Book Publications

This book examines the impact of chokepoints in Middle East geopolitics. In the last few years, as the number of conflicts and political tensions in the Arab world and countries surrounding the Gulf has increased, chokepoints as a tactic to hinder the "enemy" have become more prominent. To evade the chance of getting "choked", regional actors with the support of extra-regional countries are investing in new port infrastructures such as at Duqm, Gwadar and Chabahar. This book investigates the geopolitical significance of old, new and under-construction seaports in the Middle East region. The book intends to answer the following questions:

• How have the regional chokepoints, particularly the Strait of Hormuz, influenced foreign and strategic policies of the Middle East countries?
• Can the new ports being developed in the Gulf region reduce vulnerabilities to oil trade from the Middle East to the other parts of the world?
• How have the USA, India, and China engaged with each other on port-related infrastructure strategy?

Relations between India and the Middle East have long been based on three elements: manpower, remittances and oil. Traditionally, India has served well in providing manpower for infrastructural developments in the oil-rich Gulf countries and has in turn benefited from the massive remittances flowing back home from its workers in the region. For their part, the Gulf countries have historically served as a rich source of energy for India. However, this relationship is rapidly extending into new domains beyond the economic, specifically, transcending into the geopolitical realm. The deepening of India–Middle East relations is as much a story of India looking westward as it is about the Middle East turning its gaze eastward. In recent years, India and the Middle East have found common grounds to cooperate in the fields of counterterrorism and combatting religious extremism.

This volume seeks to unravel the evolutionary paths that the growing multifaceted connections between India and the Middle East might take and the challenges that could arise. 

India and Iran as two ancient civilisations have historically shared cordial relations with some occasional challenges. One such challenge in recent years came up when Iran was placed under international economic and political sanctions due to its nuclear programme. These sanctions, especially the unilateral ones, also had adverse implications on India-Iran bilateral ties. This posed several challenges for Indian foreign policy and diplomacy towards maintaining its relationship with Iran. While evaluating the implications of sanctions on India-Iran bilateral ties, this book chronicles India's efforts to maintain its relation with Iran despite such challenges. 

This book, originating from the proceedings of the Delhi Dialogue V, seeks to highlight India's increasing engagement with ASEAN countries and explores the agenda for consolidation of their relationship in the coming years. It draws from the knowledge and insights from political and economic leaders, officials, academics and opinion-makers of India and ASEAN countries to find out ways to intensify and broaden political, strategic, economic and civil society interaction between the two regions. In the wake of Delhi Dialogue being mentioned in the Vision Statement issued at India-ASEAN Commemorative Summit in December 2012, this book holds particular importance. It also assesses and incorporates issues and perspectives which emerged from this Summit to help identify areas of greater engagement between India and ASEAN countries. It is hoped that this volume will make a significant contribution towards the ever expanding scholarship on India-ASEAN relationship. 

Delhi Dialogue IV on the theme “India and ASEAN: Partners for Peace, Progress and Stability” was held on 13-14 February, 2012 in New Delhi, India. The event was jointly hosted by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Government of India, in collaboration with the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). The event was supported by the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS), Singapore, SAEA Group Research, Singapore, and the Economic Research Institute of ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), Jakarta.

This volume emerges from the proceedings of the Delhi Dialogue IV and covers four thematic issues representing four sessions of the dialogue : (a) Towards Economic Integration: Prospects and Challenges; (b) Non-Traditional Security (NTS) Challenges and Response Strategies; (c) The Evolving Security

Architecture in the Asia-Pacific; and (d) Building Networks of Knowledge and Science.