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871. Why India Won’t Play Its ‘Tibet Card’

Author:
Sudha Ramachandran
Publication Date:
05-2018
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
China Brief
Institution:
The Jamestown Foundation
Abstract:
Upon coming to power in May 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) adopted a more muscular approach to China than its predecessors. As part of this, it was not averse to using the Dalai Lama and the CTA to gain leverage in its dealings with China. Its recent move to put distance between itself and Dharamsala reflects an understanding that playing the ‘Tibet card’ brought India no benefits. In fact, the failure of the BJP’s four-year gambit reaffirms what many Indian diplomats and scholars have been saying for decades: there is no ‘Tibet card’ for India to play.
Topic:
International Relations, Diplomacy, Bilateral Relations, and Territorial Disputes
Political Geography:
China, India, Asia, and Tibet

872. Le capitalisme de connivence en Inde sous Narendra Modi (Crony Capitalism in India under Narendra Modi)

Author:
Christophe Jaffrelot
Publication Date:
09-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales (CERI)
Abstract:
Business and politics in India have been closely connected since the colonial era, when entrepreneurs financed politicians who, in exchange, spared them some of the bureaucratic red tape. This proximity has endured after independence, even if Nehru’s official socialism subjected it to some constraints. Far from mitigating corruption, economic liberalization during the 1990s actually amplified it when large investors, attracted by the opening of the Indian market, paid huge bribes to political leaders, who often became businessmen themselves and forced public banks to lend to industrialists close to them, while businessmen were elected to Parliament, increasing insider trading. As it is observed in the modern era under Narendra Modi, be it at the national level and in his state of Gujarat, crony capitalism is well illustrated by Modi’s relationship to Gautam Adani, the rising star of Indian business. Crony capitalism has a financial cost (due to the under-taxation of companies and dubious debts on the banks’ balance sheets), a social cost (due to underpaid work and a reduction of the expenditure of education or health for lack of fiscal resources) and the environment (crony capitalists disregarding the most basic standards).
Topic:
Corruption, Crime, Sociology, Governance, Ethics, Political Science, and Social Policy
Political Geography:
South Asia and India

873. The Unintended Consequences of India’s Policy on Citizenship for Tibetan Refugees

Author:
Yeshi Choedon
Publication Date:
02-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses
Abstract:
Most Tibetan refugees arrived in India after the failed revolt against Chinese rule in March 1959. After the defeat of the Tibetan army at the Battle of Chamdo and the signing of the 17 point agreement of May 1951 set the stage for China’s occupation of Tibet, the Tibetan Government did make attempts to adjust to the situation. However, the unrest started after the realisation that China was satisfied not just with the occupation of Tibetan territory but was aiming at the systematic destruction of Tibetan civilization and its complete sinicization. A full-scale national uprising against China’s rule erupted on 10 March 1959, but it was crushed by Chinese military might. This event led to the flight of the Dalai Lama and around 8000 Tibetans, seeking refuge in India and other neighbouring South Asian countries.
Topic:
Refugees
Political Geography:
India and Tibet

874. India and the geoeconomics of climate change: Global responsibility as strategic interest

Author:
Emma Hakala
Publication Date:
08-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA)
Abstract:
As climate change progresses, it will have impacts on global politics, creating both new vulnerabilities and opportunities. Geoeconomics provides a useful analytical framework for the political implications of climate change as it shifts the focus from military force to economic means of exerting power. This working paper looks at the geoeconomics of climate change in the case of India. It examines the ways in which India has used climate policies to gain leverage and contain threats regionally and globally. Due to its emerging power status and high vulnerability to climate impacts, India holds a key position in the global fight against climate change. The paper argues that India has incorporated geostrategic uses of climate change into a wider shift in its foreign policy. Globally, it has chosen a cooperative strategy to emphasise its responsibility through diplomacy and sustainable energy investments, contributing to its role as a global power and to its influence in partner countries. Yet a similar geoeconomic climate policy has not been applied in its regional relations. The Indian case shows how climate change can lead to both competitive and cooperative geostrategies.
Topic:
International Relations
Political Geography:
India

875. The United States and India: Forging an Indispensable Democratic Partnership

Author:
Center for American Progress Task Force on U.S.-India Relations
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center for American Progress - CAP
Abstract:
The United States and India must forge an indispensable democratic partnership that can serve as a pillar of peace, prosperity, and democracy around the world.
Topic:
Diplomacy, Partnerships, Democracy, Alliance, and Peace
Political Geography:
India, Asia, North America, and United States of America

876. Rhetoric and Reality of Doklam Incident

Author:
Jigme Phuntsho
Publication Date:
11-2018
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Bhutan Studies
Institution:
Centre for Bhutan & GNH Studies (CBS)
Abstract:
Doklam standoff which took place between the armies of India and China was a major clash between the two Asian giants. The incident lasted from 18 June to 28 August 2017. For the first time, Bhutan was involved in a conflict between its two neighbours. Exchange of fiery rhetoric characterized the incident, besides unprecedented scale of military drills on both sides of the border, and speculations of an imminent war. The standoff was resolved for now, but the issues related to border dispute continue to emerge, raising the concern for a similar face-off at any time. This article discusses the events that unfolded in the course of the Doklam standoff based on online news articles and a few reports posted on the internet.
Topic:
Territorial Disputes, Conflict, and Borders
Political Geography:
China, South Asia, India, and Bhutan

877. ALL STICK, NO CARROTS: THE SHORTSIGHTED GEOPOLITICS OF THE IRAN SANCTIONS

Author:
Cullen S. Hendrix
Publication Date:
08-2018
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Political Violence @ A Glance
Abstract:
The Trump administration, having withdrawn the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action last May, is threatening US trading partners over doing business with Iran and attempting to freeze Iran out of global oil markets. The attempted freeze-out began with the re-imposition of US sanctions against Iran and businesses operating there, and the Trump administration set November 4 as the target date for US allies to zero out their purchases of Iranian crude. With some arm-twisting, NATO allies like Turkey and Asian security partners South Korea and India have agreed to curb Iranian imports, though it will be difficult for India to zero out its Iranian imports. Fearful of being caught up by US sanctions, major European firms like Total, Allianz, and Maersk have begun winding down operations in Iran in advance of the November 4 deadline. This whole episode reflects a fundamental misunderstanding, on the part of the Trump administration, of both the conditions under which sanctions can hope to be successful in winning policy concessions and the geopolitical realities of pursuing said course of action.
Topic:
NATO, Oil, Sanctions, Geopolitics, and Barack Obama
Political Geography:
China, Iran, Middle East, India, and United States of America

878. India: The Modi Factor

Author:
Ugo Tramballi and Nicola Missaglia
Publication Date:
02-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI)
Abstract:
When Narendra Modi was elected Prime Minister of India in 2014, he promised to push through key reforms and bring about the massive economic development needed for the “world’s largest democracy” to win its place among global superpowers. With over 1.3 billion citizens, India is soon to become the world’s most populous country, and more than one quarter of the people joining global workforce during the next decade will be Indian. The poorest of the world’s 20 largest economies, India’s potential for catch-up growth is enormous. And so are the limits and contradictions India must overcome for Modi’s vision to gain momentum. What has his government achieved so far? How likely is Modi’s “Minimum government, maximum governance” strategy to deliver? Is the “reluctant superpower” now closer to becoming a regional leader? In a crucial year for local elections, and with the Prime Minister ready to run for a second term in 2019, this volume investigates the economic and political trajectories of Modi’s India in its quest for a global role.
Topic:
Government, Reform, Domestic Politics, Economic Development, and Narendra Modi
Political Geography:
South Asia and India

879. Learning to Sustain Change: Mitanin Community Health Workers Promote Public Accountability in India

Author:
Samir Garg and Suchi Pande
Publication Date:
08-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Accountability Research Center (ARC), American University
Abstract:
Can community health workers (CHWs) act as agents of change in enhancing the public accountability of government, despite being state-funded actors themselves? CHW programs worldwide face challenges in achieving public accountability. They face a tension between upward accountability (to higher officials within the health system) and public accountability (to the people who access and use public health services), especially with respect to their potential to play a role as agents of public accountability (Schaaf et al. 2018). This Accountability Note illustrates how the CHW program of the Chhattisgarh state government in central India— known as Mitanin—has, over time, developed a learning strategy that permits CHWs (Mitanins) to enable sustained action on public accountability, whilst simultaneously providing health services and education, and linking communities with government healthcare services. The main proposition of this note is that this evolving learning strategy enabled state and civil society actors to design institutions and processes appropriate for accountability. Our focus is on understanding how learning has lent the program the ability to evolve ways for continuously managing the essential tensions inherent in its design, and how this has been key to developing sustainable accountability strategies. We discuss examples of how the Mitanins’ evolving learning strategy has contributed to their efforts to ensure public accountability of the health system to people who use public health services. These examples are grouped under five propositions about the roles CHWs can play in sustainable public accountability: 1. Community health workers can simultaneously act as service providers and agents of public accountability. 2. Community health workers can set agendas for advocacy on issues of accountability by building virtuous cycles of action and learning. 3. Community health workers can build countervailing power at multiple levels. 4. Community health workers can demand both rights for communities, and better working conditions for themselves. 5. ‘Action-strategists’ can create an appropriate state-civil society organization to facilitate community health workers’ action. This note offers insights from the Mitanin experience on these five ways that CHWs can build and sustain accountability, and illustrates how the program has taken a movement-building approach to public health, and thus avoided becoming a narrow technocratic intervention.
Topic:
Civil Society, Health, Accountability, Public Health, and Community Engagement
Political Geography:
South Asia and India

880. Western Concepts and Indian Realities

Author:
Arvind Sharma
Publication Date:
02-2018
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
India International Centre (IIC)
Abstract:
I think it is fairly self-evident that we in India use Western words and therefore concepts to describe Indian reality. The reason why we do so is also fairly self-evident and can be traced to British rule over India which formally came to an end in 1947 and the continuing prevalence of English language as a medium of discourse in India. This is such a familiar fact that we lose sight of its significance. Here I attempt to explore the consequences of this fact at both the micro and macro levels through concrete examples.
Topic:
Post Colonialism, History, Linguistics, Philosophy, and Colonialism
Political Geography:
India