreak of the Arab Spring the Middle East is going through a turbulent phase as violence, internal conflicts and civil wars are ravaging a number of countries. Even relatively stable Gulf monarchies are not untouched by the impact of popular demand for change. For India, the Persian Gulf is an extended neighbourhood and the region of vital importance receives scant attention. In the light of the Arab Spring, Iranian nuclear deal and the rise of ISIS, it has become impossible for India to be indifferent to the changing internal dynamics. This anthology presents a broad view of the social, political and economic dimensions of the Gulf region and their relevance and significance through issues such as renewable energy, sustainable development, and education policy.

The end of the Cold War and fundamental changes taking places in international system has altered the nature of armed conflicts. Since the late 1980s, the main threat to regional and global peace has not come from major inter-state confrontations, but from another source: internal conflicts, conflicts occurring within the borders of states. These internal conflicts often involve ethnic and cultural tensions, religious and tribal rivalries, as well as domestic power struggles for governance. Internal conflicts reflect fundamental clashes between peoples of different ethnic groups, different cultures, and even different civilizations. Distorted images, excessive fear and distrust, fundamental divergences on political, economic and religious values, which are products of centuries, are all in play. Most of the time, the absence of a clear battlefield and the involvement of multiple parties with uneven force make these situations even more problematic. Therefore, internal conflicts are rather difficult to manage and resolve. This volume examines the challenges in post conflict peacebuilding efforts and the difficulties in building a sustainable peace in societies recently destabilized by internal armed conflicts. Various issues in post-conflict peace building efforts such as democratization, governance, reconciliation, DDR, security sector reforms, education, reconstruction etc. are analysed with case studies from Nepal, Sir Lanka, Cote d'Ivoire's, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Philippines, Colombia, East Timor, Liberia and India."

Papers presented at the International Seminar on Beyond Strategies: Cultural Dynamics in Asian Connection, held at Kolkata in March 2013.

While security concerns have assumed salience across the globe, Afghanistan's proximity to Central Asia has meant that security or perceptions of insecurity dominate the strategic discourse in the region. Issues that stand out include the challenges that the Central Asian states will face in terms of stability, ethnic tensions, radicalization of youth, destabilization of commodity flows and energy security and the impact that these could have on Central Asian society. However, security cannot just be defined in terms of security at the borders. It needs to be defined in 'cosmopolitan' terms through an array of issues like movements across borders, radicalism within states, the sharing of water, and various multilateral attempts at combating insecurity. This volume is an attempt to focus on some of these issues that reflect on perceptions of security principally from Indian and Uzbek positions. It examines shifts over the last two decades, from debates on the geopolitical importance of the region from a great game perspective to the salience of new engagements within the international arena.

Most of the articles presented at the International Seminar on Eurasian Politics: Ideas, Institutions and External Relations, held at Jawaharlal Nehru University during 1-2 November 2012.

Papers presented at a conference held at Kolkata in January 2012.

This book originally began as a series of articles, at the behest of the author's son, for the website Bharat Rakshak. As the articles flowed, the author was the persuaded by his children to expand these articles into something that more resembles a book. It was (and is)intended for his grandchildren to know about one part of their heritage-a part that will likely not recur in the family tree. It was not intended for general publication, but the children convinced the author otherwise. Perhaps the first couple of chapters could be a reader for all grandchildren of today because every family came from similar villages-all over India. It also gives a feel for the motivation, and the acceptance of the-environment and facilities that were far from adequate to achieve the goal of being a fighter pilot. It is more "episodic"than such works usually are, as it has been written at the age of 80, from the heart and from memory. It is hoped that you will enjoy it.

Since the emergence of post-Soviet states in the Eurasian space there has been considerable reflection on the role that the state has played in the local and global arenas. Transformation from being part of the 'Soviet' to independent existence has meant state involvement in the forging of new nations out of disparate identities based on the criteria of national languages, the reinterpretation of historical events, depiction of personality-centric themes, the portrayal of illustrative careers and the rhetoric of development. This volume focuses on some of the aspects of this involvement through studies of the performative role of the Central Asian states in the arena of politics, diplomacy, culture, historical memory, and their interaction within the Eurasian space. It reflects on ways in which the state reacts to society and how discourses in the field of economy, society and culture dovetail with or diverge from the political discourse about state-building. Relations between formal institutions and informal structures; emerging conceptions of democracy in the context of the Tulip Revolution in Kyrgyzstan and the disruptive events in western Kazakhstan during the twentieth anniversary of the republic's independence; the nature of bilateral and multilateral alignments among regional and interregional actors are some of the aspects through which the role of the state has been examined by the authors. The volume seeks to address the question of how the state acts as an agent of influence and control not just on performative traditions but also in the creation of a single community as the basis for a nation.

"Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies, Kolkata; [in collaboration with] Institute of Foreign Policy Studies; Centre for Pakistan and West Asian Studies; Calcutta University, Kolkata."

India and Pakistan have both never really accepted each other's existence. Their ties have been characterised by a lingering hostility and a pronounced qualitative and quantitative military imbalance in favour of India. Additionally, India took the lead in developing nuclear weapons while Pakistan only seriously embarked on this endeavour after India had already conducted its "peaceful nuclear explosion" in 1974. Having lost half of their country in 1971, and realising that they could never really hope to match India in conventional military might, Pakistan embarked on nuclear weapons development in the early 1970s more as a necessity rather than as a need. Despite adopting the more difficult route of uranium enrichment, Pakistan proved virtually unstoppable. While China provided some assistance to Pakistan, the United States maintained a marked ambivalence towards her quest for nuclear weapons - it sometimes applied sanctions against Pakistan while at other times, it opted to ignore what was happening by turning a blind eye. The weaponisation of their nuclear capability in 1998 led India and Pakistan to venture into the realm of doctrinal rethinking. Commencing with a revision of the conventional military doctrines, this led to India publishing its draft nuclear doctrine whereas Pakistan preferred ambiguity. The essential consideration herein was on how the conventional military thinking of both the countries has been influenced by the availability of nuclear weapons in their respective inventories. Along with this process of doctrinal evolution, both countries were required to establish viable and internationally acceptable nuclear weapon control systems. The doctrinal evolution was responsible for inducing several systemic changes in their armed forces, and their entire military system had to undergo significant changes. Simultaneously, these led to a fresh assessment of the comparative nuclear military potential of the two countries and how this could possibly be employed in a future conflict.

Right from the Himalayan hermit kingdoms of Nepal and Bhutan to the island and archipelago countries of Sri Lanka and the Maldives, the sheer variety of South Asia not only in geographic terms, but also in terms of culture, language and tradition is unparalleled. A wide array of religious beliefs existing in the region alongside distinctive mind-sets, tend to differentiate the countries that make up South Asia. The divisions however, of the region among countries are not the same as the divisions among cultures/religions. This book titled: Transforming South Asia: Imperatives for Action is the outcome of serious deliberations among well-known scholars, diplomats and policymakers at the Third Conference of the Asian Relations Conference Series organized by Indian Council of World Affairs in collaboration with Association of Asia Scholars in March 2012. Papers presented in the conference were thoroughly revised before publication and editors acknowledge with gratitude these insightful contributions. Most contributors to this volume believe in the pertinence of regional integration amongst various South Asian nations. Specifically, the volume sheds considerable light on the issue of regionalization and co-operation as tools to achieve the much longed for transformation in South Asia. Experts do not shy away from examining issues of conflict and how border disputes have often marred the positive spirit of regionalization as also other mechanisms of SAARC in its day-to-day functioning. Therefore an effort to present the complex reality objectively is visible. Contributors also underscore India's role in regionalization of South Asia as being far more pragmatic since it has strengthened local synergies, especially at the level of their civil societies.

India-Nepal Relations are unique for reasons ranging from geographical contiguity to intense cultural bonding. We share extensive institutional and social relationships. Cultural, economic and geographical factors as well as the common bond of a shared religion have had a great influence on bilateral relations. Despite some turbulence, India-Nepal relations have remained close, stable and mutually beneficial. And yet, as two sovereign nations, both India and Nepal are naturally guided by their national interests in cultural, economic and security issues. In this context a comprehensive analysis of the Indo-Nepal relations with their domestic determinants is of immense importance. The objective of this collection of essays is to provide a detailed analysis of the legal complexities that exist between Nepal and India and to analyse the major problems from an international legal perspective. It is hoped that this volume will fill the significant gap that exists in the literature on this subject, which is devoted more to political and economic issues than to legal ones. There is virtually no work which thoroughly examines the major international legal issues relating to Indo-Nepal relations.

While the strategic dynamics in the IOR are complex and involve many powers there is little doubt that the "strategic triangle" involving the US, China and India is one of the key traditional security issues facing the IOR. Given Sri Lanka's geopolitically significant location in the IOR this strategic triangle is bound to have an impact on its national interests and security. The central questions raised by this volume are the following: 1) What are the prospects of competition and cooperation within the strategic triangle? 2) What structure or pattern will the triangular relations assume? 3) How can stability be maintained in the triangular relationship in the interest of peace in the IOR? and 4) What would be the impact of this strategic triangle on a small country such as Sri Lanka situated in a geopolitically significant location in the IOR? The dynamics of the US-China-India strategic triangle in the IOR will be complicated, containing elements of both competition and cooperation. The research contained in the substantive chapters of this volume present a multiplicity of views on the possible patterns that the strategic triangle can assume. Based on Harry Harding's typology of the strategic triangle in international affairs, these include: one mediating the conflict between the other two; two-against-one; and all-working-together. The multiplicity of patterns that the strategic triangle could assume indicate that there is likely to be considerable fluctuation in its structure. What is important in maintaining stability is that the competition is not allowed to become unmanageable, and the fostering of cooperation based on common interests. The US-China-India strategic triangle poses Sri Lanka as a country situated in a geopolitically significant location in the IOR with both challenges and opportunities. The most fundamental challenge is posed by the tendency of each of these three major powers to subordinate Sri Lanka to their grand strategic objectives and interaction with each other. The fundamental opportunity presented to Sri Lanka by the strategic triangle is that of using its geopolitical importance to each of these three major powers by virtue of its location in the IOR to its own advantage in a way that best serves its national interests.

Unmanned aerial systems, popularly known as drones, have been in the news for all sorts of reasons-good and bad. The media has focussed equally on them for their use in hunting down terrorists and quickly eliminating them, as also for the inadvertent killing of innocent civilians and collateral damage to private property. Infringement of sovereignty is another pertinent area of international concern. Though historically associated with military missions, drones are increasingly proving their utility for internal security and disaster management. Lately, civilian and commercial uses are also proliferating. Indeed, drones have truly become a versatile flying platform. As an aerial machine, drones have started encroaching upon the common-user air space and are striving to integrate their operations with manned military aircraft and civil airliners. The problems of air traffic management and compliance of safety measures are formidable while civil and commercial uses infringe upon personal privacy and property rights. Third-party liability is another important issue for settlement. Comprehensive regulations to handle incumbent problems are not yet in place even as drones are racing ahead in technological development and operational mandates. This book will find interested audience among managers of aviation and air space, as well as persons from the Air Forces worldwide. It will also be of relevance to practising lawyers on air litigation, scholars of air law, as well as the aware layman.

This is an explosive and topical book about the one threat that is exercising the minds of security planners the world over - the looming threat from a rising and increasingly assertive China. China is emerging as a global superpower and a regional hegemon. Its economy that grew at a scorching, double-digit pace for two decades is now slowing down. What does the current phase of Chinese aggression against all its neighbours signify? Will China engage in conflict? if so when and where could that conflict occur? This book is a structured net assessment of China's military power by a reputed and well-known Indian military analyst. The growth of Chinese military power has been examined with emphasis on how it primarily affects India. The book analyses how India must respond. It has an exhaustively researched section on how the Chinese PLA has performed in actual combat since 1949, and a detailed analysis of the evolution of China's military doctrines and strategic culture. With this as a backdrop, there is a detailed chapter each on the structure and modernisation of the PLA, the PLAN and PLAAF. The most dangerous for India is the exponential growth in the Chinese Airpower (PLAAF). China has already changed Asia's balance of power. The Gulf War in 1990 had shown to China how backward it was in terms of military technology and weaponry. A radical transformation in Chinese military thought and practice led to a transformation towards introduction and absorption of latest technology. This has been accompanied by a ruthless reduction in manpower. The dynamic unleashed by the Chinese has prompted the biggest military buildup in Asia since World War II. China's nuclear force structure and employment doctrines as well as its military industrial complex are examined and the strength and Chinese weaknesses underlined. The crux of this book lies in the concluding chapters on Alternative Economic and Military Futures for China. Whether China will engage in conflict is not so much a question of "if" but "when". It will largely be dictated by the performance of the Chinese economy. China will initiate a conflict when it feels its Comprehensive National Power (CNP) has become sufficiently strong in relative terms. This could well happen by the middle of the next decade, i.e. 2025. This book is a must read for military professionals and laymen alike.

What are the implications of a rapidly rising China for India, and the rest of the world? How will the Sino-Indian relations unfold in the future? What are India's options? These questions were addressed in our first volume published in 2010 by writers who included former senior civil servants, academicians, and military experts. Continuing the effort are writers to the second volume, and we are sure that their findings will be useful to the policy planners as well as the research scholars both in the country and abroad.The scholars of the Chennai Centre for China Studies (C3S), a non-profit public policy think tank in Chennai devoted exclusively to China Studies, focus on analysis of contemporary economic, political, strategic, and international issues relating to China. Its website www.c3sindia.org provides a forum for specialists in India and abroad to closely examine the relevant issues.