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international affairs

Conceptualizing China Within the Kantian Peace

March 3, 2013
asia, china, development, international affairs, investment, law, trade
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Harvard International Law Journal | Volume 54, Issue 1: Winter 2013 | By Manik Suri

Immanuel Kant’s 1795 essay, “Toward Perpetual Peace,” established a concept of cosmopolitan law as the nemesis of war, instilling in generations of liberal thinkers and practitioners a vision of a world without conflict. Kant’s paradigm posited that “republican constitutions, a commercial spirit of international trade, and a federation of interdependent republics” would provide the basis for a “perpetual peace” amongst states bound together under international law. Yet cultural relativists since the time of Kant have argued that only certain nations – namely those with a “Europeanized” culture – are capable of coming together to secure this lasting peace. This article challenges such claims and assesses the contemporary relevance of Kant’s ‘perpetual peace’ in light of one of the key geopolitical developments of our time: the rise of China. Read the full piece here.

Why We Need a U.S.-India Bilateral Investment Treaty Now

August 30, 2012
america, asia, business, economics, foreign policy, india, international affairs, investment, politics, trade

RealClearMarkets | August 30, 2012 | By Manik Suri

The United States urgently needs an ambitious trade strategy for the world’s fastest growing region: Asia. An obvious place to begin would be India — one of its largest emerging markets. While newly launched talks on an investment agreement with New Delhi couldn’t be more propitious, the Obama administration must commit serious political capital to overcome protectionist opposition and build on considerable bipartisan consensus in favor of deeper U.S.-India economic ties. Read the full piece here.

Geoeconomics vs. Geopolitics: Implications for Asia and the U.S.-Australia Alliance

August 22, 2012
asia, business, china, development, economics, foreign policy, international affairs, investment, national security, trade

The U.S. Studies Center at the University of Sydney | August 21, 2012 | By Devesh Kapur and Manik Suri

Asia is witnessing a growing divergence between “geoeconomics” and “geopolitics,” centered around China. While China offers unparalleled near-term economic opportunities, cumulative decisions taken by thousands of American, Japanese, Taiwanese, and Korean firms are ironically helping to build these countries’ most formidable strategic competitor. Beijing’s growing competitiveness – and assertiveness – are forcing Asian nations to hedge against the risks created by deepening economic networks binding the region together. Read the full piece here. (Forthcoming as a chapter in the Oxford Handbook of the Economics of the Pacific Rim)

Blurring the Civilian-Combatant Line: Legal Implications of Deploying U.S. Civilian Mariners in the Libyan Theater

August 16, 2012
america, foreign policy, international affairs, law, libya, middle east

Harvard National Security Journal | August 16, 2012 | By LT Elan Ghazal and Manik Suri

The Pentagon’s growing use of civilian manpower to augment force projection — including the deployment of civilian mariners aboard U.S. warships during contingency operations against Libya in 2011 — raises serious questions at the intersection of law and war. Read the full piece here.

India’s Tightrope Walk on Afghanistan

August 15, 2012
afghanistan, asia, china, development, energy, foreign policy, india, international affairs

The Hindu: Business Line | August 15, 2012 | By Manik Suri

India’s efforts at strategic autonomy — being part of both Chinese and American plans in Afghanistan — may not prove workable. Read the full piece here.

U.S.-India Cooperation in Afghanistan: Is India’s “Strategic Autonomy” Sustainable?

August 13, 2012
afghanistan, america, asia, china, development, energy, foreign policy, india, international affairs

India in Transition | August 13, 2012 | By Manik Suri

The United States and India face an opportunity to expand their strategic partnership in Afghanistan — but only if New Delhi accepts that maintaining its “strategy autonomy” will likely prove increasingly costly. Read the full piece here.

How Darkness Sheds Light: India’s Democratic Dysfunction

August 4, 2012
development, energy, environment, india, international affairs, politics

The Diplomat | August 4, 2012 | By Manik Suri

India is a nation of superlatives. So it should seem unsurprising that its massive power failure earlier this week was the largest in history, affecting nearly 10 percent of humanity. As photographs depicting Indians huddled around candlelight spread worldwide, India’s blackout has ironically cast a bright light on the nation’s deep-seated structural problems – particularly severe shortages of public goods like infrastructure, education, and health – that continue to leave millions behind. Reformers should seize this moment, for the power outage provides an opportunity to spur India’s weak national government into action. The country’s political leaders must heed this warning, or they will remain its greatest obstacle to growth. Read the full piece here.

A Revamped U.S. Export Control System for the 21st Century

November 13, 2011
america, business, constitutional law, economics, foreign policy, international affairs, investment, law, trade

Harvard National Security Journal | November 13, 2011 | By Manik Suri

While the United States has built one of the most sophisticated export control regimes in the world, its Cold War era architecture must be transformed to reflect today’s realities and meet tomorrow’s challenges. In 2010, President Obama launched a comprehensive Export Control Reform Initiative that, once implemented, will mark a vital step toward promoting U.S. national security and economic competitiveness in the 21st century. Read the full piece here.

A New Alliance

November 24, 2009
america, foreign policy, india, international affairs, national security

Foreign Policy | November 24, 2009 | By Manik Suri

The anniversary of the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks serves as a reminder that the front lines in the “war on terror” lie not only in New York and Washington, DC, but as far afield as Karachi and Mumbai. The attacks were planned and directed by LeT militants within Pakistan — a clarion call for the United States to take a stronger stance toward Islamabad and promote closer counter-terrorism cooperation with India. Read the full piece here.

A River in Peril: The Waters Rise at Three Gorges

September 10, 2003
china, development, energy, environment, foreign policy, international affairs, investment
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Harvard International Review | Fall 2003 | By Manik Suri

Along the banks of China’s longest river, the water is rising — forcing over a million villagers settled in the surrounding valley to relocate their homes hundreds of miles away. Yet this is not a natural occurrence, like the great floods of 1931 and 1954. The rising level of the Chiang Jiang, as the Chinese call the Yangtze, is a deliberate consequence of the Three Gorges Dam, one of the largest infrastructure projects ever undertaken. Read the full piece here.

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