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Happymon Jacob

Articles by Happymon Jacob

The Trump factor in India’s China policy

Delhi may need to recalibrate its balancing of power equations in the event of a rapprochement between Washington and Beijing

Neither an open rivalry nor a great power rapprochement between the US and China serves Indian interests (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) (AP)

Opinion

Published on Feb 02, 2025 09:05 PM IST

ByHappymon Jacob

The balancing China question before India

India’s China problem is not going away anytime soon; China will continue to be a profound grand strategic issue for us.

The external balancing of China must carefully engage in finding the right kind of partners, ensuring partnerships don’t lead to undesirable expectations (Photo by Indian Army/AFP)

Opinion

Updated on Jan 19, 2025 07:49 PM IST

ByHappymon Jacob

Grand Strategy | India’s Afghan policy must avoid extremes

There is no shame in engaging the Taliban, however reprehensible the Taliban may be and however immoral that might look to some people.

Foreign secretary Vikram Misri meets Afghanistan acting foreign minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi in Dubai on Wednesday. (Randhir Jaiswal - X/ANI)(HT_PRINT)

Analysis

Updated on Jan 13, 2025 08:25 PM IST

ByHappymon Jacob

Grand Strategy | A new chapter for India’s regional strategic policy

India’s neighbourhood ties will have its wins and losses in the neighbourhood, and it must learn to take them in its stride.

Amritsar: Border Security Force (BSF) personnel stand guard along the India-Pakistan border fence during a cold and foggy winter morning, at Border out Post (BOP) Pulmoran, near Amritsar, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (PTI Photo/Shiva Sharma) (PTI)

Opinion

Published on Jan 06, 2025 08:44 PM IST

ByHappymon Jacob

Geopolitical pressures trump Delhi’s minority concerns in the neighbourhood

India's neighbourhood policy has undergone a seismic shift, prioritising strategic alliances over the well-being of minorities linked to it.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake meet at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Monday. (Narendra Modi - X)

Analysis

Published on Dec 30, 2024 07:21 PM IST

ByHappymon Jacob

Foreign policy experts must listen to the street

This indeed serves as an important indicator of societal preferences that should be taken into account during policy deliberations

External affairs minister S Jaishankar’s larger point that foreign policy cannot be formulated without considering societal preferences and trends is valid (ANI/Ishant Chauhan)

Opinion

Updated on Dec 22, 2024 08:28 PM IST

ByHappymon Jacob

Grand Strategy | How minilateralism is reshaping global order

Minilateralism is on the rise today for several reasons. The primary reason is the failure of multilateralism and the emergence of global challenges.

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Joe Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa, French President Emmanuel Macron, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel look on, as Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva shakes hands with China's President Xi Jinping, while world leaders gather for a group photo during the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, November 19, 2024. REUTERS/Leah Millis/Pool/File Photo (REUTERS)

Opinion

Published on Dec 08, 2024 10:15 PM IST

ByHappymon Jacob

Grand Strategy: The temptation to de-dollarise

For New Delhi, an imperfect global financial system led by the US is perhaps preferable to a “more egalitarian” China-led global financial system.

A woman counts US dollar bills. (Reuters Photo)

Business

Updated on Dec 03, 2024 04:21 PM IST

ByHappymon Jacob

Grand Strategy: Ukraine war in the grand chessboard of geopolitics

The Ukraine war marks 1,000 days, with Russia gaining an upper hand. Western support has been insufficient, and future dynamics remain uncertain.

While Ukraine has certainly lost a considerable amount of territory to Russia, today it is a much more determined and cohesive nation with a far more consolidated non-Russian identity than ever before in its history (via REUTERS)

Opinion

Updated on Nov 24, 2024 07:30 PM IST

ByHappymon Jacob

The Trump inflection on US foreign policy

Unless his second term differs dramatically from the first, we can expect a mostly disinterested and extractive approach to global engagement by Washington.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes the stage to address supporters at his rally, at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., November 6, 2024. (REUTERS)

Opinion

Updated on Nov 07, 2024 07:03 PM IST

ByHappymon Jacob

The ideational dimension of India’s China challenge

While there is good news from the LAC, the China challenge to India is a long-term one that has both material and intellectual/ideational elements.

Indian and Chinese army soldiers exchange sweets along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) near Karakoram pass in Ladakh on Thursday. (AFP)

Opinion

Published on Nov 03, 2024 08:20 PM IST

ByHappymon Jacob

Grand Strategy: These BRICS can’t construct a new world order

For India—neither fully status quoist nor revisionist—a middle path is inherently preferable, a stance not shared by its key BRICS partners

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with other world leaders at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, earlier this month. (AFP)

India News

Updated on Oct 28, 2024 06:30 PM IST

ByHappymon Jacob

Grand Strategy | The new template for dialogue with Pakistan

A clinical minimalism focussed on conflict management appears to define New Delhi’s engagement with Islamabad

In this photo released by the Press Information Department, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, center, China's Premier Li Qiang, fifth left, Belarus Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko, fourth left, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, sixth right, Kazakhstan's Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov, fifth right, Tajikistan's Prime Minister Kokhir Rasulzoda, fourth right, and other leaders pose for group photo at the opening session of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. AP/PTI(AP10_16_2024_000072B)(AP)

Opinion

Updated on Oct 21, 2024 11:22 AM IST

ByHappymon Jacob

Grand Strategy | The age of nuclear adventurism

One key lesson many states are drawing from the Russia-Ukraine war is that a nuclear-armed Ukraine would have been better off.

In this photo distributed by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, a view of the strategic nuclear-powered submarine missile cruiser Prince Vladimir of the Borei-A project, as Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov inspects the military and social infrastructure facilities of the Northern Fleet as part of a working visit to the Murmansk Region of Russia. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)(AP)

Opinion

Published on Oct 14, 2024 07:00 AM IST

ByHappymon Jacob

Grand Strategy | A year after the Hamas strike, insecurity grows

Israel’s disproportionate response and failure of global powers and institutions to enforce a ceasefire have plunged the world into a crisis

People cross a bridge with the date 7.10, marking the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel, in Ramat Gan, Israel, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)(AP)

Opinion

Published on Oct 06, 2024 11:56 PM IST

ByHappymon Jacob

Tensions in the Middle East will Test India’s balancing Act in the region

With a neighbourhood in turmoil, an aggressive China, and pressure of Russia-Ukraine war, the last thing Delhi would like to have is conflict in the Middle East

People hold pictures of Lebanon's Hezbollah Chief Hassan Nasrallah who was killed by an Israeli airstrike in Beirut, during a symbolic funeral in Baghdad, Iraq, September 29, 2024. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani(REUTERS)

Analysis

Published on Sep 30, 2024 08:00 AM IST

ByHappymon Jacob

Grand Strategy | Shift in Europe’s framing of the Ukraine conflict

The growing criticism of the West’s moral plank regarding Ukraine and Gaza appears to have forced a change in the Western narrative

Emergency services workers look to move rubble and find injured after a Russian strike on a residential building in Kharkiv, Ukraine early Sunday Sept. 22, 2024. (Kharkiv Regional Military Administration via AP)(AP)

Opinion

Published on Sep 23, 2024 07:00 AM IST

ByHappymon Jacob

Grand Strategy | Ukraine’s fighting against time and the clock is ticking

Ukraine is fighting on many fronts: A war with Russia, fighting for global attention, for help from the US and Europe, and to keep up the morale of its people.

People walk along the embankment of Dnipro river in the city center of Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)(AP)

Opinion

Published on Sep 16, 2024 07:00 AM IST

ByHappymon Jacob

Grand Strategy | Why Seoul, Delhi need more ambitious ties

India’s growing interest in the Indo-Pacific provide an opportunity for Seoul and Delhi to discover each other’s strategic potential

South Korea and India fans wave their national flags during the archery mixed team elimination round during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Esplanade des Invalides in Paris on August 2, 2024. (Photo by Punit PARANJPE / AFP)(AFP)

Opinion

Published on Sep 09, 2024 07:00 AM IST

ByHappymon Jacob

Pursuit of India’s interests must stay away from narcissistic nationalism

Instead of lamenting the absence of a seat at the UNSC, we must focus on shaping global conversations in ways we can

Mumbai, India – Aug 15, 2024: Bandra Worli Sea link lit up with tricolour, in the occasion of Independence Day celebration, in Mumbai, India, on Thursday, Aug 15, 2024. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo)

Analysis

Published on Sep 02, 2024 08:07 PM IST

ByHappymon Jacob

The many meanings of Modi’s Ukraine visit

Potential reputational gains for India from even a modest initiative to lessen the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war far outweigh those from any other conflict

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during presentation of BHISHM cube to Ukraine, in Kyiv, Friday. (PTI Photo)

Opinion

Published on Aug 25, 2024 11:00 PM IST

ByHappymon Jacob

Grand Strategy | Time for a new neighbourhood policy

By reaching out to the Taliban and the Myanmar junta, India has demonstrated an ability to have a non-ideological approach to regional policy.

**EDS: IMAGE VIA @MoosaZameer ON SATURDAY, AUG 10, 2024** External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar calls on Maldives President Dr Mohamed Muizzu. (PTI Photo)(AP08_10_2024_000362B)(AP)

Opinion

Published on Aug 19, 2024 07:00 AM IST

ByHappymon Jacob

Grand Strategy | Interests, not friendship, determine foreign policy

The great power argument is delusional. We are simply past that age in our neighbourhood

A general view shows barricades aligned outside the Bangladesh High Commission building in New Delhi on August 6, 2024. (Photo by Sajjad HUSSAIN / AFP) (AFP)

Opinion

Published on Aug 12, 2024 12:27 AM IST

ByHappymon Jacob

Grand Strategy | The Quad four and their four dilemmas

Quad is a unique and promising initiative but is beset with several fundamental dilemmas. Its members must address them to maintain better unity of purpose

Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong (C), India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (R) arrive for the Quad Ministerial Meeting with ministers from the US, Japan, Australia and India, at the Iikura Guest House in Tokyo on July 29, 2024. (Photo by Kiyoshi Ota / POOL / AFP) (AFP)

Analysis

Published on Aug 05, 2024 07:00 AM IST

ByHappymon Jacob

Grand Strategy | Should states have a stake in foreign policy?

The controversy is an opportunity to revisit the debate on the slow but growing influence of the states on India’s foreign relations since the 1990s

External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal (File Photo)

Opinion

Published on Jul 29, 2024 08:00 AM IST

ByHappymon Jacob

Indian-origin leaders abroad: Feel-good stories don’t help national interests

Indians have done well abroad. But, a reality check is important. Sometimes, the presence of a diverse diaspora abroad can hurt India’s national interests

Indian Americans marching in a parade in New York. (Andy Katz/LightRocket via Getty Images)(HT_PRINT)

Analysis

Published on Jul 22, 2024 08:00 AM IST

ByHappymon Jacob

Grand Strategy | The Chinese tangle in India-Russia relations

High on symbolism but somewhat low on substance, the current India-Russia relationship is increasingly transactional.

Russian president Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi after their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on Tuesday. (AFP)(HT_PRINT)

Opinion

Published on Jul 14, 2024 10:55 PM IST

ByHappymon Jacob

Grand Strategy | India and the ‘crumbling international order’

Despite limited representation in major international institutions such as the IMF, India's contributions to global governance are significant

The focus on and questions posed to India are understandable given its rising status in the international system and its desire to emerge as a pole in a multipolar world.(Pixabay)

Opinion

Published on Jul 08, 2024 08:00 AM IST

ByHappymon Jacob

Grand Strategy | Delhi’s Kabul strategy and the role of Taliban

Even as Delhi works on ways to engage with the Taliban, it must cater to the needs of the Afghan people, who mostly hold positive views about India.

India’s carefully calibrated engagement with the Taliban is a fine example of New Delhi’s ability to balance soft power with hard strategy, (West Asia News Agency/Reuters)

Opinion

Published on Jun 30, 2024 11:20 PM IST

ByHappymon Jacob

The Swiss “Peace Summit” and the competing impulses of war and peace

For the war to end, it is important to address Russia’s NATO concerns as it is to address Kyiv’s current and future security concerns.

This photograph shows the Swiss flag sets among the flags of the other countries during a plenary session at the Summit on peace in Ukraine, at the luxury Burgenstock resort, near Lucerne, on June 16, 2024. The two-day gathering brings together Ukrainian President and more than 50 other heads of state and government, to try to work out a way towards a peace process for Ukraine -- albeit without Russia. (Photo by URS FLUEELER / POOL / AFP)(AFP)

Opinion

Published on Jun 24, 2024 07:00 AM IST

ByHappymon Jacob

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Happymon Jacob

Delhi may need to recalibrate its balancing of power equations in the event of a rapprochement between Washington and Beijing

India’s China problem is not going away anytime soon; China will continue to be a profound grand strategic issue for us.

There is no shame in engaging the Taliban, however reprehensible the Taliban may be and however immoral that might look to some people.

India’s neighbourhood ties will have its wins and losses in the neighbourhood, and it must learn to take them in its stride.

India's neighbourhood policy has undergone a seismic shift, prioritising strategic alliances over the well-being of minorities linked to it.

This indeed serves as an important indicator of societal preferences that should be taken into account during policy deliberations

Minilateralism is on the rise today for several reasons. The primary reason is the failure of multilateralism and the emergence of global challenges.

For New Delhi, an imperfect global financial system led by the US is perhaps preferable to a “more egalitarian” China-led global financial system.

The Ukraine war marks 1,000 days, with Russia gaining an upper hand. Western support has been insufficient, and future dynamics remain uncertain.

Unless his second term differs dramatically from the first, we can expect a mostly disinterested and extractive approach to global engagement by Washington.

While there is good news from the LAC, the China challenge to India is a long-term one that has both material and intellectual/ideational elements.

For India—neither fully status quoist nor revisionist—a middle path is inherently preferable, a stance not shared by its key BRICS partners

A clinical minimalism focussed on conflict management appears to define New Delhi’s engagement with Islamabad

One key lesson many states are drawing from the Russia-Ukraine war is that a nuclear-armed Ukraine would have been better off.

Israel’s disproportionate response and failure of global powers and institutions to enforce a ceasefire have plunged the world into a crisis

With a neighbourhood in turmoil, an aggressive China, and pressure of Russia-Ukraine war, the last thing Delhi would like to have is conflict in the Middle East

The growing criticism of the West’s moral plank regarding Ukraine and Gaza appears to have forced a change in the Western narrative

Ukraine is fighting on many fronts: A war with Russia, fighting for global attention, for help from the US and Europe, and to keep up the morale of its people.

India’s growing interest in the Indo-Pacific provide an opportunity for Seoul and Delhi to discover each other’s strategic potential

Instead of lamenting the absence of a seat at the UNSC, we must focus on shaping global conversations in ways we can

Potential reputational gains for India from even a modest initiative to lessen the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war far outweigh those from any other conflict

By reaching out to the Taliban and the Myanmar junta, India has demonstrated an ability to have a non-ideological approach to regional policy.

The great power argument is delusional. We are simply past that age in our neighbourhood

Quad is a unique and promising initiative but is beset with several fundamental dilemmas. Its members must address them to maintain better unity of purpose

The controversy is an opportunity to revisit the debate on the slow but growing influence of the states on India’s foreign relations since the 1990s

Indians have done well abroad. But, a reality check is important. Sometimes, the presence of a diverse diaspora abroad can hurt India’s national interests

High on symbolism but somewhat low on substance, the current India-Russia relationship is increasingly transactional.

Despite limited representation in major international institutions such as the IMF, India's contributions to global governance are significant

Even as Delhi works on ways to engage with the Taliban, it must cater to the needs of the Afghan people, who mostly hold positive views about India.

For the war to end, it is important to address Russia’s NATO concerns as it is to address Kyiv’s current and future security concerns.

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