India’s Strategic Connect with the World The various connectivity projects put forward by India show its involvement as an investor in capacity-building efforts in the recipient countries across sectors of their particular needs and choices, not as an overarching and imposing economic power. Sreemati Ganguli October 23, 2017 IDSA Comments
A Rock between Hard Places: Afghanistan as an Arena of Regional Insecurity, by Kristian Berg Harpviken and Shahrbanou Tadjbakhsh The book, A Rock between Hard Places, is the result of research carried out by K.B. Harpviken and S. Tadjbakhsh, independently and jointly, with encouragement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway. In this book, the authors have examined the events unfolding in Afghanistan from a regional perspective up to 2015, set against the backdrop of the scheduled withdrawal of the United States (US)-led military alliance. Y.M. Bammi October 2017 Journal of Defence Studies
Foreign Policy and Sea Power: India’s Maritime Role Flux The core argument this article makes is that India’s maritime worldview and role conceptions have not only been evolving since the 1950s, but they have also been closely interlinked with how policymakers thought about India’s regional identity and the state’s economic capacity to release resources towards sea power. Today, there are three maritime role conceptions that are vying for the apex’s strategic attention, and they are reflective of a deeper role flux in India’s regional identity. Zorawar Daulet Singh October 2017 Journal of Defence Studies
War from the Ground Up: Twenty-first-century Combat as Politics, by Emile Simpson War from the Ground Up is not easy reading. The author’s erudition, bolstered by a wealth of detail and historical context, makes this one of the more serious studies on contemporary military conflict. Emile Simpson has attempted to arrive at an overall understanding of war in its contemporary and traditional forms by drawing on his experience of three tours as an infantry officer with the Royal Gurkha Rifles in Afghanistan. Alok Deb October 2017 Journal of Defence Studies
Examining the US Defence Acquisition Apparatus: What can India Learn? The United States (US) defence acquisition apparatus, arguably the biggest in the world, has undergone several reforms in the past 100 years. The reforms, which have focused on both structural and procedural aspects of acquisition, have led to establishment of authority and accountability in acquisition; articulation of a detailed regulatory mechanism; a dedicated university to impart training to acquisition workforce; and a clear incentive structure for the domestic industry. Laxman Kumar Behera October 2017 Journal of Defence Studies
Standing Committee on Defence’s Prescription for increasing Capital Budget May Not Work The Thirty-first Report of the Standing Committee on Defence (SCoD)1 was submitted to Parliament on 9 March 2017. The report examined the capital outlay for the defence services for the year 2017–18, procurement policy of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and defence planning. A glance through the report showed that, apart from a rather sketchy analysis of these issues, the committee has only ended up making hackneyed observations and recommendations that have been made repeatedly in the past without much success. Amit Cowshish October 2017 Journal of Defence Studies
EMP Weapons and the New Equation of War Besides military targets, a number of strategic civilian targets, like urban data and communication centres, stock exchanges, factories and other centres of gravity could also be attacked by e-bombs. Atul Pant October 13, 2017 IDSA Comments
Lull at Doklam: Time for a Holistic Strategic Review While the crisis has been defused for the time being, the probability of a future flare up cannot be ruled out. A holistic strategic review ought to be carried out over a wide spectrum and in a multi-dimensional manner with specific timelines. G.G. Dwivedi October 06, 2017 IDSA Comments
The Darkening Web: The War for Cyberspace, by Alexander Klimburg The introduction to Alexander Klimburg’s book, The Darkening Web: The War for Cyberspace, begins by referencing the Indian parable of the Blind Men of Hindoostan and the elephant to bring out the difficulty of ‘grasping the entirety of cyberspace’. The focus of his book is on international security, and more specifically, the security interests of states in cyberspace. That said, a large part of the book focuses on three countries—the United States, Russia and China—and their approaches and actions in cyberspace. Europe is mentioned largely in the context of privacy and data laws. Cherian Samuel October 2017 Journal of Defence Studies
Need for Sector-Specific Ease-of-Doing Business Indices Sector-specific micro parameters that have a bearing on the ease of doing business need to be identified and quantified. Amit Cowshish October 05, 2017 IDSA Comments