ISDP Voices

Sri Lankans will head to the polls on March 9 for the first time after the 2022 Aragalaya (struggle) – the mass protests that, amid a spiraling economic crisis, ousted former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa from office last July. The local elections will not in themselves upset the balance of power in Colombo. However, many see […]

It has been nearly a year since the European Commission launched the ambitious proposal for a European Chip Act (ECA) – the EU’s industrial strategy aimed at reshoring regional semiconductor production and doubling its global chip manufacturing market share by 2030. The yet-to-be legislated Act – heralded prematurely as a “success” already in September 2022 […]

The UN Biodiversity Conference or COP15, under the chairmanship of China (jointly organized with Canada), concluded with a round of applause last year. The COP15 aim of ‘Living in harmony with nature’ will now move a step closer to better implementation. The first part of the meeting was held in Kunming, China in 2021, where […]

In the first week of 2023, former Danish Prime Minister and NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen visited Taiwan. The aim of the visit was to encourage other democracies to also show more support for Taiwan’s autonomy and to strengthen EU-Taiwan relations. In a meeting with Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen, Fogh Rasmussen underscored his strong support […]

The geopolitical landscape of the 21st century has seen power dynamics altering towards the Indo-Pacific. This has led both rising and the established powers to reorient themselves towards this region, making the Indo-Pacific one of the most contested regions in the world. Although the region is facing new power competitions, already existing issues have the […]

China has been relentlessly flexing its muscles in Nepal to establish multi-dimensional engagement. After the formation of the Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’-led government on December 26, 2022, China’s activities have become noticeably more assertive. As a planned move, 68-year-old Dahal took oath of office as Nepal’s Prime Minister on the occasion of the […]

The unstoppable rise of China in the international system, especially in the economic, military, political, and technological fields in the last 30 or 40 years, has made it the most important global rival for the United States of America (U.S.), which was the sole superpower of the post-Cold War era. When we look at the […]

In his recent interview on December 27 with the Washington Post, former Afghan president Hamid Karzai demanded that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) begin a national dialogue, which he described as ‘good’ for both Taliban and Afghanistan. Karzai’s demand has been voiced by many Afghans for some time now, to facilitate taking key decisions […]

In recent years, China’s increasing footprint in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) has become obvious within the Indo-Pacific. Designated in New Delhi’s 2015 Maritime Security Strategy as the primary area of responsibility for the Indian Navy, India has long perceived the Indian Ocean as its traditional backyard. New Delhi had recently raised concerns to the […]

Leaders of the U.S., South Korea (ROK), and Japan met in the middle of November 2022 to reaffirm their trilateral partnership to combat the nuclear threat from North Korea and align their collective efforts in pursuit of a free and open Indo-Pacific (FOIP). The statements indicate a hopeful future for deeper and more comprehensive cooperation […]