LifeHack International

 Realism as distinct discipline of International Relations (IR) began during the Interwar Period (1919-39), just before the World War Second. It was also the time when Realist school differentiated from Idealist school (later liberalism) in this period. The Great Debate ensued between idealists and realists and since then the difference remains to a larger extent.  One of the most influential work The Twenty Years Crisis written by E H Carr where he highlighted the competitive nature of states and how national interests affect the state's behavior in international politics. Later, Hans Morgenthau introduced the realist theory in academic discipline and it dominated the realist paradigm till Kenneth Waltz's Theory of world Politics was published.  However, realist tradition can be found as back as 460 BC in ancient Greece. Machiavelli (1469-1527 AD), Hobbes (1588-1679 AD) and Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1718 AD) are also considered the intellectual precursors of re...

  They market, they conquer. Giants are miles apart from average. They have mastered the art of content marketing which makes them stand apart from average. There are many companies who are successful in their business, but very few companies are as successful as Apple and RedBull when it comes to marketing. Actually, their content marketing strategies have become a benchmark in advertising agencies. We will delve shortly into their marketing techniques, but let’s first understand the basics of content marketing. Topics: What is Content marketing? Why Content Marketing? The Apple Way  The RedBull Way Conclusion  What is content marketing? The shortest definition would be – the art of storytelling. Anyone can make a product but very few can market them successfully. That’s why many businesses with great products fail to scale up in the long run. The content marketing has become a buzzword with the explosive growth of internet, but the concept has been around for thousands ...

 In simple terms, inflation is a measure of general increase in prices across the economy. Usually denoted in percentage (%), inflation keep fluctuating over the time. Contrary to common perception, a mild inflation is quite necessary for the growth of an economy. However, beyond a certain limit, the higher inflation rate could lead to hyper-inflation or stagflation. Inflation is a quantitative measure of the rate at which the average prices of a basket of goods and services in an economy.   What is Hyperinflation? When inflation rate keep rising at a faster rate, a period of hyperinflation can occur. Usually, when inflation rate keep rising at more than 50% continuously for months, the economy can grip under a period of hyperinflation.  For example, the German inflation rate reached 30000% per month during 1920s and people started to use currency notes as a fuel in winters.  What is Stagflation? When an economy starts to stagnate but a higher inflation persists...

India and Israel both countries have some similarities in their foreign policy objectives. Israel faces hostile neighbors and India too is surrounded by competitive rivals, China and Pakistan.  India had a troubled relationship with Israel for almost four decades due to several factors. India didn’t have diplomatic mission in Israel before 1992, the rivalry between USSR and the USA prevented India to pursue any independent relationship. How India’s stand as anti-Israel policy changed to friendly relations is a story, worth to tell. Let’s start with Indian Freedom Struggle During Indian freedom struggle period, Indian leaders especially Mahatma Gandhi and J L Nehru vehemently supported Arab countries. The Congress party was facing an opposition from Muslim League who were demanding a separate state for Muslim population. The Congress Party needed the support from everyone, thus without assessing the Israel issue with merit, they held anti-Israel and pro-Arab posture. As Gandhi w...

 After the Indian independence in 1947, India embarked on a journey of planned economy until 2014 under Planning Commission. Afterwards, NITI Aayog replaced Planning Commission on 1 Jan 2015. It is much debatable whether Five Years planning system really worked or not. If India could have aligned itself more with the USA or adopted capitalist system earlier, the Indian economic picture could/might have been different. But there is no denying that it was not as easy choice as it seems today. Topics Covered: Why Planning? Types of Planning Historical Background: Planning Commission Five Year Planning Overview Why Planning? As long as the state-system exists in the world, there will always be some short of planning. Because not everything can be produced under market system. For example, infrastructure, schools, defense and others. That's why, Indian leaders after the independence took the road to plann...

  Whether you are preparing for competitive exams or just want to understand the Indian Economy, you  need books which makes you understand the micro and macro economic concepts. Most of the competitive exams mostly focus on Macroeconomy. But Microeconomy shouldn't be completely discarded as it helps to understand the logics behind the macroeconomy. So studying and making notes from NCERT books from IX to XII should be your founding stone. Once you become accustomed with concepts, you can study any of the five books given below: 1. Indian Economy by Shankar Ganesh  If you want to understand the basic concepts of Indian Economy, then this book should be your first choice. Every economic concept is provided with relevant examples which makes it easy to read . However, it shouldn't be treated as one stop solution, you need to supplement this book with either any of the other four books.  2. Indian Economy by Sanjeev Verma  If you want to read only one book for Indi...

The common perception among Indian public is that India and Russia shares a friendly relations. This perception has been build upon the stories about Russia helping in Indo-Pak war 1971; Russians helping in building various plants; supplying arms, and others. But the reality is something different often discarded in Indian media. I will try to summarize the Indo-Russian ties from Indian independence to present. USSR and India during Cold War The beneficial and reliable relationship didn't take off until Stalin died in 1953. Till that time, Soviets viewed Indian state as bourgeois-landlord dominated. USSR was in an ideological war against the US-led capitalist system. So they also wanted to spread communism to India, but Indian leaders were skeptical about Soviet intentions. However, once Nikita Khrushchev came to power, the relations started to improve.  Soviet premiered made a visit to India in 1955 which was highly publicized event that time. India as world's second largest d...