UPSC - International relations by Vikas Kanukollu

✅Gs-2 : IR - West Asia- The Makkah Pact - competing interpretations of the MAKKAH agreement: ⚜️Interpretation A = Greater regional autonomy: New partnerships may reduce reliance on a single external security provider. ⚜️Interpretation B = Burden-sharing within a U.S.-centred order: Regional states may assume more responsibility while continuing to depend on American equipment, intelligence and support. ⚜️MY TAKE = Its basically like Hedging which means maintaining multiple relationships to manage uncertainty and avoid excessive dependence on one power.Similarly A deeper Saudi–Pakistan relationship does not automatically make Saudi policy hostile to India ⚠️China seeks to convert its economic presence in West Asia into greater diplomatic influence AND ALSO limiting the military obligations associated with guaranteeing regional security. If you are worried about CONSISTENT and STRUCTURED coverage of Current affairs- please do consider the VERITAS program of VK IAS- CLICK HERE

✅Gs-2 : IR 🅾️India should use BRICS to expand its development choices- But we should also make sure that the grouping is not going to become an instrument of Chinese strategic influence. The New Development Bank offers a practical route for making sure of this. ✅Gs-3 : Mobilization of resources- BRICS-NDB ⚜️Strategic Goal: The NDB's 2022-26 General Strategy commits to conducting 30% of its lending and borrowing in member countries' local currencies to reduce reliance on the US dollar. ⚜️India's Next Step- it is time for India to push forward a long-delayed rupee bond, which is tentatively scheduled for a debut issuance by the end of March 2026. 🛑Link between Bond Yields and liquidity?- Click here 🎖VK IAS subject wise channels - Click here ⚠️Subscribe to VK IAS's YouTube channel : Click here

✅Gs-2 : IR- BRICS 🅾️The 18th BRICS Summit highlights the strategic necessity of harnessing the collaborative "POWER" framework ⚠️Dimensions ⚜️Pillar 1: Structural/Institutional Context : The 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi (September 12-13, 2026), under India's presidency, is guided by the "POWER" (Principle, Openness, Win-Win, Engine, Responsibility) strategy advocated by Xu Feihong and steered by leaders like Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi. ⚜️Pillar 2: The Core Challenge/Conflict : Rising hegemonism, tariff barriers, and decoupling threaten the World Trade Organization (WTO) framework and disrupt vital global energy and mineral supply chains. ⚜️Pillar 3: Socio-Economic Impact: Representing ~30% of global output and one-fifth of trade, BRICS is a critical economic engine. Improved India-China ties have yielded concrete results, including the resumption of five direct flight routes and the reopening of border trade after a six-year suspension. ⚠️Gs2-IR/PSIR channel link : https://t.me/UPSC_PSIR_IR

✅Gs-2 : IR- Extended Neighbourhood- IPDMA Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness 📍What are the 5 principles for safeguarding maritime domain- PM Modi's vision-Coastal security : Coastal security- Its components : click here 📍What is Underwater domain awareness strategy?-Why sea lanes matter for Indian security agencies and India's status as a blue water navy?- What is Indian maritime security doctrine- Click here ⚠️Gs2-IR/PSIR channel link : https://t.me/UPSC_PSIR_IR 🎖Please Subscribe : Youtube.com/vikaskanukollu

✅Gs-2 : IR- Extended Neighbourhood- Mecca pact 🅾️West Asia- The Makkah Pact shows that India’s western flank is becoming a security theatre where energy, maritime routes and Pakistan’s military diplomacy increasingly intersect. 📌Prelims pointers : ⚜️1. I2U2 grouping- short note- click here ⚜️2. Gulf Cooperation Council- Click here ⚜️3. Rise of new regional players in establishing regional stability- Click here ⚜️4. Saudi arabia Nuclear deal - Click here ⚠️Gs2-IR/PSIR channel link : https://t.me/UPSC_PSIR_IR 🎖Please Subscribe : Youtube.com/vikaskanukollu

✅Gs-2 : IR- maritime security 🅾️SHANTI initiatitve ⚜️It is completely understandable that these sound like hollow diplomatic alphabet soup! 😅😅Governments love creating catchy acronyms that often blur together and sound like empty buzzwords. But they are NOT! 📌Let me simplify them for you. 🅾️1. SAGAR is the initial idea: We should safeguard Bay of bengal from threats 🅾️2. MAHASAGAR is the expansion: Realising what happens in pacific ocean can spill over to Indian ocean- its like adding more members to your whatsapp group 🅾️3. SHANTI is the manual: Actual rules for who to call, what to do, and how to share the costs when there's an emergency. ⚠️Gs2-IR/PSIR channel link : https://t.me/UPSC_PSIR_IR 🎖Please Subscribe : Youtube.com/vikaskanukollu

✅Gs-2 : IR- Diaspora issues- HADR 🅾️Around 23,000 Indian seafarers are estimated to be working in the Gulf region. Many serve on foreign-flagged ships. When geopolitical conflict affects shipping, Indian citizens become exposed even when India is not a direct party to the conflict.India’s diaspora policy must move beyond evacuation after crisis to anticipatory risk mapping of vulnerable Indian workers abroad. ❇️Examples ⚜️Indian workers evacuated from Kuwait during Gulf War ⚜️Operation Raahat in Yemen ⚜️Operation Kaveri in Sudan ⚜️Operation Ajay from Israel ⚜️Vande Bharat Mission during COVID-19 ⚜️Indian nurses evacuated from Iraq and Libya 📌India therefore needs a layered response combining naval presence, consular tracking, stronger contracts for seafarers, coordination with flag states, real-time shipping alerts and diplomatic pressure for civilian protection. ⚠️Gs2-IR/PSIR channel link : https://t.me/UPSC_PSIR_IR 🎖Please Subscribe : Youtube.com/vikaskanukollu

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⚠️Attention : VK IAS DELHI VISIT Last year i conducted a mock exam in DELHI and this year also... one of the student reached out sending me how useful that test was. Infact he sent me these detailed analysis of the test that he ran through various AI models... I did not want to claim the test had direct hits but felt happy on noticing how people remembered this test.. If I want to conduct one such open mock... will you be interested?- Also you can meet me and get an advice if I can be of some help to you! Express your intent here in this form .. https://forms.gle/AFSHvxDzhFMB5v6cA

✅Gs-2 : IR- India- Newzealand FTA deal 🅾️India’s challenge is not only producing food, but productivity per animal, quality control, export standards. New Zealand is globally strong in these issues- This FTA can accelerate: 1. Agriculture dimension : ⚜️Smart dairy tech ⚜️Breed improvement science ⚜️Supply chain digitisation ⚜️Sensor-based farming 2. Energy dimension : New Zealand has experience in: ⚜️Geothermal energy ⚜️Grid management with renewables ⚜️Low-carbon agriculture models ⚜️Hydrogen ecosystem experimentation 3. Strategic : ⚜️New Zealand is a gateway to Antarctica research networks-Polar logistics cooperation ⚜️Stronger Pacific outreach ⚠️Gs2-IR/PSIR channel link : https://t.me/UPSC_PSIR_IR 🎖Please Subscribe : Youtube.com/vikaskanukollu

✅Gs-2 : IR- UNCLOS 🅾️The escalating conflict in the Strait of Hormuz represents a breakdown of the rules-based international order, where domestic sanctions and retaliatory maritime blockades challenge the sanctity of Freedom of Navigation in global "choke points." 🅾️Transit Passage: Unlike "Innocent Passage" (where ships cannot be a threat), the Strait of Hormuz is governed by Transit Passage, allowing unhindered transit for all vessels, as it connects two parts of the high seas/EEZs. 🅾️Legal Conflict: International law prohibits unilateral tolls on international straits and requires UN Security Council authorization for interceptions, which the U.S. lacks in this context. 🅾️ Way Forward & Mains Value-Add : Invest in domestic refinery capacity + renewable transition to reduce import intensity (Viksit Bharat 2047 goal: energy security = national security) ⚠️Gs2-IR/PSIR channel link : https://t.me/UPSC_PSIR_IR 🎖Please Subscribe : Youtube.com/vikaskanukollu

✅Gs-2 : IR- India-Iran relations 🅾️Chahbahar Port issue- you need to know ⚜️1. Primary Sanctions: These prohibit U.S. citizens and companies from doing business with Iran. ⚜️2. Secondary Sanctions: They penalize third-party countries or firms (like India’s IPGL) that continue to deal with sanctioned Iranian entities. If India ignores them, Indian banks and companies could be barred from the U.S. financial system. ⚠️Impact = India has spent 23 years developing Chabahar to bypass Pakistan and reach landlocked Afghanistan and Central Asia= Strategic Autonomy (the right to pursue its own foreign policy) VS Partnership with the U.S. 📌Chabahar’s unique value is its location on the Gulf of Oman, outside the Strait of Hormuz. This allows ships to bypass the world's most congested oil "choke point." By ending the waiver, the U.S. is effectively closing a strategic bypass that India spent decades building. ⚠️Gs2-IR/PSIR channel link : https://t.me/UPSC_PSIR_IR 🎖Please Subscribe : Youtube.com/vikaskanukollu

✅Gs-2 : IR- Iran war 🅾️Central argument of the article : India’s current response to the 2026 Iran-Israel-U.S. conflict represents a departure from "Strategic Autonomy" toward an ideologically-driven alignment with the U.S.-Israel axis. 🔰Why did the author say this? ⚜️ A major portion of the argument focuses on the government’s refusal to condole the assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. 🚫Comparison Critic's View vs Govt 🔗1. Policy is a surrender to the U.S vs Policy is a pragmatic alignment with the likely winner. 🔗2. India is ignoring a civilisational friend (Iran) vs India is prioritizing its largest trading partner (U.S.). 🔗3.Refusal to condole Khamenei was a diplomatic error vs Avoiding condolences avoids legitimizing a sanctioned regime 🔗4.The Israel visit timing was an ideological blunder vs the visit was needed for strengthening of a security partnership ⚠️Gs2-IR/PSIR channel link : https://t.me/UPSC_PSIR_IR 🎖Please Subscribe : Youtube.com/vikaskanukollu

#Economy #IR ✅Gs-2 : IR- energy security is the primary driver of global geopolitics 🅾️Sudden closure of a critical maritime chokepoint the Strait of Hormuz has forced a massive, opportunistic recalibration of international alliances and trade flows.Strait of Hormuz is the world's most sensitive economic trigger because of : 🔗The Scale: It handles nearly one-fifth (20%) of all oil traded globally. 🔗The Disruption: The military conflict led Iran to block the 33km-wide gateway, immediately causing supply shocks and price spikes (surpassing $110 a barrel). 🔗The Consequence: This single point of failure shifts power from those who control the routes to those who control the surplus (like Russia).Despite its history of sanctions and military intervention, the U.S. is "desperate" to see more Russian oil enter the market to stabilize prices and calm its "gas-guzzling" economy. ⚠️Gs2-IR/PSIR channel link : https://t.me/UPSC_PSIR_IR 🎖Please Subscribe : Youtube.com/vikaskanukollu

✅Gs-2: IR- India and West Asia relations ✅Gs-3: Security 📍Context : Iran conflict 📌Dimension 1 : Realignment of West Asian Security Architecture- United States acted as the security guarantor of Gulf monarchies after Iranian Revolution- that is changing now- leading to a geopolitical restructuring of West Asia. 📌Dimension 2 : India faces 3 simultaneous strategic pressures.- But as a framework check this- Whenever we are dealing with India's relation with any country ⚜️Energy security risk ⚜️Indian diaspora vulnerability-Remittances 1–1.5% of India’s GDP-Nearly 9 million Indians live in Gulf countries. ⚜️India maintains relations with multiple competing actors:Lessons learnt from Alaska Summit 🔗• Iran (energy and Chabahar connectivity) 🔗• Israel (defence cooperation) 🔗• Gulf - Qatar+ Oman 🔗• US (strategic partnership) 📌Dimension 3- Defence Self-Reliance Lesson--Kargil Review Committee ⚠️Gs2-IR/PSIR channel link : https://t.me/UPSC_PSIR_IR 🎖Please Subscribe : Youtube.com/vikaskanukollu

✅Gs-3 - Infra- power- Nuclear power- Status of India's Nuclear fuel program 🅾️Recent Context : SHANTI Act and India’s Nuclear Development- ✅Gs-2 : IR- India- Canada Relations- Uranium pact. 🅾️India signed a $2.6-billion deal with Canada’s Cameco to secure 10,000 tonnes of uranium between 2027 and 2035. ⚠️Why?- The primary driver for this deal is the sheer difference in ore quality. Canadian ore is 10 to 100 times richer. 📌Strategic benefit- By using imported fuel for the civilian grid, India can "vouchsafe" its limited domestic uranium stocks specifically for its nuclear weapons program and nuclear-powered submarines, which cannot legally use imported material. 🔗Note- Concept of doubling time- time taken for one fast breeder reactor (FBR) to produce enough excess fuel to start a second, identical reactor ⚠️VK IAS subject wise channels - Click here 🎖Please Subscribe : Youtube.com/vikaskanukollu