The paper examines the international relations of Africa from the integration perspective. In doing so, it is necessary to revisit the conceptual and historical issues behind the formation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), noting the compromises involved. The emergence of the African Union (AU) and the target set between 2004 and 2030 as the year for full integration of African countries are also examined. The paper further discusses the obstacles to the realization of a United States of Africa government, and outlines why it is not working. Three different explanations are given against the backdrop of AU’s inability to attain supra-nationalism. It is noted that the political economy cost of surrendering national sovereignty, absence of credible leadership, and poor timing are working against the timetable for 2030. More...

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China-Pakistan relation stands out as one of the few enduring friendships in the 21st century, regardless of different belief systems and cultures. Since the beginning of their relationship, both countries have taken countless steps to solidify this strategic relationship. Beijing and Islamabad never had any major strains in their bilateral relations. The relationship is mostly based on strategic and geopolitical interests. The journey of Beijing and Islamabad relationship began in the 1950s when Pakistan recognized the People’s Republic of China. During the last seven decades, China has overtaken the United States as the largest arms supplier and reliable partner of Pakistan. Beijing has assisted in the military, economic and strategic fields, while Islamabad extended its support on international issues like its position in the United Nations and human rights issues. In the recent times, both countries have signed several important agreements and deals to further the engagement like OBOR project which will be deepening their strategic relationship. These developments have raised concerns among India’s leadership. Consequently, New Delhi adopted counter- strategies. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Act East’ and ‘Neighborhood First’ policies are to draw down the China-Pakistan strategic outburst. More...

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India is considered as an outlier in the nuclear global order. India’s nuclear behavior is a mixture of multiple puzzling behavioral tendencies. This paper attempts to unravel the puzzle pertaining to the judgment of the international community on India’s nuclear behavior. The key question that this paper addresses is: Why is there a shift in the popular perception of the international community on India’s nuclear behavior? For instance, in the 1970s and the 1990s, India was labeled as a nuclear revisionist state, but this perception has been shaded since 2005. What are the key drivers of this transition? The paper establishes that the characterization of India as a ‘responsible nuclear state’ is based on limited rationality, which curtails India’s normative contributions and serves the strategic interests of the US and its allies. The paper argues that India’s nuclear behavior needs to be appreciated from the vantage point of India’s normative contribution over the material gains. From this vantage point, the deep roots of responsibility condition India’s inevitability in the nuclear global order. More...

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India’s relation with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is reasonably well covered in a wide ranging set of literature. The obverse is less so, hence the purpose of this paper is to cover, at least in a fundamental manner, the UAE’s foreign policy toward India. The policy focuses on two elements: labor migration from India to work in the UAE’s burgeoning petroleum industry and to provide the necessary skill set to the country’s developing industrial economy; and the Indian gold market and its export to the UAE, which can be observed in the many gold suqs found throughout the UAE. This is a contributory study on comparative foreign policy and the UAE’s foreign policy toward India. More...

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