Governance

The Importance of Institutional Checks and Balances on Government Beyond Elections

“People shouldn’t be afraid of their government. Governments should be afraid of their people.” ― Alan Moore, V for Vendetta Governments are expected to keep a check on society, ensure law and order is maintained, and maximise the welfare of its citizens. The constitution acts as a toolkit and provides the framework to implement these …

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Setting Up a Carbon Market at the Crossroads of What is and What Could Be

The Rajya Sabha passed the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill in December 2022. The bill aims to regulate and decarbonise energy consumption by industries, households, transportation, and others. Most provisions aim to promote renewable energy for industries and infrastructure. More interestingly, the bill proposes a carbon trading market in India.  A carbon credit is a saleable …

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India’s Nuclear Doctrine

Since the pronouncement of India’s No First Use Policy, which is a voluntary decision to not use one’s nuclear weapons first, two decades ago, the matter has been under constant scrutiny. The necessity, relevance and effectiveness of the approach has been a matter of discussions and deliberations ever since.  Historical Background India’s stance on the …

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First Past the Post: Revisiting its relevance in the Indian scenario

An electoral system impacts the quality of representative democracy and the nature and extent of voting behaviour. Different electoral laws produce different results and representatives of various types. The ideal electoral system in a representative democracy permits all eligible citizens to cast an equally weighted vote. It also allows united groups of voters to elect …

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Administrative Decentralisation and Climate Action: Concepts and its operationalisation in current era

The response to the serious global challenge of climate change is gaining momentum and changing at both the domestic and international levels. In the 2015 Paris Agreement, signatory nations agreed to pursue efforts to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C and to more aggressively adapt to the effects of climate change. They also agreed to …

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What Explains the Persistence of Authoritarian Regimes?

Authoritarian regimes despite having a strong negative connotation attached to them, have on multiple occasions managed to survive for decades. This essay explores the potential reasons which help explain the persistence of authoritarian regimes besides coercion, fear and violence, which are ever-present in most authoritarian regimes. The essay first attempts to define what an authoritarian …

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