Why the maturation of India’s strategic deterrent calls for a new approach to nuclear policy. — This is an unedited draft of today’s column in Business Standard While the Modi government’s claims that India’s nuclear ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) carried out a deterrence patrol are exaggerated it is a fact that we are getting closer to that milestone. The capability to launch nuclear-armed missiles from nuclear-powered…

The ledger of power is subject to double-entry bookkeeping — A few thoughts 1. Fundamental weaknesses in the conceptualisation of China’s external relations, especially President Xi Jinping’s Belt & Road Initiative, suggest that growth of Chinese maritime and sea power in our region will fluctuate over time. Firstly, established and aspiring powers will find greater reason to cooperate, and align against China. …

…and how Beijing might react — If the “Chinese model” of leadership was credited for the country’s post-1979 success, it must also be indicted for the present decline For some strange reason, many people in the world believe that China’s leaders are astute but inscrutable strategists, with an unusual ability to both think long-term and do…

China’s foreign investment model will be resisted by the nationalism that is extant in Asian countries. — This is an unedited draft of today’s Asian Balance column in Business Standard. I wish to report to you, dear reader, that Mahathir Mohammed, Malaysia’s remarkable nonagenarian prime minister, has proved me right. That’s one more reason for you to read the Asian Balance regularly. You will recall I’d argued…

How Xi is putting the Party back into business. — This is an unedited draft of today’s Asian Balance column in Business Standard Anecdotes are not empirical evidence, but they do tell a story. Let me tell you one that I got from a person who was involved in it. A couple of years ago, top executives of a mid-sized…

Why China’s entrance exams should be a wake up call for India’s strategic community. (Unedited draft of this month’s column in Business Standard.) Having studiously avoided all entrance examinations for the past 25 years, I was struck last week when my colleagues showed me a few questions from the Gaokao…

Outline of my keynote address at the Education World Higher Education Ranking Awards Ceremony 2018. — Dilip Thakore has asked me to respond to the question “Are low tuition fees destroying Indian public higher education.” Let’s take a step back. 1. Why should the government fund higher education? The general answer to this that there are positive externalities to higher education, and that the optimum level…

Why military power must enter our foreign policy and how we could do this — An unedited draft of my Business Standard column Conversations with some of India’s most distinguished and thoughtful diplomats over the past few months have left me with a distinct impression that modern Indian foreign policy has come to accept that the use of force beyond our borders and shores as…

Why the Modi government’s decision to open up a few senior civil service positions is a small step in the right direction — This is an unedited version of two comments that were published in ThePrint #talkpoint (here and here) There is no doubt that while many bits of India are in the 21st and perhaps even 22nd centuries, we are all governed by a 19th century regulatory architecture administered by an early-20th…