Publication Filter

Nigeria’s Boko Haram

Boko Haram has recently emerged as one of the deadliest and most brutal terrorist groups with links to the global jihadi movement. The group is grounded in a region where it can tap into ethnic ties and take advantage of weak security environment, generic condition of lawlessness and socio-economic marginalization.

NYT editorial on India’s nuclear policy: A case of inaccurate portrayal and propaganda

The editorial also intrinsically marks the return of the ‘pro-Pakistan’ lobby in the US non-proliferation community, and the American media, which was culpable in encouraging the many indulgences of the Pakistani military and nuclear establishment for many decades and facilitating favourable non-proliferation policies for Pakistan to effectively pursue a clandestine nuclear programme with technological aid from Western companies.

Is Iraq imploding?

The government in Baghdad has lost control over a stretch of territory to ISIL. It follows that Iraq is at present inexorably moving towards dissolution. In any case, it will be a difficult if not impossible task to recover in full the territory under the ISIL and its associates.

K. P. Fabian
July 07, 2014
IDSA Comments

US Military Departure from Manas Stirring a New Game in Central Asia

The author recounts his memories of the US military base at Manas International Airport in Bishkek, which was the hub for onward movement of about 15,000 troops and 500 tons of cargo a month to and from Afghanistan. The folding of the US base has not only put an end to the US-Central Asia saga but in effect the US overseas military presence is now retracted to the line of its power limits in Europe.

P. Stobdan
July 07, 2014
IDSA Comments

The McMahon Line: A hundred years on

On 3rd July 1914 nearly a hundred years ago at Simla, Tibet and India signed the Simla Convention that gave birth to the McMahon Line separating Tibet from India in the eastern sector. Much is made by some that the Simla Convention was not a legal document but from the time of the Convention till 23rd January 1959, the Chinese government never officially, in any document, ever challenged the McMahon Line.

R. S. Kalha
July 03, 2014
IDSA Comments

Takeaways from Defence Minister’s address at Naval Commanders’ Conference

The Defence Minister made two significant points: one, the need for making a significant amount of the nation’s resources available for defence and two, he talked about the slow pace of acquisition of defence equipment as the key concern. These are unexceptional statements of intent and the challenge would be to meet these objectives.

Sri Lankan perceptions of the Modi government

There is no one nationalist Sri Lankan view. Among the Sinhalas, there are also the liberals who are quite realistic about their assessments and would argue that there may be a change in leadership in India, but the cornerstone of India’s policy vis-à-vis Sri Lanka will remain the same. The Tamils, on the other hand, are unanimous in their view that India can and should play a major role in bringing meaningful political reconciliation to the country.

Eating Grass: The Making of the Pakistani Bomb by Feroz Hassan Khan

Feroz Hassan Khan’s credentials are high considering that he served with the Pakistan army for 32 years with his last assignment as director of arms control and disarmament affairs in the Strategic Plans Division (SPD), the secretariat of Pakistan’s National Command Authority (NCA). The book under review was not an easy venture, as the author observes: ‘new nuclear states such as India, Israel and Pakistan perforce keep their nuclear programmes opaque to avoid international non-proliferation pressures’ (p. ix).

A Maritime School of Strategic Thought for Australia—Perspectives, by Justine Jones

The epistemology of maritime strategic thought is a subject of growing interest and discussion among maritime analysts today. In a world where national interest is increasingly defined by maritime connectivity and overseas influence, nations have been investing considerable military and diplomatic energy in developing a nautical blueprint for future growth. Forging a comprehensive maritime strategy has, however, not been easy as strategic thinking on maritime issues has swung erratically between a rapidly evolving present and a sharply unpredictable future.

Beyond Strategies: Cultural Dynamics in Asian Connections, by Priya Singh, Suchandana Chatterjee, Anita Sengupta and Arpita Basu Roy

Cultural dynamics play an important role in shaping foreign and security policies of nations. This book, a collection of 15 essays, research articles and notes presented at a seminar by Indian and foreign scholars, explores the variety of cultural connections that have operated in the Asian geo-strategic landscape for centuries. The key point made in the book is that the influence of cultural connections on hard core policy formulation often goes unappreciated and needs to be studied systematically for a better and nuanced understanding of strategies.