India
BRICS Is Getting Bigger. That Does Not Necessarily Mean It Is Becoming More Powerful.
BRICS decided this week to invite six additional countries into the organisation. Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been invited to join Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa…
Modi’s Washington Visit Was Not Really About Friendship. It Was About Who Builds the Technologies That Will Define the Next Twenty Years.
Narendra Modi’s state visit to Washington this week produced all the symbolism expected from one of America’s highest forms of diplomatic recognition. President Joe Biden hosted him at the White House, Modi addressed a joint…
India and America Are Getting Closer. That Does Not Mean India Is Becoming an American Ally.
Narendra Modi will travel to Washington this week for a state visit hosted by President Joe Biden, including a state dinner and an address to a joint meeting of the US Congress. The ceremony will…
India Has Built a New Parliament. The More Important Question Is What Parliament Is Supposed to Represent.
India inaugurated a new Parliament building last Sunday. The triangular complex stands beside the old circular Parliament House constructed during British rule and will eventually become the principal physical home of the world’s largest representative…
India Is Becoming the World’s Most Populous Country. That Is Neither Good News nor Bad News Yet.
India is becoming the world’s most populous country. The United Nations Population Fund estimates India’s population at roughly 1.429 billion in 2023, marginally ahead of China’s 1.426 billion. The symbolic significance is enormous, particularly because…
India Blocked a BBC Documentary About Modi. The Argument Is Now About More Than the Documentary.
The BBC’s two-part documentary India: The Modi Question examines Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s political career, particularly his tenure as chief minister of Gujarat during the communal violence of 2002, when more than a thousand people…
Britain Has Its First British Asian Prime Minister. Representation Matters, but It Is Not the Same Thing as Equality.
Rishi Sunak became prime minister of the United Kingdom on Tuesday. The immediate political explanation is remarkably simple. Boris Johnson withdrew from the Conservative leadership contest, Penny Mordaunt failed to secure sufficient nominations from Conservative…
Everyone Agrees Climate Change Is a Problem. That Is the Easy Part.
COP26 has produced an extraordinary collection of promises already. More than 100 countries have backed a pledge to reduce global methane emissions by 30% from 2020 levels by the end of this decade. More than…
India’s Second Wave Is Becoming a Political Crisis
On Wednesday, India reported 382,315 new COVID-19 cases and 3,780 deaths in just twenty-four hours. The World Health Organization reported that India accounted for almost half of the COVID-19 cases recorded globally in the previous…
What Does an Election Really Tell Us?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP campaigned intensely across the state, hoping to replace Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress. The election became one of the biggest political battles in India. Today, the result…
When Leadership Becomes a Responsibility
For months, COVID-19 statistics have almost become ordinary. Every morning there are new cases, new deaths and new restrictions. But this week in India, the numbers stopped feeling like numbers. Hospitals are struggling for beds.
Diplomacy at the Fault Lines: Elections, Alliances, and Strategic Signalling
This week, international developments reflect a recurring pattern in contemporary global politics: diplomacy increasingly functions less as conflict resolution and more as risk management. Across regions, states engage not to settle disputes conclusively but to…
