Pakistan is one of a handful of countries (including India, Brazil, and South Africa) that routinely oppose the United States in multilateral debates despite strong bilateral ties to the U.S.

In a surprise development, the GOI has told us that it would welcome US participation as an Observer to SAARC.

Pakistan's National Defense University's curriculum is designed to foster national pride, but many of its students and instructors have an anti-American bias.

For the Pakistani military, the F-16 sale is tangible proof of the post-9/11 bilateral relationship, and we seriously doubt they will allow it to fail.

Because of production issues, missing the deadline could result in hundreds of millions of dollars in additional costs.

MG Tariq Salim Malik, Additional Secretary of Ministry of Defense Production (MODP), signed the Letter of Acceptance (LOA) to purchase 18 F-16s Saturday evening, September 30.

Chinese officials had approached the Indian government for more information but had since been reportedly told by the Indian government that the information presented was sufficient to justify the listing.

Deputy Director Shen acknowledged the message but offered no further comment.

While each side adhered to familiar positions, the chemistry between the principals was good and the dialogue was cordial and frank.

The Indian civil nuclear bureaucracy understands it is "essential" to advance cooperation with the U.S., but claims progress is stymied by the inability of U.S. firms to share sensitive technical information pending the authorizations required under U.S. licensing regulations.

While the BJP-led NDA won resoundingly in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, it has lost power in five major State assemblies since December 2018.

The average time spent on discussing a Bill dropped from 213 minutes in 2019 to 85 minutes in 2021

The AIADMK spent the highest share in spreading the party’s propaganda (99.5%) and relied only on media and advertisements

Total income for the selected regional parties in FY20 amounted to ₹803.24 crore, of which 55% was from unknown sources

The Farm Laws Repeal Bill was discussed in the LS for two minutes - the joint second-lowest time for discussion of a bill since 2014

In FY21, national parties and regional parties received ₹427 crore and ₹264 crore worth of funds, respectively, from unknown sources

The victims were identified as Shamshad and Faizan Qasri from Bihar's Batya Zila

Who controls India’s water resources: Centre, States or both? How are inter-State river disputes settled? Who supplies drinking water to Indian citizens?

The Data Point is a bi-weekly newsletter in which The Hindu’s Data team decodes the numbers behind today’s biggest stories.  

NOTA continues to be salient in Naxalite areas, but its share has fallen in recent elections

National parties’ unknown income rose from 66% to 71% in the three years before and after the scheme’s introduction

The Pakistani Taliban on Monday claimed responsibility for the January 30 mosque attack in Peshawar which left 100 people dead and over 220 injured

Several Muslim leaders in the State expressed displeasure at the parleys that a group of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind leaders held with their RSS counterparts in New Delhi in January.

The debate around India’s erosion of democratic values has surfaced again after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s remarks in the U.K.

MLAs in Karnataka have on average assets worth ₹34.6 crore, the highest among all the States

Elections in Karnataka have increasingly become bipolar, with 77% of the seats recording bipolar contests in 2018

Sep 21, 2023

Recent scholarship on Sino-Indian relations in the 1950s has emphasized cooperation, revising previous narratives of an inexorable march towards the 1962 border war. This article reassesses that cooperation by focusing on India's role as an intermediary between the unrecognized government in Beijing and the United Nations (UN). Chinese sources reveal that Sino-Indian cooperation over UN affairs was complicated by competing conceptions of how the decolonizing world should fit into the international system and who should be at the helm. Despite such disagreements, the Cold War UN provided a setting where divergent post-colonial visions could be sublimated into meaningful international cooperation.

Nov 16, 2023

This report, by Maxwell Simon (MPP '23) and Jayaram Ravi (MPP '23), explores the drivers of setback and success that China has encountered in the process of developing dual-use and military-dedicated naval installations abroad. It looks at cases where China has considered or actively pursued military-dedicated installations to characterize Beijing’s general approach to overseas naval base acquisition.

Jun 10, 2022

This book is intended to advance the next phase of the U.S.-Colombia relationship. In a rapidly changing world, the following chapters present a roadmap for a new type of engagement that challenges our ambitions and extends the ties that bind our countries. 

Jun 30, 2022

The Learning Agenda is an unprecedented effort by the Department to institutionalize evidence-based learning and implement the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 (“Evidence Act”). The Evidence Act requires federal agencies to develop a “learning agenda” – a systematic plan to answer a set of policy-relevant questions critical to achieving the agency’s strategic objectives. It will guide the Department’s efforts over the next four years across eight questions to increase the impact of U.S. foreign policy and bolster the Secretary of State’s modernization efforts.

This event featured a keynote address followed by a panel of foreign policy and evidence-building experts for a thoughtful discussion on addressing Learning Agenda Questions 1 and 2: How can the State Department improve the effectiveness of its diplomatic interventions to better advance foreign policy objectives? How can the Department improve the effectiveness and sustainability of its foreign assistance efforts?

Aug 12, 2022

Companies that rely on certain countries in Asia for their supply lines will face continued challenges as geopolitical stresses, let alone global pandemics, cause supply shortages. Beyond causing economic harm, these shortages pose a direct threat to U.S. national security interests.

Nov 17, 2022

The speakers included Yale Law School professor Harold H. Koh ’75, and Patrick W. Pearsall, Director of the International Claims and Reparations Project at Columbia Law School. Koh and Pearsall discussed their experiences representing Ukraine in legal proceedings against Russia before the International Court of Justice.

Nov 18, 2022

Former Colombian President Iván Duque discussed Latin America’s resurgent left wing and advocated for environmental action at the Harvard Kennedy School on Thursday afternoon.

Dec 1, 2022

A conversation hosted by the Faultlines Podcast with Ambassador Paula J. Dobriansky covering her career at the U.S. State Department and current geopolitical issues like the Russia-China strategic alignment.

Jan 10, 2023

Technology will play a crucial role in that process. Since 2014, Ukraine has been at the forefront of the digital revolution through a journey marked by strength, adaptability, and success.  Digital transformation transcends and affects all economic sectors in Ukraine. Digital solutions have been applied in a wide range of sectors including banking and finance, agriculture and food production, and energy, to cite a few. In that regard, digital transformation is key to a well-functioning society, affecting democratic participation, education, and public services.

Jan 10, 2023

The aim of the report is to focus specifically on the critical role of private sector investment in Ukraine’s economic reconstruction, and how the private sector, both within Ukraine and internationally, can enable Ukraine to win the peace. It provides a short overview of the economic challenges facing Ukraine, including governance, the sectors that will be critical to Ukraine's reconstruction, the roles and responsibilities for the G7, EU, IFIs, and DFIs, and then recommendations for how Ukraine and its partners can best attract private sector investment.

Feb 23, 2023

The Belfer Center at Harvard Kennedy School hosted a virtual conversation with Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba Wednesday (Feb. 22) to discuss the war in Ukraine as it reaches a full year since Russia's invasion. 

Apr 10, 2023

The following is an event write-up about the recent Future of Diplomacy Project (FDP) seminar on “The Geopolitics of Latin America amid the War in Ukraine and China-U.S. Tensions” moderated by Negah Angha, Fellow at the Institute of Politics, on March 29, 2023.

Apr 18, 2023

The following is an event write-up about the recent Future of Diplomacy Project (FDP) seminar on “The Future of Ukraine: Reconstruction, Energy Security, and Innovation” moderated by Ambassador Paula J. Dobriansky, Senior Fellow with the Future of Diplomacy Project. 

May 31, 2023

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the current Belarusian opposition leader, speaks with Belfer Center Fellow Svenja Kirsch on Belarusian Freedom and the War in Ukraine.

Aug 21, 2023

Foreign Affairs has recently published a number of articles on how the United States should engage with the Taliban government in Afghanistan, extremist forces within the regime, how the West can help ordinary Afghans, and the fate of the country’s women. To complement these essays, Foreign Affairs asked a broad pool of experts for their take. As with previous surveys, Foreign Affairs approached dozens of authorities with expertise relevant to the question at hand, along with leading generalists in the field. Participants were asked to state whether they agreed or disagreed with a proposition and to rate their confidence level in their opinion. Two Belfer Center experts participated, International Security Executive Editor Jacqueline L. Hazelton and Future of Diplomacy Project Senior Fellow Paula Dobriansky.

Jun 1, 2024

How can scholars write effective policy recommendations? Despite the potential importance of academic work to the policy debate, many scholars receive little training on why and how to make policy recommendations. To remedy this problem, here are steps to guide scholars as they begin developing policy recommendations for their articles. 

Nov 26, 2020

• Elbe Group Discusses Strategic Stability, Hybrid Warfare and Terrorism.
• Mowatt-Larssen’s Book Details Lessons He Learned While Tracking Al-Qaida’s WMD Programs.
• Experts on New START Extension and Other Nuclear Priorities of Biden Presidency.
• Kazakhstan’s Last HEU Eliminated.
• William Potter Joins Russian Academy of Sciences.
• COVID, Nuclear Security On Agenda of IAEA’s 64th General Conference.
• Mayak Aims to Process Entire range of SNF.
• Atomguard Reports Foiling Unauthorized Access.
• Allison: US Vital Interest in Prevention of Nuclear Terrorism Will Continue to Guide Its North Korea Policy.
• Learning from COVID-19 to Prepare for Nuclear Attack.
• Hecker, Kassianova Encourage Young US and RF Professionals to Explore Lessons of Nuclear Accidents.
• Experts Weigh in on 75th Anniversary of Hiroshima Bombing.
• A New Look at IAEA’s Nuclear Security Recommendations.
• Azerbaijan Has Threatened to Strike Armenia’s NPP With Missiles.
• IAEA Notified of 189 Incidents Of Material Being Out Of Regulatory Control in 2019.
• Russia To Retrieve More Radioactive Debris from Bottom of Ocean.
• Researchers Propose Fast Way to Detect Weapons Grade Materials.
• Keeping Nuclear Power Plants Out of Reach of Terrorists During the Coronavirus Pandemic.
• Bunn, Tobey and Roth Testify on Prevention of Nuclear Theft, Call for Cooperation With Russia.
• Budapest Memorandum Parsed.
• IAEA Holds A Ministerial on Nuclear Security.
• Assessing Progress on Nuclear Security.
• 12^th GUMO Officer On Trial for Embezzlement.
• Lukashenko: Pompeo Alerted Me to Nuclear Materials at Border.
• US and Russia Reported HEU and Plutonium to IAEA.
• IAEA Bank Receives LEU.
• GICNT Hosted 8 Multilateral Activities in 2019.

Dec 10, 2021

• U.S.-Russia Elbe Group Maintains Focus on Threat of Nuclear Terrorism.
• Former Chernobyl Plant Manager Bryukhanov Dies.
• Matthew Bunn on Threat to Nuclear and Radiological Transports.
• On 9/11 Anniversary Russian Officials Call for Resumption of U.S.-Russian CT Cooperation.
• Experts Weigh in on 9/11 Anniversary.
• U.S. and Norway Agree to Eliminate All of Norway’s HEU.
• Two Soviet Nuclear Submarine Reactors Located.
• Russian Security Council: Terrorists Remain Interested in NBC.
• IAEA Adopts Resolutions on Nuclear Security, NS Center Planned.
• Allison on Risk of Mega-terrorist Attack After U.S. Withdrawal From Afghanistan.
• Arbatov Warns of Enduring Threat of Nuclear Terrorism to Russia in His New Volume.
• Russia’s New Security Strategy Drops References to CT Partnership With U.S.
• NNSA’s Non-Proliferation Budget to Decrease in ’22, Provides for US and Russian Visits.
• Should U.S.-Russian Interaction in Cyberspace Involve CT? 
• Russia’s NPP Operator Conducts Emergency Preparedness Exercise.
• Putin and Biden Discuss Terrorist Threat Emanating from Afghanistan, but No Deal.
• U.S. Experts on Ensuring Access to Neutrons While Reducing Nuclear Terrorism Risks.
• Beebe Weighs in on U.S.-Russian CT Interaction.
• Duo Detained for Alleged Attempt to Sell Americium-241.
• 12th GUMO Guard’s Sentence Upheld.
• NDAA-Mandated Group to Identify Nuclear Terrorism Risks.
• Belfer’s MTA Hosts Conference on Lessons of Fukushima and Chernobyl.
• Russia Withdraws from Uranium Hexafluoride Transportation Deal with U.S.
• Bell: U.S. Needs to Convince Russia on Contending With Nuclear Terrorism Threat.
• U.S. and Canada Complete Repatriation of HEU Material.
• Siegfried Hecker Outlines his Vision of Future for Nuclear Security Cooperation.
• Hackers Breach U.S. Nuclear Agency.
• Tobey on Assassinations of Nuclear Scientists and Terrorists.
• Rosatom Has Checked Nuclear Sites, Following a Tip on Terrorism from U.S.

Jun 21, 2022

Simon Saradzhyan was invited to publicly brief the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) committee addressing the adequacy of strategies to prevent, counter, and respond to nuclear terrorism, and identify technical, policy, and resource gaps. The consensus study is a congressionally mandated analysis included in the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (Section 1299I) sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense (Policy).  Nearly 60 stakeholders concerned about this topic from the Department of Defense, US Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, State Department, National Security Council, US Congress, the National Labs, and many non-governmental organizations were in attendance. The briefings are available at the NAS event website. Video of the presentation can be found here.

Aug 31, 2015

There is growing evidence that the Chinese economic miracle is a consequence of the rural entrepreneurship which started in the 1980s. This contradicts classical interpretations that focus on state-led enterprises and receptiveness to foreign direct investment....The lesson from China's experience is that development must be viewed as an expression of human potentialities, not as a product of external interventions.

Sep 3, 2015

The New Harvest argues that Africa can feed itself in a generation and help contribute to global food security despite its history of persistent food shortages and the rising threat of climate change. This new edition provides ideas on how to place agriculture at the center of the continent's long-term economic transformation. It demonstrates how policy coordination can help realize agriculture's full potential as a motherboard for other economic activities.

The full text of The New Harvest is available here.