Piracy in the Gulf of Aden continues to thrive despite international efforts at joint maritime patrols along the Somali coastline. Combating the menace has proven futile, with international laws ill equipped to address what is fast becoming a threat to the lives of crewmen and global trade.

In the past hundred years, the world's population has doubled and the demand for water has increased seven fold. With almost half the population of the world located in and around 261 shared river basins, it is a major cause for concern. These major basins cover approximately 45% of the global surface area, and account for 60% of the global water flow. Water is one of those vital resources for which there is no substitute, and experts have been predicting that it will be the most pressing concern of the century. Yet each area for potential conflict is also an opportunity for cooperation, if viewed through a different lens.

Sundeep Waslekar examines one of the biggest questions of the 21st century: what will happen to the Treaty of Westphalia when it celebrates its 400th anniversary in 2048 ?

In 2002 when we set up Strategic Foresight Group, the main objective was to provide forward looking analysis on social, economic, geopolitical futures. In the last year, we have added a heavy component of environment, especially water to our portfolio. This has raised some questions. Why does an organization that is focused on geo-politics look at water related issues? How is the future of water going to change socio-economic factors? Is water scarcity going to lead to conflict over water? And ultimately how is water going to change the future of our world?

Society is like a human being. Unfortunately, society of today is rather diseased. While some of the diseases are life threatening, none of them are terminal- yet. If diseases can be cured in a manner that they do not recur, we will have a healthy society based on human values. But if the disease persists in even a small part of the world, the human society cannot be said to be healthy.

Sundeep Waslekar writes on the qualities that define a great nation.