The attack on Saudi oil installations has large scale implications for the hydrocarbon supply to the world specially for countries like China, India and the Asian giants of Japan and South Korea. The Strait of Hormuz becomes critical for energy imports of these countries.

The Central Asian Region gained wider recognition in International Relations after the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991. The emergence of five independent nation-states in the heartland of Eurasia was, in fact, a matter of curiosity for the world community. At the same time, there were apprehensions about political stability, territorial integrity and economic viability of the Central Asian Republics (CARs) of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. In 1990s, considerable empirical research was conducted on the politics, history and society of the CARs.

... violence that often accompanies war or armed conflict has caused unquantifiable suffering to millions .... timeline of human history makes it amply evident that it would be a folly to consider warfare as an exception to human behaviour ... law is one of the instrumentalities of social control, war too, like most other social behaviour and activity, ought to be governed and regulated by legal controls ... _________________

Preface India and China share many similarities. They both rejoice in, and relate to, the inheritances of their continuing civilizations. Both are nuclear power states with ever increasing military capabilities. Alongside the benefits of their rising economies they are also grappling with the internal contradictions and upheavals of their billion strong populations. In pursuit of their national aspirations they are both jostling for their rightful places in the world order. If China’s rise remains under close scrutiny in India, that of India does not go unnoticed in China.