Saptarshi Basak

In Extractive Capitalism, here’s how Laleh Khalili explains today’s energy crisisSubscriber Only

March 29, 2026 06:00 IST

As India and the world stare at an energy crisis catalysed by the West Asia conflict, Laleh Khalili’s Extractive Capitalism offers a valuable lens on why oil remains the lifeblood of the global economy

The war on Iran might just strengthen its resolve to get nuclear weaponsSubscriber Only

March 13, 2026 19:10 IST

Applying the Waltz-Sagan debate to West Asia, the current conflict could end up proving that in an anarchic world, nuclear weapons are the ultimate — and perhaps only — deterrent

In war on Iran, a false threat, a familiar script and Netanyahu’s grand designSubscriber Only

March 03, 2026 13:45 IST

The Israeli prime minister has, for decades, viewed the destruction of the Iranian revolutionary state as his magnum opus. By drawing Trump and the US directly into the fighting, Netanyahu has internationalised the war

Andrew’s arrest in the UK attests to the rule of law. Why is the US standing still on Epstein?Subscriber Only

February 20, 2026 13:47 IST

From King Charles III insisting the law must take its course to the British PM's public apology, the contrast with the Trump administration's handling of the Epstein case grows sharper

START is over. Will a new nuclear arms race between the US and Russia take off?Subscriber Only

February 05, 2026 16:02 IST

The dangers of having a weak arms control architecture were most recently illustrated by the 12-day war between Israel and Iran last year, which will be seen as a textbook case of conflict fuelled by an arms race

Here’s what Donald Trump doesn’t get: Peace is the prizeSubscriber Only

January 20, 2026 13:44 IST

US President’s Nobel obsession highlights a failure to grasp diplomacy, restraint, or peace itself

Understanding Iran’s Crisis Through Vali Nasr’s Iran’s Grand StrategySubscriber Only

January 18, 2026 10:35 IST

In Iran’s Grand Strategy, Nasr argues that the country’s inherent antagonism towards the West has only intensified over time and has come to define the Islamic republic’s strategic culture

The US has always eyed Greenland, much before TrumpSubscriber Only

January 18, 2026 06:56 IST

The first reported expression of official US interest in Greenland dates back nearly 200 years, not long after the dissolution of the 434-year-old political union between the kingdoms of Norway and Denmark, after which, under the 1814 Treaty of Kiel, Greenland came under the latter’s control.

Trump’s Venezuela operation clears the way for China and Russia to expand at willSubscriber Only

January 05, 2026 12:28 IST

If Xi decides to view a Taiwanese president as dangerous to Chinese interests, could he not then cite the Trump administration’s security doctrine to initiate military operations in what he sees as his own backyard?

For Kyiv, a familiar betrayal dressed up as peaceSubscriber Only

November 24, 2025 07:18 IST

Should Trump’s plan become the foundation of ‘peace’, not only will it be a victory for Russia, it will also mark a defeat for the international order. It would signal that smaller nations remain vulnerable to great-power competition.

World’s silence on Sudan shows empathy is racialisedSubscriber Only

November 11, 2025 06:13 IST

The uncomfortable truth is that the established civilisational hierarchy ensures that conflicts in sub-Saharan Africa, even when they consist of the world's worst humanitarian disasters, rarely trigger the urgency or political mobilisation seen elsewhere

Trump’s plan has forced a deal between Israel and Hamas but keep a close eye on disruptor-in-chief NetanyahuSubscriber Only

October 05, 2025 22:01 IST

It puts the Israeli PM in a bind like never before. He can hardly say no to the plan being imposed by Israel’s most important ally and cheered on by most of the world. But going ahead with the deal puts his government, and him, at risk

Recognising a Palestinian state may not stop Israel’s onslaught. But it still mattersSubscriber Only

September 16, 2025 15:32 IST

When an ethnonational identity faces the threat of erasure, the recognition that its people do, in fact, constitute a nation-state confers a legitimacy powerful enough to resist attempts at erasure, no matter how violent or systematic

Peter Navarro, Donald Trump should be the last to lecture India on war profiteeringSubscriber Only

September 03, 2025 12:19 IST

To condemn India’s oil trade while bankrolling Israel’s carnage that has killed more than 60,000 people, a majority of them women and children, all while Trump dreams aloud of a ‘Riviera of the Middle East’, reflects a rather misplaced sense of righteousness

Mohammed Siraj has just won India one of the greatest Test matches everSubscriber Only

August 04, 2025 18:38 IST

For years, the 2005 Ashes — particularly that nerve-shredding second Test where England nearly threw it all away before clinching victory by two runs — has stood as the gold standard of Test cricket in the 21st century. But 20 years on, India and England, this day, this Test, this series, have risen to meet that benchmark, perhaps even surpassed it

Marx on a dating app: Why I’ll only swipe right for LeftSubscriber Only

July 29, 2025 12:29 IST

The truth is, if there’s any life advice worth heeding over 'opposites attract,' it’s the far less glamorous, but infinitely more reliable 'be practical'

At Lord’s, a heartbreak and an affirmation: Test cricket is still kingSubscriber Only

July 15, 2025 19:00 IST

The slow-burn India-England thriller was a godsend in an era dominated by T20 cricket. Tests are brutal, but also the game's most beautiful

Pakistani media criticises India’s Waqf Bill, silent on Tahawwur Rana’s extraditionSubscriber Only

April 12, 2025 13:44 IST

View from the neighbourhood: Editorials across Pakistani newspapers argue that the law erodes the Indian Muslim community’s autonomy

A train hijacking has reignited questions about Pakistan’s national securitySubscriber Only

March 15, 2025 14:35 IST

View from neighbourhood: The Baloch Liberation Army's attack on the Jaffar Express left many people dead. The Pakistani media is divided over where the fundamental problem lies

Can Bangladesh’s new party live up to its promise?Subscriber Only

March 08, 2025 13:23 IST

Neighbourhood view: While most sections of the media welcomed the Jatiya Nagorik Party, some experts cautiously underlined the challenges that lie ahead

In his Congress address, Trump reiterates his vision for an isolationist America and here’s what he has in mindSubscriber Only

March 05, 2025 12:43 IST

Immigration, inflation, tariffs, tax cuts and a pat on the back for DOGE – and placing himself above George Washington in the presidential scheme of achievements

What Trump’s Ukraine plan means for Russia, China and global politicsSubscriber Only

February 21, 2025 12:49 IST

Trump may seek to realign global focus on China, but the way he plans to go about it — alienating allies and pursuing a lopsided peace in Ukraine — risks backfiring. Washington's current approach could inadvertently bolster Beijing’s global position rather than contain it

Congress Manipur MP: ‘If Biren Singh thinks BJP is going to violate Manipur’s territorial integrity, he should say so openly’Subscriber Only

February 10, 2025 09:15 IST

"Sensible voices on both sides have been suppressed. I hope better sense prevails," says Angomcha Bimol Akoijam, Inner Manipur MP