Backgrounder

Most attacks prior to Petya were carried out by criminals for financial gain, but some characteristics of the Petya malware have led to doubts as to whether the culprits are state actors.

• Mohan Babu
• July 13, 2017
• Backgrounder

There is a need to rework the Outer Space Treaty and contemporize it to deal more directly with issues of the current era.

• Natallia Khaniejo
• January 27, 2017
• Backgrounder

China has justified the passage of the new law as an ‘objective need’ for national security considering its large cyber infrastructure and its vulnerabilities.

• Abhishek Pratap Singh
• December 23, 2016
• Backgrounder

This backgrounder examines the current structure of ICANN, the intricacies of the IANA transition, and the way it will impact the architecture of cyberspace in the future.

• Natallia Khaniejo
• November 04, 2016
• Backgrounder

This backgrounder offers an overview of the two most challenging concerns for Myanmar’s democracy – ethnic unrest and economic hardships – and how the new government is planning to address these issues in particular and also more generally the influence of the Tatmadaw in politics.

• Sampa Kundu
• July 26, 2016
• Backgrounder

This backgrounder explores three issues: the strategic significance of the South Pacific for India, the advantages that India enjoys over China in the region, and the status of India’s relationship with Papua New Guinea in the light of the recent visit by President Mukherjee.

• Niranjan Chandrashekhar Oak
• May 10, 2016
• Backgrounder

China wants to regain the position it once enjoyed under the military government in Myanmar. However, its efforts at securing a direct access to the Indian Ocean through Myanmar are unlikely to see an early fruition.

• Joshy M. Paul
• March 14, 2016
• Backgrounder

The Obama administration has acknowledged that their policy on Cuba has been the most outdated one, considering it has been more than two decades since the Cold War got over. The biggest knot in their relationship has been untied, but that doesn’t spare the leaders from confronting some age-old pinpricks.

• Aakriti Sethi
• August 07, 2015
• Backgrounder

There are many reasons for the decision of the people to vote for the Republican Party in these elections ranging from economy,
governance, foreign policy decisions, the mid-term factor and mostly President Obama's unpopularity

• Aakriti Sethi
• December 17, 2014
• Backgrounder

The background study looks at incidence of violence in the Kashmir Valley during the 2014 parliamentary elections and the correlation of violence to voter turnout. This study also lists out various actors responsible for violence and the trends in voting patterns from different regions of the Valley.

• Deepshikha Hooda
• September 25, 2014
• Backgrounder