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Conflict in Sri Lanka: The Road Ahead" is published. Click here to know more about the book.

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Civil Society and Human Security: South and Southeast Asian Experiences' is published. Read about it in the publications section

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Forthcoming Events

International Seminar on Peace and Conflict Resolution: Emerging Ideas on 1st August 2009 in collaboration with Rotary International District 3230 and Hanns Seidel Foundation, New Delhi

International Seminar on From Winning the War to Winning Peace: Post War Rebuilding of the Society in Sri Lanka tentatively in August/September 2009.


Recent Activities

Roundtable Discussion
South Asia Regional Security : Perspectives from Washington D.C
19 June 2009

“The cooperative instinct and defense relations between India and the US are far greater than they were ever before” said Prof. James Clad at a Roundtable Discussion at CSA on June 19, 2009. Speaking on “South Asian Regional Security: Perspectives from Washington D.C”, Prof. Clad spoke at length about US-India relations. He noted that engaging India and improving US- India relations is a left over business from the Cold War period and there is a lot of ‘catch up’ that is waiting to be done. “The precautionary note for the US, as this relationship broadens is to respect the truly democratic nature of decision making in India”. He urged that US decision makers should not just concentrate on perspectives from South Block but also interact with officials, politicians, academics and scholars from other regions of the country. In the interactions that led to a candid discussion on US military aid to Pakistan and its policy towards Afghanistan.  Prof. Clad noted that the rise of china’s influence and its broadly successful diplomacy was of great interest not only to the US but also to countries in the Southeast Asia and Australia. The discussions then veered towards Iran, North Korea and Sri Lanka. 


President CSA invited to Conference by Scottish Parliament
16 April 2009

President of CSA, Lt. Gen. (Retd) V. R. Raghavan, Advisor to the International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament was invited for a Conference by the Scottish Parliament at Edinburgh to deliver a talk on India’s View of the Future of NPT. Apart from ministers and members of the Scottish Parliament, diplomats from various countries also attended the Conference. Click here to read Gen. Raghavan’s Paper.


Upgrading International Studies in India
25-26 March 2009

Dr. W. Lawrence. S. Prabhakar participated in an International Workshop on Upgrading International Studies in India on 25-26 March 2009 in Singapore co-organized by the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Singapore and Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi as Discussant for the paper presented by Prof. Kanti Bajpai on Obstacles to Good Work in IR.  Dr. Prabhakar’s comments can be accessed here.


RNSSC Working Group Meetings
March 2009

The Centre for Security Analysis is one of the two think tanks from India selected by the Near East South Asia Center of the National Defense University, Washington D.C., USA to carry out Strategic/ Security studies and to regularly interact with select think tanks from the Near-East and South Asian region. 

This Regional Network of Strategic Studies Centers has set up four working groups, viz,   

  1. Combating Terrorism
  2. WMD and Border Security
  3. Democratization and Governance
  4. Non-Traditional Security

The CSA is represented by Dr. Geeta Madhavan. Dr. W. Lawrence. S. Prabhakar, Mr. K. V. Krishnaswamy and Brig. (Retd) K. Srinivasan respectively in these working groups. 

Two working groups, on Combating Terrorism and WMD and Border Security met in Istanbul, Turkey in March 2009. Dr. Geeta Madhavan made a presentation on Legal Responses to Terrorism in India. The thrust of her paper was to highlight the various legislations that were enacted in India to deal with terrorist activities in the country. She also analyzed the lacunae in the legislation and the reasons for the repeal of these Acts. The paper discussed the need for urgent and stronger legislation which would eschew the flaws that had rendered the earlier acts incompatible with human rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Indian Constitution. Dr. Geeta also discussed the latest amendments to legislations which were the result of the Mumbai attack that had taken place on 26 November 2008. 


Dr. Geeta Madhavan (extreme left) with other members of the working group on Combating Terrorism

The abstract of Dr. Lawrence Prabhakar’s presentation on India’s Stakeholdership in Nuclear Nonproliferation: Issues and Perspective can be accessed here. 

Another Article by Dr. Madhavan

In June 2008, Dr. Geeta Madhavan presented a paper on Regional Cooperation and Legal Issues at a Joint seminar on Terrorism in South and Southeast Asia in the Coming Decade organized by Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) and CSA at Singapore. The article was first published in Terrorism in South and Southeast Asia in the Coming Decade edited by Daljit Singh (2009) and is reproduced here with the kind permission of the publisher, ISEAS, Singapore

To read more from Dr. Madhavan visit our Articles page.

Also read an article "Guide to Safer India" by Brig.(Retd) K. Srinivasan, Establishment Director, CSA published in the Mumbai based magazine One India One People. The article is reproduced here with the kind permission of the publishers.

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International Seminar
Emerging Challenges to Energy Security in the Asia Pacific
March 16-17, 2009

The financial crisis has temporarily slowed the pace of economic growth and development in much of Asia, but it has not fundamentally altered projections for Asia’s future energy needs. Long-term energy demand growth for the region is expected to surpass its own installed capacity. Eventually the region will be the dominant consumer of the world’s energy supplies. The Asia-Pacific region, led by China and India, will represent the world’s largest energy market in the next decade. The current energy mix in the region is determined by balancing its endowment of energy resources with policies which encourage diversification of supply, development of strategic reserves, ongoing research for new domestic sources and new commercial approaches to overcoming constraints.  Given Asia’s prevailing energy consumption patterns, understanding the structure of its energy mix today and for the future is a useful basis from which to assess strategic considerations regarding energy security. Given this scenario, the Centre for Security Analysis in collaboration with the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore organized an International Seminar “Emerging Challenges to Energy Security in the Asia Pacific” on 16-17 March 2009. The themes addressed at the seminar included the global trends of energy consumption, geopolitics of energy security, supply chain security, and the potential for alternative sources of energy including nuclear energy in the region. The participants included experts from the academia, policy consultants as well as the energy industry. The proceedings of the seminar will be published shortly as an edited volume. Click here to access the programme, biodata of speakers and abstracts of papers.

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Guest Lecture
India as a Superpower
February 27, 2009

CSA organised a Guest Lecture by Mr. M. R. Sivaraman, Former Executive Director, International Monetary Fund on the subject "India as  Superpower". Mr. Sivaraman outlined the features of a superpower and quoted  Prof. Alice Lymen Miller's definition of a superpower as a country that has the capability to project dominating power and influence anywhere in the world and sometimes in more than one region of the globe at the same time. It has four axes namely, military, political, economic and cultural. Mr. Sivaraman then dwelled upon the need for a superpower in an economically interdependent world. Laying this background to the concept of a superpower, he then discussed where India stands as a superpower. He noted that  India has a long way to go before it could claim being a superpower. In explaining this point he drew examples from India's power sector, its literary standards, health and sanitation conditions, the position of its military as well as its defence expenditure in comparison to other countries. He then noted that India should be very clear about its long term goals and suggested the ways and means by which India can be an important player in the international scenario and command respect in the comity of nations. Click here to view his Powerpoint presentation.

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Panel Discussion
Nuclear Deterrence and Disarmament
February 2, 2009

Deterrence and Disarmament have been two separate discourses and seemingly contradictory themes. While deterrence was the voice of the powerful, disarmament was considered as the voice of the weak. For many decades it was believed that disarmament reduced the deterrence capability. But today, the phrase 'disarmament' is regaining in resonance. In the 21st century, although the challenge of a strategic confrontation between powers of the world remains, there is no question of nuclear confrontation. There is a realization that deterrence based purely on nuclear weapons will not produce desired results in the face of the challenge posed by non-state actors. How is this resonance of disarmament affecting deterrence? How is disarmament itself gaining importance? Is it the weakening of deterrence that has led to the resonance of disarmament? Can the two seemingly contradictory themes of disarmament and deterrence go together or is it an ‘either-or’ situation? The Centre for Security Analysis organized a panel discussion on Nuclear Deterrence and Disarmament on 2nd February 2009 to explain the relationship between disarmament and deterrence. The proceedings of the panel discussion can be accessed here.

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Round Table Discussion
Japan and Asian Security
January 28, 2009
 

CSA organised a round table discussion with Mr. Naoki Ito, Political Minister, Embassy of Japan in India on the subject Japan and Asian Security. Mr. Ito noted that the world is at a critical juncture today. There are economic and financial crisis on a global scale such as the fight against terrorism and climate change issues. These issues have acutely necessitated the international community to jointly address the problems faced. He further said that Japan and India share truly good relations and in this critical moment it would be extremely important for both countries to see further progress and concrete cooperation in various fields.  Mr. Ito stated that Japan attaches high importance to the Indo-Japan  joint exercise and participation in Malabar but the scope of cooperation can be widened to include the area of safety of sea lanes which cover from the Bay of Bengal to the Strait of Malacca and measures against terrorism. Mr. Ito also spoke about the role of US in Asia, and Japan's stance on the state of affairs in the Korean Peninsula and China- Taiwan Straits. To read Mr. Ito's speech, click here.

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Guest Lecture
The Third Front in Indian Politics
January 23, 2009

"It is not possible to predict what will happen to the idea of a non-congress, non BJP third front after the elections" said Mr. Inder Malhotra during a Guest Lecture organised by CSA on 23rd January 2009. Past experiences have shown that a third front has never come to power without the support of either the BJP or the Congress. Mr. Malhotra, who was the former Editor of Times of India, New Delhi, spoke about the evolution of the idea of a third front in India as well as the situation in the BJP and the Congress. He also spoke at length about the present clamor for a third front led by the Left and the leadership issues they face. On the question of the BSP and Mayawati's fortunes, Mr. Malhotra noted that Mayawati had won a lot of votes in the recent state elections with BSP 's voting percentage increasing in all the states. However, her potential is damaged by the way she has conducted herself and her position is weakened by the alliance between the Samajwadi Party and the Congress. The proceedings of this lecture will be published shortly in the form of a bulletin. 

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