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Showing posts with the label Indo-US relations

Decision Making as Output and Bounded Rationality

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  The classical economics theories proceed on the assumption of rational agents. Rationality implies the economic agents undertake actions or exercise choices based on the cost-benefit analysis they undertake. The assumption further posits that there exists no information asymmetry and thus the agent is aware of all the costs and benefits associated with the choice he or she has exercised. The behavioral school contested the decision stating the decisions in practice are often irrational. Implied there is a continuous departure from rationality. Rationality in the views of the behavioral school is more an exception to the norm rather a rule. The past posts have discussed the limitations of this view by the behavioral school. Economics has often posited rationality in the context in which the choices are exercised rather than theoretical abstract view of rational action. Rational action in theory seems to be grounded in zero restraint situation yet in practice, there are numerous restra
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Quad and India's Alliance Connunrdum

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  One happened to see an interesting article in the Indian Express by veteran strategic affairs expert C. Raja Mohan. The article is available here . The article highlights the Indian confusion over alliances in the backdrop of the meeting of the Quad foreign ministers in Tokyo. Currently, the Quad is more of an informal alliance between US, Japan, India and Australia ostensibly to counter China. Yet so far, there is no indication of it being institutionalised or morphing into some kind of new NATO. Yet, in the Indian strategic affairs community, the Great Indian Alliance Confusion is well underway. Rather than any confusion, it is about the reluctance to accept the changed state of affairs and the need to abandon certain dogmas. The refusal to abandon self-perpetuated dogmas might well prove to be India’s Achilles heel. It would therefore be pertinent to decode Indian foreign policy and its stance over alliance formation with different countries.   The problem with India forming a
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Jaishankar's Sermons

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There was an India Ideas Summit organized by US India Business Council which saw addresses by the top signatories including PM Modi and EAM Jaishankar.   The theme was ‘Preparing for the Better Future’ and thus the address was expected to revolve around the same. The state of the pandemic originating in Wuhan along with the border tensions with China seemed an appropriate setting for India to woo US and make its shift to the US camp more explicit. As the world confronts a possible long Cold War between US and China, India has very little opportunity to pretend neutrality. As a matter of fact, India will be in the frontline of the conflict and possibly along with Japan or Korea may be facing the first line of attack from China. The recent manoeuvres from China along the Ladakh border are intimidation tactics to warn India of keeping itself away from the US camp.   The Prime Minister talked about India and US being natural partners and invited the US MNCs to invest in India. India is
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