India Quarterly, Volume 79, Issue 3, Page 440-442, September 2023.
Manpreet Sethi (ed.), The Global Nuclear Landscape: Energy, Non-Proliferation and Disarmament. KW Publishers, 2022, pp. 306, ₹1156, ISBN: 9789391490539.
Category Archives: India Quarterly
Book review: E. Sridharan (ed.), Eastward Ho? India’s Relations with the Indo-Pacific
India Quarterly, Volume 79, Issue 3, Page 444-446, September 2023.
E. Sridharan (ed.), Eastward Ho? India’s Relations with the Indo-Pacific. Orient BlackSwan, 2021, pp. 487+ Bibliography and Index, ₹1825, ISBN 9789354420542.
E. Sridharan (ed.), Eastward Ho? India’s Relations with the Indo-Pacific. Orient BlackSwan, 2021, pp. 487+ Bibliography and Index, ₹1825, ISBN 9789354420542.
Book review: Prachi Aggarwal, China’s Energy Security: The Journey from Self-Sufficiency to Global Investor
India Quarterly, Volume 79, Issue 3, Page 447-450, September 2023.
Prachi Aggarwal, China’s Energy Security: The Journey from Self-Sufficiency to Global Investor. Singapore, 2022, pp. 225, €109.99, ISBN: 978-981-19-2192-6.
Prachi Aggarwal, China’s Energy Security: The Journey from Self-Sufficiency to Global Investor. Singapore, 2022, pp. 225, €109.99, ISBN: 978-981-19-2192-6.
The Chinese Love Affair with Indian Films: A Promising Future
India Quarterly, Volume 79, Issue 3, Page 370-386, September 2023.
This cross-sectional study examines the acceptance of Indian cinema among Chinese cinephiles to determine how the audience perceives and is influenced after watching Indian films. Researchers surveyed the local Chinese audience and collected 2,129 valid self-structured e-questionnaires. Respondents belonged to Mainland China. Results showed significant characteristics that make Indian movies attractive to about 50% of the Chinese population. Findings also indicate that Chinese people still welcome good stories from India in blockbuster Bollywood films, despite tense Sino-Indian relations. Indian cinema plays a significant role as a soft power bridging both nations. The Indian film industry will continue to evolve to satisfy the audience’s needs in the future.
This cross-sectional study examines the acceptance of Indian cinema among Chinese cinephiles to determine how the audience perceives and is influenced after watching Indian films. Researchers surveyed the local Chinese audience and collected 2,129 valid self-structured e-questionnaires. Respondents belonged to Mainland China. Results showed significant characteristics that make Indian movies attractive to about 50% of the Chinese population. Findings also indicate that Chinese people still welcome good stories from India in blockbuster Bollywood films, despite tense Sino-Indian relations. Indian cinema plays a significant role as a soft power bridging both nations. The Indian film industry will continue to evolve to satisfy the audience’s needs in the future.
Book review: Kevin Rudd, The Avoidable War: The Dangers of a Catastrophic Conflict Between the US and Xi Jinping’s China
India Quarterly, Volume 79, Issue 3, Page 435-439, September 2023.
Kevin Rudd, The Avoidable War: The Dangers of a Catastrophic Conflict Between the US and Xi Jinping’s China. Public Affairs, 2022, pp. 356 (electronic), ISBN: 978-1541701304.
Kevin Rudd, The Avoidable War: The Dangers of a Catastrophic Conflict Between the US and Xi Jinping’s China. Public Affairs, 2022, pp. 356 (electronic), ISBN: 978-1541701304.
Book review: Satinder Kumar Lambah, In Pursuit of Peace: India–Pakistan Relations Under Six Prime Ministers
India Quarterly, Volume 79, Issue 3, Page 442-444, September 2023.
Satinder Kumar Lambah, In Pursuit of Peace: India–Pakistan Relations Under Six Prime Ministers. Penguin Random House, 2023, pp. 384, ₹799, ISBN 9780670097944.
Satinder Kumar Lambah, In Pursuit of Peace: India–Pakistan Relations Under Six Prime Ministers. Penguin Random House, 2023, pp. 384, ₹799, ISBN 9780670097944.
Cooperation on Non-Traditional Security: India–Pakistan and the Locust Attack
India Quarterly, Volume 79, Issue 3, Page 356-369, September 2023.
The two nuclear-armed states of South Asia, India and Pakistan, besides being arch-rivals face common non-traditional security challenges. A recent example indicates that, despite having differences, they cooperated to successfully deal with the locust upsurge of 2019–2020. This study looks at why and how they arrived at joint efforts to thwart this non-traditional security threat. To set the context for this, it also explores the phases of the locust cycle and the reason why it constitutes a potential threat to the food security of both India and Pakistan. The study finds that the chances of cooperation between hostile states may increase if there are mutual threats in the non-traditional security realm. It further concludes that the chances of cooperation between the belligerent states increase if they are part of regional and international mechanisms to deal with the threats.
The two nuclear-armed states of South Asia, India and Pakistan, besides being arch-rivals face common non-traditional security challenges. A recent example indicates that, despite having differences, they cooperated to successfully deal with the locust upsurge of 2019–2020. This study looks at why and how they arrived at joint efforts to thwart this non-traditional security threat. To set the context for this, it also explores the phases of the locust cycle and the reason why it constitutes a potential threat to the food security of both India and Pakistan. The study finds that the chances of cooperation between hostile states may increase if there are mutual threats in the non-traditional security realm. It further concludes that the chances of cooperation between the belligerent states increase if they are part of regional and international mechanisms to deal with the threats.
Deconstructing the Metanarratives of China’s Engagement with the African Continent: African Agency and Competing Narratives
India Quarterly, Volume 79, Issue 3, Page 318-335, September 2023.
China’s relationship with the African continent has faced extensive critique over the past few decades, with most explanations broadly falling under the umbrella of three metanarratives: a ‘developing partner’, an ‘economic competitor’ or a ‘hegemonic actor’. Although these labels help to make intelligible the broad intentions of China’s interaction on the continent, they unwittingly gloss over the importance of choice and agency that the African nations continue to hold in deciding their future trajectories. Essentially, deconstructing these narratives to uncover the principal characteristics of China’s approach to the African continent is the central puzzle of this study. The study further questions the extent to which the agency of African nations determines their relationship with China. This article essentially proposes that while each of the three descriptions provides an insight into the various facets of the Sino-African relationship, none of them captures the whole picture, and instead, China’s approach to the African continent is best understood by its pragmatism, which is guided by its political aspirations and economic objectives. Furthermore, the study argues that the agency of each African nation also plays a part in shaping how China’s pragmatic approach further translates into one of the three metanarratives. The article relies on an inductive exploration of its central research question and uses a variety of sources, which include data from international institutions and governments, government releases and secondary literature, amongst others.
China’s relationship with the African continent has faced extensive critique over the past few decades, with most explanations broadly falling under the umbrella of three metanarratives: a ‘developing partner’, an ‘economic competitor’ or a ‘hegemonic actor’. Although these labels help to make intelligible the broad intentions of China’s interaction on the continent, they unwittingly gloss over the importance of choice and agency that the African nations continue to hold in deciding their future trajectories. Essentially, deconstructing these narratives to uncover the principal characteristics of China’s approach to the African continent is the central puzzle of this study. The study further questions the extent to which the agency of African nations determines their relationship with China. This article essentially proposes that while each of the three descriptions provides an insight into the various facets of the Sino-African relationship, none of them captures the whole picture, and instead, China’s approach to the African continent is best understood by its pragmatism, which is guided by its political aspirations and economic objectives. Furthermore, the study argues that the agency of each African nation also plays a part in shaping how China’s pragmatic approach further translates into one of the three metanarratives. The article relies on an inductive exploration of its central research question and uses a variety of sources, which include data from international institutions and governments, government releases and secondary literature, amongst others.
India–US Strategic Cooperation through the LEMOA Lens
India Quarterly, Volume 79, Issue 3, Page 304-317, September 2023.
Since Narendra Modi took office, India and the United States’ strategic ties have become stronger. It took almost 12 years to sign the ‘Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA)’. The LEMOA offers a framework for governing the logistical assistance, supplies and services exchanged between the Indian and US forces on a reciprocal and reimbursable basis. Concerns in India’s strategic elite and political class over the endangerment of India’s strategic autonomy and compromising India’s sovereignty for a long time prevented the execution of this agreement. However, after the BJP government came to power in 2014, it negotiated this agreement with the United States. India has strategically moved closer to the United States by signing this agreement, which will have a lot of positive effects on the development of India’s strategic capabilities and the strengthening of Indian defence forces’ operational capabilities. It will also allow India to expand its strategic influence in the Indo-Pacific region. This study analyses the LEMOA, its implications for India’s strategic autonomy, and its subsequent implications for expanding India’s strategic footprint in the region.
Since Narendra Modi took office, India and the United States’ strategic ties have become stronger. It took almost 12 years to sign the ‘Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA)’. The LEMOA offers a framework for governing the logistical assistance, supplies and services exchanged between the Indian and US forces on a reciprocal and reimbursable basis. Concerns in India’s strategic elite and political class over the endangerment of India’s strategic autonomy and compromising India’s sovereignty for a long time prevented the execution of this agreement. However, after the BJP government came to power in 2014, it negotiated this agreement with the United States. India has strategically moved closer to the United States by signing this agreement, which will have a lot of positive effects on the development of India’s strategic capabilities and the strengthening of Indian defence forces’ operational capabilities. It will also allow India to expand its strategic influence in the Indo-Pacific region. This study analyses the LEMOA, its implications for India’s strategic autonomy, and its subsequent implications for expanding India’s strategic footprint in the region.
The Vanguard Brigade: An Appraisal of the United Nations’ Rapid Deployment Capabilities
India Quarterly, Volume 79, Issue 3, Page 405-424, September 2023.
Seventy-six years after its establishment, the United Nations (UN) today stands at a critical juncture where it must undertake radical reforms to remain relevant in the changing face of the twenty-first century. Such reforms are essential to prevent the UN from becoming redundant and being pushed to the sidelines of great power politics in the emerging multipolar world. While there has been much political clamour among the international community calling for the restructuring of the UN Security Council, which is also in the interest of India, an appraisal of the UN’s military capability to intervene in Contemporary Armed Conflicts under Chapter VII of its Charter needs to be assessed. The absence of a standing reserve and the procedural complexities involved in deriving the manpower for peacekeeping operations from the member states have undermined the UN’s capability to swiftly intervene in an escalating armed conflict even after getting approval from the Security Council. At present, a plethora of factors have resulted in the increasing volatility of contemporary armed conflicts. Under these circumstances, the UN’s capacity for swift intervention after the outbreak of a conflict has become even more relevant today than in the past. The creation of a UN Vanguard Brigade based on the recommendations given by the 2015 High-Level Independent Panel on Peace Operations is a major step in that direction. Using a case analysis of the Rwandan genocide, this article critically examines the challenges of the vanguard brigade to optimise the UN’s capability for rapid deployment of peacekeepers for swift intervention in an escalating Armed Conflict. The article is largely descriptive and analytical, using predominantly secondary sources and UN documents.
Seventy-six years after its establishment, the United Nations (UN) today stands at a critical juncture where it must undertake radical reforms to remain relevant in the changing face of the twenty-first century. Such reforms are essential to prevent the UN from becoming redundant and being pushed to the sidelines of great power politics in the emerging multipolar world. While there has been much political clamour among the international community calling for the restructuring of the UN Security Council, which is also in the interest of India, an appraisal of the UN’s military capability to intervene in Contemporary Armed Conflicts under Chapter VII of its Charter needs to be assessed. The absence of a standing reserve and the procedural complexities involved in deriving the manpower for peacekeeping operations from the member states have undermined the UN’s capability to swiftly intervene in an escalating armed conflict even after getting approval from the Security Council. At present, a plethora of factors have resulted in the increasing volatility of contemporary armed conflicts. Under these circumstances, the UN’s capacity for swift intervention after the outbreak of a conflict has become even more relevant today than in the past. The creation of a UN Vanguard Brigade based on the recommendations given by the 2015 High-Level Independent Panel on Peace Operations is a major step in that direction. Using a case analysis of the Rwandan genocide, this article critically examines the challenges of the vanguard brigade to optimise the UN’s capability for rapid deployment of peacekeepers for swift intervention in an escalating Armed Conflict. The article is largely descriptive and analytical, using predominantly secondary sources and UN documents.