Politics · diplomacy · conflict · democracy · environment · India’s place in the world
In a world that never stops moving, stories become policies, and policies give a structure to societies.
In this section, we explore the choices made by nations, institutions and individuals that shape the world we all inhabit. We move beyond the headlines to see how those choices change our everyday world.
Explore the stories. Question the headlines. Follow the connections.
To understand how policies shape daily lives, we need to pay attention to decisions made in capitals, conflicts unfolding across borders, environmental crises and shifts in global power.
For India, liberalisation in the 1990s opened new economic and international horizons. Rooted in a long history of diplomacy, negotiation and strategic relationships, India moved with renewed confidence into the global arena.
It is the decades following 1990 that India’s daily life has become a part of global platforms with rise of multinationals, easy accessibility to foreign travel, even events and pop-ups across major cities, international retail brands, and of course OTT. But these influxes are an outcome of decisions taken in the corridors of power. What I am decoding are policies and incidents and their impact on our lives.
For me, geopolitics is not only about leaders, missiles and summits. It is also about the people living through the consequences of decisions made far beyond their everyday lives.
Around the world
Power & global order
Board of Peace: Trump, the UN, and the Price of Unity
A changing relationship with international institutions and the idea of global cooperation.
Power & global order
Strait of Hormuz and Global Austerity Age
How a crisis around one of the world’s most strategic waterways can ripple across economies and everyday lives.
Democracy & dissent
From Charkha to Cockroach: 100 Years of Indian Protest Symbols
From spinning wheels to unexpected contemporary symbols, protest finds new languages while carrying echoes of older struggles.
rights & struggle
Women’s Rights Are Not a Straight Line
Progress is rarely linear. A reflection on women’s rights, gains, reversals and the continuing struggle for equality
diplomacy & statecraft
Negotiating India’s Landmark Agreements: Lessons in Statecraft
A look at the agreements and negotiations that helped shape India’s engagement with the world, and the lessons they offer in diplomacy and strategic thinking.
human conflict & stories
From Missiles to Memoir: The Human Story of Iran’s War Beyond Hormuz
War is often narrated through military developments and geopolitical calculations. But behind the maps are people, memories and lives permanently altered by conflict.
Ambica Gulati is an independent journalist, editor, multimedia storyteller and author whose work explores global affairs, culture, travel, the environment and the human stories behind larger events.
Available for reported features, interviews, analysis, profiles and multimedia stories on international affairs, India and beyond.
From the Archives
If this story stayed with you, there’s more to explore in the archives.
Queen of Treasures 