What India needs to learn from the Ayni airbase setback

Indian power projection and influence will greatly depend on the choices of small powers — or partner countries — that exercise great agency despite power asymmetries.
AI and Nuclear Risk: India’s Imperative in the Age of Intelligent Warfare

This report argues that the inevitable integration of AI into nuclear command systems creates unprecedented risks of inadvertent escalation and miscalculation. Facing China’s “intelligentized warfare” and Pakistan’s asymmetric capabilities, India risks strategic obsolescence if it fails to modernize. The authors propose a dual strategy: India must accelerate indigenous AI development for deterrence while championing an International AI Security Council to enforce human oversight and global norms in this volatile new era.
C Raja Mohan writes: India-Bhutan ties show how to get it right in a challenging neighbourhood

In a region often defined by mistrust and imbalance, India’s relationship with Bhutan shows that asymmetry need not produce antagonism
The Taliban’s Entry Into India-Pakistan Rivalry

Kabul’s flirt with New Delhi is a classic case of geopolitical logic.
Trump-Xi meeting: What it means for India in the G-2 world

As Trump’s trade-driven strategy begins to reorder the region, Delhi must re-examine long-held assumptions about American purpose, Chinese ambition, and the strategic space available to middle powers such as India
C Raja Mohan writes: When Trump meets Xi, will a new global order emerge?

The so-called ‘global peace plan’ is unlikely to contain binding commitments or operational timelines. Rather, it will serve as a political document projecting the shared responsibility of Washington and Beijing […]