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Understanding Israel as Jewish Democratic State
Dr Hirak Jyoti Das, Associate Fellow, VIF

Israel since its formation in 1948 continues to remain as one of the few democratic states in West Asian region. The state of Israel officially calls itself as a Jewish democratic state. The research seeks to explore the stated dual objectives i....

September 4, 2021 Download
Tags: Aliya, Arab-Israel Wars, Balfour Declaration, Ethnic Democracy, Israel, Jewish Democratic State, Knesset, Palestine, Zionism, International Relations and Diplomacy
China’s Vaccine Diplomacy in Southeast Asia
Amruta Karambelkar

The COVID-19 pandemic has unleashed power play amongst nations. The first year of the COVID-19 pandemic saw a race of sorts to provide essential medical supplies and in the second year, a competition for vaccines is underway. Vaccine diplomacy,...

August 20, 2021 Download
Tags: ASEAN, Chinese Vaccines, COVAX, COVID-19, Sinopharm, Sinovac, Southeast Asia, Vaccine Diplomacy, China, International Relations and Diplomacy
The Chinese Hand behind Terrorism in Northeast India
Dr Sriparna Pathak

Terrorism, a nontraditional security threat has come to occupy centerstage in 21st century international relations, as the lines between how non-state actors and state actors use it have become increasingly blurred. India and China, the two...

August 19, 2021 Download
Tags: National Security and Strategic Studies, CCP, China, Global Times, International cooperation, Northeast India, Terrorism, Terrorism in Northeast India, Terrorism, North-East Insurgency
Social Media in Violent Conflicts – Recent Examples
Maj Gen P K Mallick, VSM (Retd)

… the very technology that is cause of the problem, can be used to correct it too .. Artificial Intelligence can help social media platforms spot lies, identify doctored videos and photographs and track the dissemination of falsehoods by...

August 2, 2021 Download
Tags: Abuse of media freedom, artificial intelligence, Deception through media, Facebook, Fake news, Freedom of Speech, Information and misinformation, Information Warfare, Mass misleading through media, national security, Range of social interaction, Social Media, Twitter, WhatsApp, Technological and Scientific Studies
Cape Town Water Crisis of 2018: Lessons we can learn from it
Heena Samant, Research Associate, VIF

A serious water crisis plagued the city of Cape Town in early 2018 to the point that it was on the verge of becoming the first modern global city to run out of water. However, the city never reached to that point because of the strict measures...

July 6, 2021 Download
Tags: National Security and Strategic Studies, Cape Town, Climate Change, Day Zero, Drought, Water crisis, Water Management Devices, Water Police, water security
Penpa Tsering, the New President of the Central Tibetan Administration, Calls on China to Grant ‘Genuine Autonomy’ to Tibet
Sarada Subhash, Research Associate, VIF

Penpa Tsering has been elected as the new Sikyong or President of 17th Tibetan government-in-exile (TGiE), formally known as the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA). This write-up explores the life and policy stance of the newly elected Sikyong...

June 7, 2021 Download
Tags: Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), Genuine Autonomy, Penpa Tsering, Sikyong, Tibet, Neighbourhood Studies
Quagmire in Lebanon: Between Domestic Mismanagement and External Interference
Dr Hirak Jyoti Das, Associate Fellow, VIF

Lebanon in the current decade has witnessed pressing economic instability, political turmoil, large scale protests, and clashes with security officials, fires and explosion exposing the gross mismanagement and the incapacity of the present...

May 28, 2021 Download
Tags: Beirut Port Blast, Confessionalism, COVID-19, French Inititiative, Harari government, Hezbollah, Iran, Lebanon, International Relations and Diplomacy
CAATSA and S-400: The American Dilemma - An Analysis
Lt Gen (Dr) V K Saxena (Retd), PVSM, AVSM, VSM

After flashing in fury about an year back and eventually loosing much of its sheen and venom thereafter, the threat of CAATSA is alive, dangling yet again like the proverbial ‘Sword of Damocles’ over the fate of India’s purchase of S-400 system...

March 9, 2021 Download
Tags: National Security and Strategic Studies, Air Defence Matrix, Air Threat, CAATSA, S-400, US Sanctions, Defence
The Curious Case of Huawei
Anurag Sharma, Associate Fellow, VIF

China’s journey from being an agrarian economy to one of the largest economies with a strong military and cyber capabilities is commendable. However, its military and cyber capabilities are built upon relentless efforts to steal critical military...

February 15, 2021 Download
Tags: Australia, China, espionage, FiveEyes, Huawei, India, New Zealand, Reliance Jio, surveillance, Trojan, United Kingdom, United States, China, Cyber Security, Technological and Scientific Studies
The US-China Bout: Who’s on the Ropes
Air Vice Marshal (Retd) Rajesh Isser, AVSM,VM (G)

The world is witnessing momentous shifts in geopolitics, and in fact, in every facet of human life. The US-China zero-sum game for dominance may well define pathways nations take to bring prosperity to their people in the next decade. This paper...

February 12, 2021 Download
Tags: Critical Questions, India, Indo-Pacific, Russia Conflict Narrative, Taiwan, US-China Competition, China, US, International Relations and Diplomacy
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