Energy Security: How Decision-Making Processes in India’s Energy Bureaucracy Shape India’s Energy Policy Energy security has evolved to become strategically important for countries, such that the domestic availability of energy resources, coupled with the national energy demand, as well as import and export dependencies on energy resources, have important implications for a country’s economic growth, human development and strategic autonomy. This is especially important for India, which is heavily dependent on imports to meet its domestic energy demand. Niharika Tagotra | September 2018 | Strategic Analysis
Building militaries in fragile states: challenges for the United States Mara E. Karlin in her book, Building Militaries in Fragile States: Challenges for the United States, investigates when, why and under what circumstances, US efforts to build partner militaries for internal defence succeeded and also offers some suggestions for improvement. The efforts examined include key decisions, programme execution and the nature of the US involvement with the partner state. She criticises US military interventions in what she calls ‘fragile states’ as unsustainable, thinly successful so far and fundamentally flawed. Harriet Njoki Mboce | September 2018 | Strategic Analysis
Zalmay Khalilzad, The envoy: from Kabul to the White House, my journey through a turbulent world Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad has provided a most readable account of his upbringing, his stint in the US National Security Council and his ambassadorships to Afghanistan, Iraq, and the United Nations. With his political sense and candour, he explains to readers how after winning easy military victories in Afghanistan and Iraq, American efforts there so quickly lost direction and became examples of how not to intervene in difficult areas. Having ready access to high-ranking US administration officials, Ambassador Khalilzad was luckier than his American homologues serving in foreign capitals. Jayant Prasad | September 2018 | Strategic Analysis
A Review of India-Japan Defence Technology Cooperation While broad agreement at the top leadership level has been easy to achieve, negotiations relating to defence equipment and technology cooperation have proved to be difficult, shaped as these are by a complex interplay of variables like cost-competitiveness, technology transfer and domestic politics. Titli Basu | August 31, 2018 | IDSA Comments
China’s vulnerability, India’s opportunity India must jettison the attempt to maintain a balance between China and the US and instead take advantage of China’s internal and external vulnerabilities to gain an upper hand in the asymmetric power equation that has developed. Abanti Bhattacharya | August 27, 2018 | IDSA Comments
Modi’s Tour of Africa Revitalises Relations Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent tour of Rwanda, Uganda and South Africa increased to 26 the number of African countries visited by very senior leaders, thus contributing to a significant reduction in India’s visibility deficit in the continent. Ruchita Beri | August 21, 2018 | IDSA Comments
Examining the Feasibility and Affordability of Raising the Share of Defence Expenditure to Three Percent of GDP The Brief argues that MoD’s total allocations should be considered for any discussion on defence expenditure since the official defence expenditure does not capture all the expenses that the government incurs on national defence efforts. Laxman Kumar Behera | August 20, 2018 | Issue Brief
The Need for a Mid-Term Review of the 13th Defence Five Year Plan The Defence Planning Committee needs to activate its ‘Plan and Capability Development’ Sub-committee and task them to review the 13th Defence Plan in a time bound manner. Vinay Kaushal | August 14, 2018 | IDSA Comments
Pakistan Elections and India Whenever a civilian government has attempted to improve relations with India, it has either had to backtrack on promises made or the Pakistan Army ensures that, through its actions at the LoC and inside J&K, these promises stand scuttled. Deepak Kapoor | August 08, 2018 | IDSA Comments
New Delhi’s Options Post the Publication of the NRC in Assam The best way forward for India is to initiate talks with Bangladesh and seek a mutually acceptable political solution for the issue of illegal immigrants. Pushpita Das | August 02, 2018 | IDSA Comments
