Category Center for International Relations and Strategic Studies

Diminishing French Impact in Africa: Shifting Dynamics

Some reactions in the western media and commentariat on India’s exceptional Lunar Chandrayan 3 success still smacks of the colonial mindset. I had visited Niger for the first time in the early 1980s when it was covered by our Embassy from Ivory Coast (Cote d’Ivoire). Ivory Coast was governed by one party rule of Papa Boigny ( Houphouet Boigny) the last strong man and a pro French leader in Francophone Africa . It was also the beautiful show window of French assimilative culture which allowed them control over 83% of overall decision making in the government through a Directeur du Cabinet ordinarily a French man.

India’s SCO Presidency: Diplomatic Leadership Amid Global Challenges

India took over the presidency of the over two decades old Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in September and that of the G-20 in December 2022 for a year at a time when the global tensions due to the Eurasian war and devastating impact of the Covid pandemic were defining the not so flattering contours of the global transitional order or disorder depending from which pivot one looks at it.

G20 Presidency: India’s Path to Global Leadership

The G20 was conceived in 1999 in the wake of the Asian financial crisis as a platform for finance ministers and central bank governors to deliberate on issues pertaining to global finance and economy. In 2008, it was elevated to include the heads of State against the backdrop of global recession. Today, representing more than 80 per cent of the world’s GDP, 75 per cent of global trade, and 60 per cent of the global population amid a crisis of global multilateralism, G20 has emerged as a premier forum for deliberation on global issues.

Fostering India-Japan Tech Diplomacy

India and Japan, in July 2023, agreed to collaborate on semiconductors in a bid to create a more resilient supply chain for this critical technology and work together for the joint development of the semiconductor ecosystem. The partnership will focus on five areas: ‘semiconductor design, manufacturing, equipment research, establishing resilience in the semiconductor supply chain, and talent development’, paving the way for government-to-government and industry-to-industry collaborations.

Unravelling Democracy: Trump’s Legal Turmoil and its Impact

These are surreal times in the US. Even as the political system is gearing up for next year’s Presidential elections, the legal drama being played out in various courtrooms is shaping the political dynamic more potently than political debates. In fact, politics has been subsumed by the legal issues surrounding key political actors, most importantly, former US President Donald Trump.

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