Quad Plus: Form versus Substance

Research Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Dr. Jagannath Panda's Guest Edited special issue on 'Quad Plus: Form versus Substance' has been published in the Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs, Vol.3, No.5, 2020, Air University, USA. 

This special issue brings together different national and scholarly perspectives to analyze the potential of the Quad Plus from varied national and regional connotations, having 18 articles together. The special issue considers whether the Quad Plus framework can emerge as a central focus of the emerging Indo-Pacific synergies or approaches of various regions and nation states. In fact, taking into account the changing realities in the post-pandemic world, there are crucial questions that must be addressed to better understand the future trajectory of international relations in the Indo-Pacific and beyond. First, what is the significance of the Quad Plus dialogue, and what are its implications for the post–COVID-19 Indo-Pacific and Asian order? Second, who are the major stakeholders in the Quad Plus mechanism, including and beyond the Quad 2.0 nations? Last and more importantly, how can the Quad Plus mechanism grow beyond its current abstract existence to find synergy with national and multilateral Indo-Pacific initiatives? In reference to these questions, this special issue seeks to assess the prospects of the Quad Plus proposition and to test its feasibility as well as its future. 

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