376 results

Indian Nuclearization of the Indian Ocean Region and its Implications for the Strategic Stability of South Asia

Anwarul Haq

Policy Perspectives, Vol. 23 No. 2 · 2026 · English · DOAJ

This paper examines the Indian naval nuclear modernization through the lens of offensive realism. The scholarship argues that India’s naval nuclearization is driven less by its defense necessity than by its ambitions to be a regional hegemon in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). The existing literature…

Ideals vs Interests: The Evolution of US Military Interventionism

Malik Waleed

Policy Perspectives, Vol. 23 No. 2 · 2026 · English · DOAJ

In July 1776, the Second Continental Congress – a group of leaders from thirteen erstwhile British colonies – adopted the draft of the Declaration of Independence. The draft was the outcome of the collective consciousness of the founding fathers of the American nation, who acknowledged, ‘all men…

Dialogue at IPS

Policy Perspectives, Vol. 23 No. 2 · 2026 · English · DOAJ

International Relations, Pakistan Affairs, Faith, Society & Law, Science & Technology, and Leadership & Governance are the core themes of the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), Islamabad, which remained the focus of discussions held at IPS during the past few months. The following write-up…

In this issue

Policy Perspectives, Vol. 23 No. 2 · 2026 · English · DOAJ

Reserve Currency Dominance: The Status of the US Dollar, Trends, Alternatives and the Future Outlook

Shaikh Amjad Maqsood

Policy Perspectives, Vol. 23 No. 2 · 2026 · English · DOAJ

This paper explores the historical evolution of international reserve currencies, the emergence and resilience of the US dollar-centered monetary order, and the prospects for future change. It introduces the Reserve Currency Ecosystem Framework (RCEF), which argues that reserve-currency leadership…

The Objectives Resolution: An Unfulfilled Objective?: An Analysis of Its Constitutional and Judicial Impact in Pakistan Since 1949

Syed Muaz Shah

Policy Perspectives, Vol. 23 No. 2 · 2026 · English · DOAJ

The Objectives Resolution, passed in March 1949 by Liaquat Ali Khan, has served as the symbolic core of Pakistan's constitutional journey. Mired by controversy, some argue was undeserved, it has transformed into a provision of substantive constitutional value and authority. From a preambular…

Reimagining Refugee Representation in AJK: A Framework for Constitutional and Electoral Reform

Iftikhar Gilani

Policy Perspectives, Vol. 23 No. 2 · 2026 · English · DOAJ

The controversy surrounding twelve refugee seats in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly has brought renewed attention to the constitutional and political challenges of refugee representation in AJK, particularly in light of the demands raised by the Joint Awami Action Committee…

Misinterpreted Theories and Misplaced Criticism: The Two Case Studies in the Erosion of Rational Discourse

Farhat Taj

Policy Perspectives, Vol. 23 No. 2 · 2026 · English · DOAJ

This article studies the challenges to scientific discourse in Pakistan through two cases: the coercion of a Zoology assistant professor in Bannu district to renounce Darwin’s theory of evolution and a podcast discussion critiquing a peer-reviewed article on Pakistan-Afghanistan relations. The…

Crisis, Deterrence & Diplomacy: Pakistan’s Rising Middle Power Profile after India’s 2025 Aggression

Waleed Rasool

Policy Perspectives, Vol. 23 No. 2 · 2026 · English · DOAJ

This paper examines how India’s May 2025 military aggression, culminating in Operation Sindoor, became a strategic catalyst that elevated Pakistan’s geopolitical profile and consolidated its emergence as an emerging middle power despite clear asymmetry in conventional military and economic…

In this issue

Policy Perspectives, Vol. 23 No. 1 · 2026 · English · DOAJ

Fractured Sovereignty: The Decline of State Authority in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen

Kardo Rached; Hogr Tarkhani; Halo Salh

Policy Perspectives, Vol. 23 No. 1 · 2026 · English · DOAJ

Since the Arab Spring, the traditional state system in the Middle East has significantly weakened, leading to a fragmentation of power across the region. This paper explores how centralized nation-states, established during the colonial and post-colonial periods, have gradually collapsed in…

Pages that Frighten Power: The Banned Literature of Kashmir-II

Waleed Rasool; Malik Waleed

Policy Perspectives, Vol. 23 No. 1 · 2026 · English · DOAJ

Invoking Section 98 of the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, the State Department of the Government in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir recently ordered the forfeiture of 25 scholarly books, citing them as ‘seditious’ or ‘anti-national.’ Applicable to the Union Territory of…

Settler Colonialism in Kashmir and the North East: India’s Inter- and Intra-State Strategies and Implications for SAARC

Waleed Rasool

Policy Perspectives, Vol. 23 No. 1 · 2026 · English · DOAJ

This qualitative study relies on a theory-driven analysis of legal and institutional sources to evaluate the application of post-colonial theory to the Kashmir issue by India, comparing the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir with India’s North-Eastern states at the intra-state level and…

Front Matter

Policy Perspectives, Vol. 23 No. 1 · 2026 · English · DOAJ

Flood Crisis in Pakistan: Challenges and Road Ahead

Faryal Qazi

Policy Perspectives, Vol. 23 No. 1 · 2026 · English · DOAJ

Pakistan's increased exposure to climate extremes has made floods a chronic national crisis from a periodic natural occurrence. This paper examines how changing environments have heightened the frequency and intensity of floods, with governance inefficiencies such as inadequate urban planning and…

Pakistan and the New Global Race for Rare Earth Minerals

Jameela Achakzai

Policy Perspectives, Vol. 23 No. 1 · 2026 · English · DOAJ

Rare earth minerals (REMs) have become central to global economic and strategic competition. Once confined to specialist scientific and industrial circles, these minerals now underpin technologies ranging from electric vehicles and renewable energy systems to advanced electronics, aerospace…

Dialogue at IPS

Policy Perspectives, Vol. 23 No. 1 · 2026 · English · DOAJ

International Relations, Pakistan Affairs, Faith, Society & Law, Science & Technology, and Leadership & Governance are the core themes of the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), Islamabad, which remained the focus of discussions held at IPS during the past few months. The following write-up…

Leveraging Geography for Strategic Gains: Analyzing Israel’s Evolution through Historical Perspective

Muhammad Farooq

Policy Perspectives, Vol. 23 No. 1 · 2026 · English · DOAJ

Consequent to the complex interplay of global manipulation, power politics, regional influence and geo-economic accessibility, the creation of Israel in the middle of Palestine, marked the beginning of a perpetual conflict in the Middle East. Intended to serve the mutual interests of the British…

The Global Governance Crisis in the Twenty-First Century: An Appraisal

Aneela Shahzad

Policy Perspectives, Vol. 23 No. 1 · 2026 · English · DOAJ

The modern global governance project, conceived in the interwar and post-1945 eras, institutionalized most visibly in the United Nations (UN), contrasts the pre-1914 imperial order. The post-World War settlements fragmented empires into nation-states, while promising to re-aggregate them under a…

Back Matter

Policy Perspectives, Vol. 23 No. 1 · 2026 · English · DOAJ