Publications

Putin visits New Delhi

Between photo shoot and unpleasant topics

On December 4, Russian ruler Putin is expected in New Delhi for the first time since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine. India and Russia are linked by a long-standing friendship, but for the Modi administration, this state visit is not a matter of course. As the world's largest democracy and emerging world power, India must be concerned about its international reputation while keeping its own interests in relation to Russia in mind. For Putin, there is an opportunity in India to present himself on the international stage and demonstrate his ability to act

Call for Proposal - Publication of Manuscript - China's Secret War on Europe

The India Office of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) is pleased to announce a Call for Proposals to partner in the development and authorship of a comprehensive, research-driven manuscript tentatively titled China’s Secret War on Europe. KAS India seeks to commission a rigorously researched, analytically rich, and policy-relevant volume that examines China’s evolving hybrid influence, covert operations and grey-zone activities affecting European security, particularly in the context of the ongoing War in Ukraine. In addition, the manuscript should draw comparative insights from India’s long-term experience with Chinese coercive, intelligence-linked, and grey-zone tactics. The proposed manuscript aims to provide: •Evidence-based analysis of China’s covert and dual-use activities affecting Europe. •A detailed examination of Chinese hybrid-warfare operations targeting European institutions, infrastructure and resilience using primary sources. •Comparative insights from India–China dynamics to contextualise and deepen the understanding of China’s modus operandi. •A technically informed, strategically grounded study accessible to both academic and practitioner audiences.

Call for Proposals-Travel and Event Management related services

The India Office of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) is pleased to call for proposals

-Business Auxiliary Services pertaining to Delegations, Conferences and Events -Air ticketing for both domestic and International -Hotel Accommodation reservations -Transportation Services

India‘s young demographics and old democracy

Why India’s political representation is facing challenges

Political systems are in upheaval around India. Just recently, the young generation in Nepal rebelled against the entire party landscape or against the political class, which they saw as ageing. Travelers to India also immediately notice that the country has a young population. Children, teenagers and people in their thirties dominate the streetscape. Indian politics, on the other hand, is primarily embodied by older gentlemen. But can this phenomenon be statistically recorded? Is there a wider gap between the country's young demographics and the supposedly much older political class than would be the case in other countries?

Does South Asia exist?

Taking stock of a notoriously poorly connected region

Indians are aware that they are perceived as part of the continent of Asia. However, although their homeland is in Asia, they have not developed a self-image as Asians. When Indians go out for “Asian” food, they mean Chinese or Japanese cuisine. South Asia is also a foreign term that emerged after the independence of British India. It is a linguistic attempt not to reduce the region that was previously called India to the Republic of India. South Asia is often underestimated as a geographical area in Germany. While many wonder when Africa’s population will reach the 2 billion mark, there are already 2.02 billion people living in South Asia if India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives are added together. But can these countries even be called South Asia? This country report is a reality check for that term.

End of Hindu nationalism or return of caste politics?

Lessons from the Indian parliamentary elections

In the wake of the Indian parliamentary elections, a number of German media outlets saw the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) loss of its parliamentary majority as a victory for democracy and a sign of the Indian population's resistance to Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalism. Headlines included slogans such as: "India decides against Hindu nationalism and authoritarian tendencies” and “Democracy won instead of Modi”. But did the voters really turn against the Hindutva ideology of the BJP? Has the BJP overplayed its Hindu nationalist card? This article attempts to find answers to these questions and explain why the general election result was much more than a vote against Hindutva and perceived authoritarian tendencies.

Konrad Adenauer School for Young Politicians KASYP Batch 16 (2025-2026)

Programme Information

The Konrad Adenauer School for Young Politicians (KASYP) is a capacity-development programme implemented by the Regional Programme Dialogue Asia of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KASPDA) since March 2010. Applications for the Konrad Adenauer School for Young Politicians (KASYP) - Batch 16 are open until 31st of August 2024. The application form should be emailed to Mr. Rey Uzhmar C. Padit (rey.padit@kas.de; kasyp.singapore@gmail.com).

The dawn of the gods in India?

An analysis of the Indian parliamentary elections

India has voted and the Prime Minister is called Narendra Damodardas Modi once again. Contrary to the latest election forecasts, however, Prime Minister Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) suffered significant seat losses. While the BJP had won a landslide victory in 2019 with 303 seats, this time it won 240 seats. This means that the BJP can no longer rule alone in the 543-seat lower house, the Lok Sabha. For the first time, Modi will now have to rely on his coalition partners from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to form a government. The party alliance received a total of 292 votes. India is now returning to a coalition government after a decade-long hiatus - a phenomenon that Modi did not experience during his three terms as chief minister of the state of Gujarat or during his two terms as prime minister.

India's parliamentary elections 2024

The invincible against the disunited

When the world's biggest elections are held in India from 19 April to 1 June this year, two unequal opponents will be running against each other for the third time in a row. Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who is seeking his third consecutive term in office, will once again face Rahul Gandhi. Gandhi had always lost to Modi in his previous two attempts. While Narendra Modi has never lost an election in his political career, in which he has held high political office for 22 years without interruption, the opposite is true for Rahul Gandhi. He has never been a minister in a federal or state government and has not led his Congress party to victory in the parliamentary elections in two attempts (2014 and 2019). He also resigned as party leader after his defeat in 2019. Nevertheless, he remains the most well-known face and lynchpin of opposition politics. The following country report briefly explains how elections work in the world's largest democracy and examines the state of opposition politics, particularly with regard to the Congress Party, in the run-up to the 2024 parliamentary elections. It also analyses why the next Prime Minister of India is likely to be called Narendra Modi once again.

Call for Abstracts

Submission Deadline: 31st of January 2024

Scholars, policy makers and practitioners are invited to submit their abstracts of 250-300 words for the conference on: "Navigating the Climate Crisis in Northern Himalayan Region of India: Rethinking Federal Governance" (Kashmir, 6th-7th March). The conference specifically welcomes abstracts that delve into the intersection of climate change and federal governance. Submission deadline: 31st of January 2024. Mail to: climatefederalism@gmail.com