Tag: BRIC

India: an ‘Important’ or a ‘Great’ Power?

Modi
Photo: Narendra Modi/flickr.

Last month, the Center for Security Studies (CSS) hosted an evening talk on Emerging India – A New Actor on the Global Stage? In the following podcast, we talk to one of the presenters at the event, the German Institute for International and Security Affairs’ (SWP) Christian Wagner. While Wagner agrees that India has become an undeniably important actor on the international stage, he also doubts that it will become a great power any time soon. That’s because New Delhi lacks the long-term vision and capabilities it needs to elevate its international profile at this time.

For additional materials on this topic please see:

Internal Security Trends in 2013 and a Prognosis

Abe’s Visit to India: The Strategic Implications

Chinese Navy in Eastern Indian Ocean: Implications for Delhi and Jakarta

For more information on issues and events that shape our world please visit the ISN’s Weekly Dossiers and Security Watch.

Categories
Global Voices

Thwarting UN Resolutions against Syria – The Battle over Interventionism

China’s and Russia’s recent decision to veto the United Nations Security Council resolution against Syria -has reignited debate over the relationship between ‘new’ powers like Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa –  the BRICS – with ‘old’ powers like the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in international interventions.

Heads of BRICS states in New Delhi, India for for 4th BRICS Summit March 2012. Photo by Roberto Stuckert Filho/PR. Used with permission.
Heads of BRICS states in New Delhi, India for 4th BRICS Summit, March 2012. Photo by Roberto Stuckert Filho/PR. Used with permission.
Continue reading “Thwarting UN Resolutions against Syria – The Battle over Interventionism”

When Democracies Collide

Foto oficial de la Cumbre de Líderes del G-20
The G-20 leaders at Cannes, France, in November 2011. Photo: Gobierno Federal/flickr.

BERLIN – The multipolar nature of today’s international system will again be on display at the upcoming G-20 summit in Los Cabos, Mexico. Global problems are no longer solved, crises managed, or global rules defined, let alone implemented, the old-fashioned way, by a few, mostly Western, powers. Incipient great and middle powers, such as India, Brazil, Indonesia, South Korea, Turkey, and South Africa, also demand their say.

Some of these powers are still emerging economies. Politically, however, most of them have crossed the threshold that has long limited their access to the kitchen of international decision-making. The five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (the “P-5”) still defend their right to veto resolutions, and their military power is unmatched. But they can no longer dispose of sufficient resources, competence, and legitimacy to cope with global challenges or crises on their own.

Continue reading “When Democracies Collide”

Turkey at the Crossroads (Literally)

By Stewart M. Patrick for the Council on Foreign Relations.

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) shakes hands with Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan after a bilateral meeting in Seoul March 25, 2012. (Larry Downing/Courtesy Reuters)

When it comes to “rising powers,” the BRIC countries—Brazil, Russia, India, and especially China—tend to get the most press. But there’s another emerging player that promises to shape world politics in the twenty-first century with its robust growth, political evolution, and strategic choices. It is Turkey, a country that straddles some of today’s most critical divides: between Europe and the Middle East, between the West and the developing world, between secular democracy and religious piety. Turkey’s evolving might, its geographic position, and model of moderate political Islam make it a natural candidate for “strategic partnership” with the United States. This is the conclusion of U.S. Turkey Relations, a just-released CFR task force report co-chaired by former secretary of state Madeleine K. Albright and former national security adviser Stephen J. Hadley—and directed by my able colleague, Steven A. Cook.

Continue reading “Turkey at the Crossroads (Literally)”
Categories
Uncategorized

ISN Insights: Look Back, Week Ahead

The new ISN Insights week starts today, stay tuned. Photo: Caro's Lines/flickr

Last week, ISN Insights looked at:

This week is BRIC week: We’ll be taking a closer look at the rapidly growing economies and political prospects of the BRIC giants – plus Indonesia, an aspiring group member. Stay tuned and remember to check back every day.