Young Voices

India’s foreign policy has a unique frontier to cross for reaching optimum relations with South Asia – space diplomacy via launch capability. This foreign policy tool is significant, as the 21^st century will require increased reliance on space technology to keep up with the demands of globalization. In the present era, space capability is also a coveted symbol of a state’s national power and prestige. South Asian countries have a dependable big brother in India for propelling themselves into the space niche.

If you happen to be a member of the working class in the UK and are paying for utilities, then you will be well aware of the fact that your standard electricity bill comprises of 7 parts – transmission, distribution, energy, data collection, meter operation, VAT and finally one for climate change. The levy on climate change is essentially a part of UK’s strategy to meet the European Union’s (EU) 20% Renewable Energy Target by the year 2020.

Imagine a situation in which, a battleship on a patrolling operation in a piracy affected region in the international waters suddenly experiences engine failure and becomes a sitting duck. The engine crew reports to the captain that a critical part of the engine broke down, for which they have no spare and it would take at least one day for the supply of the spare to reach the ship.

The growing dependence on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in every sphere of life has gained attention of violent non-state actors to exploit the vulnerabilities lying within computer networks. The threats have become sophisticated asnation states have begun getting involvedeither by sponsoring or supporting cyber attacks. There has been growing concern over China’s cyber capability which poses significant political and strategic implications for the security of critical infrastructure of India and the US.

The US and NATO withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan in 2014 and its likely outcome have garnered global attention in the past few months. Whether Afghanistan will strive towards maintaining internal and external security or relapse into another long-drawn conflict remains a lurking question.

Sea lanes of Communications have always played a strong role in the naval doctrines and strategies of countries. Security and command over these vital ‘super highways’ of the oceans strengthens a country’s’ overall security and influence in the region. Sea Line of Communication (SLOCS) in the Indian Ocean Region, which form an important part of the Indian Ocean Region trade and which more importantly carry vital resources such as oil and natural gas to the growing economies of Asia and the Pacific region have become even more crucial to secure.

Environmental security has become a part of the policy debate in many countries but is yet to gain momentum in South Asia including India due to several other immediate concerns such as poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, malnutrition among others. What the establishments fail to realise is that these concerns are very much linked to environmental change and thus, without addressing the latter, the former cannot be tackled effectively and completely. India’s environmental security scenario cannot be understood in isolation.

The 2013 election of Hassan Rouhani as the President of Iran proved crucial in exploring latest negotiations on its nuclear program, especially after a rough period of detente with the international community mainly the United States. The meeting in Geneva on November 24, 2013 regarding Iran’s nuclear program between Iranian officials and representatives from the permanent members of the U.N Security Council and Germany (P5+1) reached a temporary relief with negotiations planned from January 20, 2014 onwards into the coming months.

Anwesha Ghosh, Research Scholar at Willy Brandt School of Public Policy, University of Erfurt, Germany 2014 will not only remain a landmark year for Afghanistan, it is turning out to be extremely crucial year for other regional and global powers with stakes in the country. Afghans are gearing up for the third Presidential elections since …