Set Augmented Finite Automata over Infinite Alphabets

A data language is a set of finite words defined on an infinite alphabet. Data languages are used to express properties associated with data values (domain defined over a countably infinite set). In this paper, we introduce set augmented finite automata (SAFA), a new class of automata for expressing data languages. We investigate the decision problems, closure properties, and expressiveness of SAFA. We also study the deterministic variant of these automata.Comment: This is a full version of a paper with the same name accepted in DLT 2023. Other than the full proofs, this paper contains several new results concerning more closure properties, universality problem, comparison of expressiveness with register automata and class counter automata, and more results on deterministic SAF

Identifying levels, structures and agency in post-cold war Indian foreign policy

A narrative of India’s foreign policy would unambiguously outline its ascendance as a deserving major power in world politics. A theoretical, structure-agency reading of foreign policy however reveals a complex interplay of factors behind India’s rise; evolving material capabilities and power, and normative and ideational forces. From its inception as a sovereign state, India envisioned itself as a great power even though there were considerable obstacles to this. Despite India’s meteoric rise in the post 1998 period, it has not succeeded in translating its material preponderance into either strategic consensus or astute leadership of the sub-continent. The chief argument of this article is that India serves as a test case for the foreign policy of a state being compulsorily structured by the complex interaction of systemic forces on one hand, and agential actions on the other