MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#24: 27 APRIL 2018 Five Nations Railway Corridor Project: Increasing Connectivity & Chinese Dominance in Afghanistan Bibhu Prasad Routray & Sayantan Haldar – Abstract The Five Nations Railway Corridor (FNRC) is yet another connectivity project sought to be implemented in Afghanistan and has been embraced as an a potential game changer for the conflict […]
MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#22: 20 FEBRUARY 2018 Afghanistan: Battle of narratives, power contestations, & cycles of violence Shanthie Mariet D’Souza – Abstract The sudden surge in violence and gory blood bath in January 2018 brought about renewed international media attention to Afghanistan. The growing number of attacks indicates a deteriorating security situation, deepening political crisis […]
MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#18: 18 OCTOBER 2017 TAPI Pipeline: A Confidence Building Measure for South Asia – Shanthie Mariet D’Souza – Abstract The narrow security dominated approach has not yielded results in the last sixteen years of the ‘war on terrorism’ in Afghanistan. And yet there is much emphasis on kinetic operations and troop surge […]
MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#16: 20 SEPTEMBER 2017 Trump’s ‘new’ Afghanistan Strategy & Indo-U.S. Strategic Partnership – Shanthie Mariet D’Souza – Abstract Donald Trump’s strategy for Afghanistan and South Asia announced on 21 August, was intended to highlight the novelty and surprise elements of a roadmap that purportedly sought little short of the decimation of terrorism. […]
MANTRAYA BRIEF#20: 01 JUNE 2017 Regional power play in Afghanistan and India’s policy options Shanthie Mariet D’Souza – Abstract A regional power realignment is taking place in Afghanistan. As countries jockey for influence in shaping the end-game in Afghanistan, India seems to be a lone bystander being sidelined even by its traditional allies- Russia and […]
VOICES FROM THE REGION#04: 14 October 2016 Afghanistan: Myth of the Splendid Sisterhood – – Guest Writer: Heidi Kingstone – Stories of abuse and the mutilation of women in Afghanistan are so common we are almost desensitised to it. Violence against women and particularly domestic violence has fed the headlines certainly since […]
– MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#10: 28 SEPTEMBER 2016 Economic Impact of OBOR on Afghanistan Nivedita Jayaram – Abstract Afghanistan has been presented a tremendous opportunity for economic development through the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative, which will help it overcome bottlenecks to economic development through investment in transportation, energy and telecommunications infrastructure. Afghanistan’s advantageous geographical position […]
VOICES FROM THE REGION#01: 23 FEBRUARY 2016 Afghanistan in the balance – – Guest Writer: Heidi Kingstone – Afghanistan may no longer command the front page but somehow our fascination with the country is like an addiction to heroin, and we keep going back for one last hit. In London, […]
– MANTRAYA DATABASE#03: 21 JANUARY 2016 Timeline: Taliban attacks in Afghanistan: 2015 (January-June) – – 1 January: Transition of power from the NATO-led coalition forces to Afghan National Security forces and the beginning of the NATO-led non-combat Resolute Mission. 1 January: Taliban carry out attack on a team of 200 former Taliban fighters in Qosh Tapa […]
– MANTRAYA ANALYSIS#08: 17 DECEMBER 2015 Road to the Dragon: Overcoming Challenges to the Wakhan Corridor Boh Ze Kai – Abstract Product of an 1894 treaty to separate the Russian Empire from British India, the Wakhan Corridor is a thin panhandle in North Afghanistan. The Emirs of Badakhshan once leveraged on the region’s control […]