Neighborhood Studies looks at the range of cross-cutting issues such as political developments, economic activities, cross-border activities and foreign affairs related issues and security surfacing in its immediate neighbors – India and China – in addition to its extended neighbors such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Maldives. The study focuses to explore and identify emerging priorities in the neighborhood and generate evidence and analysis.
Nepal, under its youngest-ever Prime Minister, is attempting something genuinely new: refusing to be just a chessboard square in someone else’s game and instead trying to be a player in its own right ...
Despite the challenges exerted upon it, the positioning of Nepal between two rising powers of Asia can be a strategic leverage to enhance Nepal’s global interactions and its foreign policy aspirations in the international arena ...
India-Nepal tourism thrives on deep cultural, religious, historical and geographic ties, with India as the largest source of visitors due to open borders and shared pilgrimage sites like Pashupatinath and Lumbini ...
Europe's relationship with India is a result of the international political pressures faced by both regions. Europe has been under duress since the Russia-Ukraine war, and the US’s dressing down of Europe recently has made Europe more vulnerable than ever ...
Given the distinctive asymmetric challenges, which reinforce imbalance, Nepal’s experience highlights the limits of viewing strategic neutrality as a symmetrical balancing act between India and China ...
In an increasingly multipolar world, Nepal’s strength lies not in rhetorical positioning but in clear-eyed realism, strategic consistency, and the pursuit of national interest grounded in geopolitical realities ...
Iran remains an important regional partner for India, particularly in the context of long-term energy security and connectivity ambitions. However, positioning Iran in direct strategic equivalence with the United States and Israel risks overstating the geopolitical significance of the relationship ...
Reinvigorating SAARC needs to underscore mutual interests, economic interaction, and social cooperation coupled with revamping the institutional capacities ...
Prime Minister Balen Shah’s Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) government inherits both railway proposals and the underlying geopolitical competition they represent ...
Diplomacy on a Budget: Analysing Nepal’s 2026 Budget as a Catalyst for Soft Power and Economic Diplomacy
The 2026 budget marks a decisive moment in Nepal’s foreign policy evolution. By anchoring its diplomatic strategy in the bedrock of economic interest and soft power, Nepal is attempting to navigate the complexities of a competitive global environment with greater agency ...