Curated expert opinion on intractable contemporary issues
Global Outlook Articles by Ramesh Thakur
Ramesh Thakur is emeritus professor in the Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University; Senior Fellow, Toda Peace Institute; and a member of the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network Board of Directors. He was formerly a United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Co-Convenor of the APLN.
Trump’s Attacks on BRICS Could Strengthen Its Cohesion
By Ramesh Thakur | 21 August, 2025
At a time when the world is shifting into a period of multipolar multilateralism, Trump’s anger-fuelled attempts to coerce India and Brazil into abandoning BRICS could instead cement the group’s cohesion as the vehicle for democratising the architecture of international financial governance.
The Myths Behind the Romantic Faith in the Bomb
By Ramesh Thakur | 09 August, 2025
The simplest explanation for why nuclear weapons have not been used again in the 80 years since 1945, despite the presence of tens of thousands of warheads in American and Soviet arsenals at peak numbers in the 1980s, is that they are essentially unusable.
The Fall of Assad is a Cautionary Tale of Blowback
By Ramesh Thakur | 22 December, 2024
A regime built on terror, ruled by fear and sustained by foreign proxy forces crumbled in less than a fortnight. In the end, the foundations of the House of Assad (1970–2024) rested on the shifting sands of time.
The Challenge of Nuclear Weapons to the UN Security Council: Adapt or Die
By Ramesh Thakur | 02 October, 2024
The United Nations is the biggest incubator of global norms to govern the world and the vital core of the rules-based global multilateral order.
The Long Arc of India–Russia Relations
By Ramesh Thakur | 08 September, 2024
Changing state attributes and international profile help to explain the shifting balance of interests that have shaped bilateral Moscow–New Delhi relations over three periods.
What Stands in the Way of a Nuclear Weapon-Free World?
By Ramesh Thakur | 13 August, 2024
Stronger treaties are needed more than ever as Hiroshima marks A-bomb anniversary.
The views and opinions expressed in Global Outlook are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Toda Peace Institute.