Background Papers & Special Reports

ORF America’s Background Papers and Special Reports are meant to inform policymakers and an interested general audience about key policy issues. Topics fall broadly within ORF America’s research areas: foreign policy and security, technology policy, energy and climate, and economic development.

ORF America welcomes submissions to its Background Paper series from all authors, regardless of background and experience. For submission guidelines, click here.

Featured
The Decline of India-Russia Strategic Relations
The Decline of India-Russia Strategic Relations

Background Paper No. 28

By Jackson Lopez

Polls to Policy: Energy and Climate Cooperation after the United States and India’s 2024 Elections
Polls to Policy: Energy and Climate Cooperation after the United States and India’s 2024 Elections

Background Paper No. 27

By Medha Prasanna

Building Resilient Supply Chains: The Case of Semiconductors
Building Resilient Supply Chains: The Case of Semiconductors

Background Paper No. 26

By Jeffrey D. Bean and Andreas Kuehn

Ensuring Continuity in the U.S.-India Energy Relationship through Cooperation on Climate
Ensuring Continuity in the U.S.-India Energy Relationship through Cooperation on Climate

Background Paper No. 24

By Peter Jarka-Sellers

India's Role in Diversifying Global Clean Energy Supply Chains
India's Role in Diversifying Global Clean Energy Supply Chains

Ongoing armed conflicts in Europe and the Middle East and a fractured trade relationship between the world’s two largest economies, the United States and China, mean the energy transition cannot take economic integration and its accompanying benefits for granted.

Special Report

By Raj Sawhney, Shayak Sengupta, and Gregory Wischer

Editor: Shayak Sengupta

India’s Foreign Assistance: Trends, Processes, and Priorities
India’s Foreign Assistance: Trends, Processes, and Priorities

Background Paper No. 25

By Ammar Nainar

India’s Tech Strategy: An Introductory Overview
India’s Tech Strategy: An Introductory Overview

Background Paper No. 23

By Tisyaketu Sirkar & Dhruva Jaishankar

India: The Rising Power in Global Solar Photovoltaic Supply Chains
India: The Rising Power in Global Solar Photovoltaic Supply Chains

Background Paper No. 22

By Gregory Wischer

Charging Up: India’s Potential Role in Global Battery Supply Chains
Charging Up: India’s Potential Role in Global Battery Supply Chains

Background Paper No. 21

By Gregory Wischer

Decoding India's Green Hydrogen Potential
Decoding India's Green Hydrogen Potential

Background Paper No. 20

By Raj Sawhney 

LiFE Lessons: Rethinking Policies for Lifestyles for Sustainable Development
LiFE Lessons: Rethinking Policies for Lifestyles for Sustainable Development

Background Paper No. 19

By Anit Mukherjee

Whodunit in Cyberspace: The Rocky Road from Attribution to Accountability
Whodunit in Cyberspace: The Rocky Road from Attribution to Accountability

Background Paper No. 18

By Dr. Andreas Kuehn, Debra Decker, and Kathryn Rauhut

Holding the Taliban to Account: Stakeholders in an Inclusive Post-Settlement Afghanistan
Holding the Taliban to Account: Stakeholders in an Inclusive Post-Settlement Afghanistan

Background Paper No. 17

By Sadiq Amini

Digital Development: Emulating India's Digital Public Infrastructure to Reach the Sustainable Development Goals
Digital Development: Emulating India's Digital Public Infrastructure to Reach the Sustainable Development Goals

Background Paper No. 16

By Anit Mukherjee, Rajeesh Menon, and Yukti Sharma

Diversifying Solar Supply Chains: Costs and the Case for International Coordination
Diversifying Solar Supply Chains: Costs and the Case for International Coordination

Background Paper No. 15

By Shayak Sengupta

Canceling Carbon: The Global Context of India’s New National Carbon Market
Canceling Carbon: The Global Context of India’s New National Carbon Market

Background Paper No. 14

By Peter Jarka-Sellers and Shayak Sengupta

Rebooting Development Finance: An Agenda for Reforming Multilateral Development Banks
Rebooting Development Finance: An Agenda for Reforming Multilateral Development Banks

Background Paper No. 13

By Udaibir Das, Anit Mukherjee, and Medha Prasanna

Precision Targets: Accelerating the U.S.-India Defense Industrial Partnership
Precision Targets: Accelerating the U.S.-India Defense Industrial Partnership

Background Paper No. 12

By Gopal Nadadur & Dhruva Jaishankar

U.S.-India Energy Monitor, No. 6
U.S.-India Energy Monitor, No. 6

The focus of this issue of the U.S.-India Energy Monitor is hydrogen in the United States and India.

Special Report

By Shayak Sengupta, Medha Prasanna, and Peter Jarka-Sellers

U.S.-India Energy Monitor, No. 5
U.S.-India Energy Monitor, No. 5

The focus of this issue of the U.S.-India Energy Monitor is natural gas in the United States and India.

Special Report

By Shayak Sengupta

Transatlantic Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific
Transatlantic Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific

Background Paper No. 11

By Avi Kirpekar

Cyber Stability in the Developing World
Cyber Stability in the Developing World

Increased malicious cyber activities by criminals and state actors undermine the technical security of digital systems and threaten the industrial, social, and economic systems that rely on them.

Special Report

By Abagail Lawson

Democracy in Indian Foreign Policy
Democracy in Indian Foreign Policy

Recent developments – most notably the rise and assertiveness of the People’s Republic of China – have led to a rethink about the role of democracy in Indian foreign policy.

Special Report

By Dhruva Jaishankar & Ammar Nainar

U.S.-India Energy Monitor, No. 4
U.S.-India Energy Monitor, No. 4

The focus of this issue of the U.S.-India Energy Monitor is the wind sector in the United States and India.

Special Report

By Shayak Sengupta & Jahanvi Singh

U.S.-India Energy Monitor, No. 3
U.S.-India Energy Monitor, No. 3

A focus of this issue is the coal sector in the United States in India.

Special Report

By Shayak Sengupta & Jahanvi Singh

In Cybserspace, Actions—Not Words—Define Norms
In Cybserspace, Actions—Not Words—Define Norms

Background Paper No. 10

By Michael Depp

New Opportunities: India and the United States in a Changing Middle East
New Opportunities: India and the United States in a Changing Middle East

Background Paper No. 9

By Jeff M. Smith

U.S.-India Energy Monitor, No. 2
U.S.-India Energy Monitor, No. 2

A particular focus of this issue is solar energy in the United States and India. Solar will be key to reducing emissions and decarbonizing the energy systems of both countries.

Special Report

By Shayak Sengupta & Ammar Nainar

Why Welfare Policies are Ill-Suited for 21st Century Families
Why Welfare Policies are Ill-Suited for 21st Century Families

Background Paper No. 8

By Terri B. Chapman

The Evolution and Roles of India’s National Security Council
The Evolution and Roles of India’s National Security Council

Background Paper No. 7

By Ammar Nainar

 

Publications from previous years can be found here.

Reprinting Permission: Requests to reprint any ORF America material (including Background Papers) in other publications or on other websites will be considered on a case-by-case basis. For inquiries please contact us and mention Reprint in the subject line.

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