‘Afghanistan Factor’ in India–Russia Relationship

India Quarterly, Volume 79, Issue 4, Page 575-593, December 2023.
Afghanistan has been an important factor in India–Russia ties. There was not much cooperation between them before 1979. However, in later years, the two countries had an intelligence-sharing mechanism along with Afghanistan in order to deal with their common security challenges which had close links with security situation in Afghanistan. In the 1990s, India–Russia supported their mutual fight against terrorism as Taliban-controlled Afghanistan became a common security challenge. In the current context, both countries have established institutional mechanisms to coordinate their Afghanistan policies. Their engagement with Taliban is ‘conditional’ while the two countries would continue to share intelligence and coordinate their respective Afghanistan policies since they still face similar security challenges from Afghanistan.

China’s Techno-Politics: The Impact on Belt and Road Partners

India Quarterly, Volume 79, Issue 3, Page 336-355, September 2023.
The impact of China’s Digital Silk Road (DSR) on countries signing the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a less explored area. This article argues that the repercussions of unregulated propagation of DSR on BRI countries are likely to go beyond economy and commerce because of the vastly different approach of China’s use of technology in its own governance. Since this aspect is inadequately covered in existing literature, an attempt is made to fill the gap. When external entities are allowed to setup large-scale digital networks, e-governance and e-commerce in technologically deficient countries of the Global South, the host country loses control over its digital data that such networks generate. Overdependence on technology of one nation can lead to a data monopoly with a potential impact on the entire polity. To what extent this hypothesis holds substance is the issue deliberated on in this article using inductive reasoning and qualitative methods.
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