Maldives: Moving from Chaos to Stability?
Download PDF Professor Rohan Gunaratna FDI Associate Key Points Since democracy was established in the Maldives on 11 November 2008, the stability of the country has been challenged. High profile acts of terrorism, both in the Maldives and overseas, are likely, unless the government can arrest the rapid spread of extremist ideology and initiate a...
Water, Food, Energy, Qat and Conflict: Yemen
Download PDF Dr Paul Sullivan FDI Associate Key Points Yemen is one of the most water-short countries on the planet. The increased cost of water drilling and pumping has driven farmers, who use well over 90 per cent of the water in Yemen, towards the production of qat, a mildly stimulating narcotic. Yemen...
The Australia-US Alliance: A Cost/Benefit Analysis
Download PDF Cavan Hogue FDI Associate Key Points It is time for a hard-headed cost/benefit analysis of the US Alliance. Any such analysis should include the following questions: Does the Alliance create more problems than it solves? In the Indo-Pacific Region, do we want a balance between the US and China, or US dominance?...
The China-India-US Relationship: Where Will It Go?
Download PDF Dr Liu Zongyi FDI Associate Key Points The relationship among China, India, and the United States is not yet a strategic triangle, but a trilateral one. The United States wants to use India to balance China’s rise. India will act as a swing state in the global balance of power, particularly in the...
The United States and Burma: Troubled Past, Uncertain Future
Download PDF Dr Andrew Selth FDI Senior Visiting Fellow Key Points For twenty years, the United States pursued a hard line policy towards Burma that was never going to meet its stated objectives. This policy also flew in the face of Burma’s critical geostrategic position and growing importance in regional affairs. The reform programme launched...
The Politics of Centre-State Relations and the Formulation of India’s Foreign Policy
Download PDF Key Points Due to economic imperatives, state governments along India’s periphery are becoming increasingly influential in the formulation of India’s foreign policy with neighbouring countries. The complexity and nature of national coalition politics in India means that support from regional parties are often instrumental in not only forming governments, but deciding...
The Politics of Sri Lanka-Tamil Nadu Relations
Download PDF Dr Ameer Ali FDI Associate Key Points Sub-regional and caste tensions will continue to characterise relations between Sri Lankan Tamils and their brethren in Tamil Nadu. India’s policy towards Sri Lanka will remain in support of the unitary status of the Sri Lankan state, which it views as critical to its own...
China’s Rise: South Pacific Perspectives – New Zealand and Australian Security Perceptions of China
Download PDF Dr Robert Ayson Future Directions International Associate Key Points New Zealand and Australia have a common interest in a peaceful relationship between the United States and a rising China, but their relationships with each are not identical. Perceptions of harder Australian and softer New Zealand views of China are not necessarily correct....
India’s Role in the Indian Ocean and East Asian Regions
Download PDF Mr Sabam P. Siagian Future Directions International Associate Key Points India should enhance its diplomatic presence and soft power in the region. The Indian Navy should increase its activities in the region by conducting more frequent port calls and joint naval exercises. Closer co-operation with Australia and India would enable Indonesia to...
South Asia: A Cold War “Quadrilateral” Redux?
Download PDF Professor Sandy Gordon Future Directions International Associate Key Points The emerging “quadrilateral” arrangement in South Asia involving China and Pakistan on the one hand, and the United States and India on the other, is unlikely to give rise to the kind of “locked in” pattern that pertained during significant periods of the Cold...