India at Risk: Mistakes, Misconceptions and Misadventures of Security Policy by Jaswant Singh This is Jaswant Singh’s eleventh known book, and here he keeps his focus on experiences rather than rhetoric to deal with the complex design of India’s security challenges. While relying judiciously on first-hand experiences, the author justifies his long eventful overtures in public life and also as an avid researcher, who has spent decades participating in and observing India’s security establishment from close quarters. Atul K. Thakur | September 2014 | Strategic Analysis
Domestic Politics of Bangladesh and India–Bangladesh Relations The foreign policy of a country generally changes incrementally but in the case of Bangladesh it changes dramatically towards India depending upon which political party or alliance is in power. The ideological cleavage prevailing in the country affects not only its domestic politics but also its relationship with its neighbour India. In this article an attempt has been made to explain why and how the domestic politics of Bangladesh affects India–Bangladesh relations. Anand Kumar | September 2014 | Strategic Analysis
Deterrence Stability and Escalation Control in South Asia by Michael Krepon and Julia Thompson (eds.) Ever since India and Pakistan went overtly nuclear in 1998, a plethora of studies by scholars, both from the subcontinent and outside, have pondered the issues of ‘deterrence stability’ and ‘escalation control’ in South Asia. While the majority of them extrapolated the Cold War type of scenario to the South Asian nuclear discourse, the book under review stands out—for not attributing ‘the primary dangers … to a lack of professionalism on the part of those responsible for nuclear stewardship’ (p. 9). Sitakanta Mishra | September 2014 | Strategic Analysis
The Tamil Nadu Factor in Post-war Sri Lanka: Perspectives of Tamils and Muslims Growing international concerns about human rights violations in the last phase of the Eelam war and the continued surveillance and intimidation of the Tamils in Sri Lanka have drawn the attention of their co-ethnics across the world. The southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, which had detached itself from the political events in Sri Lanka after Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, has renewed its interest. In the post-war phase, the plight of Sri Lankan Tamils has become an emotive issue. Smruti S. Pattanaik | September 2014 | Strategic Analysis
India and the Republic of Korea: Engaged Democracies by Skand R. Tayal At a time when the Republic of Korea (South Korea) occupies considerable space in India’s foreign policy, particularly in its ‘look east’ policy, it is incongruous that there is no corresponding awareness among the people about the country and the India–Korea relationship. Knowledge and understanding about the Korean peninsula and India’s engagement with the region are limited to academia and the miniscule endangered scholarly tribe in elite universities like Jawaharlal Nehru University or Delhi University. Rup Narayan Das | September 2014 | Strategic Analysis
Understanding the Nuclear Aspirations and Behaviour of North Korea and Iran This article explores the drivers of North Korea and Iran’s nuclear aspirations and behaviour by employing the theoretical prisms of ‘security dilemma’, ‘regional security complex’ (RSC) and ‘social constructivism’. It argues that ideational values and interests are shaping Iranian and North Korean nuclear aspirations and behaviour. Conversely, the absence of positive inter-subjective understanding of the US and its allies regarding Iran and North Korea is influencing their nuclear non-proliferation policy towards these states. Shaheen Akhtar , Zulfiqar Khan | September 2014 | Strategic Analysis
India and the Allied Occupation of Japan 1945–52 by T.R. Sareen Relying on a wide range of archival material, the author draws our attention in this thoughtful book to the lesser known yet rich historical dimension of India–Japan relations. He investigates the presence of Indian troops as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces (BCOF) in Japan during 1945–1947 and relates the fascinating story of Justice R.B. Pal’s dissenting judgement at the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE). The author also explains why India did not sign the Japanese peace treaty at San Francisco in 1951 despite being sympathetic to its terms. Arvind Gupta | September 2014 | Strategic Analysis
An enigma called defence technology fund There has been much speculation since 2011 about who is going to manage the proposed fund, how is it to be different from the already existing technology related heads in the defence budget, and how will the amount set aside for the purpose be utilized. Amit Cowshish | August 27, 2014 | IDSA Comments
National Security Decision Making: Overhaul Needed A sub-committee of the CCS must devote time and effort to make substantive recommendations to improve the structures for higher defence management, defence research and development, self-reliance in defence production and the improvement of civil-military relations. Gurmeet Kanwal | August 26, 2014 | IDSA Comments
Ukraine: where is it going? It is possible, if there is political will, to find a negotiated settlement on the basis of a new constitution giving greater say to regions in foreign policy. In brief, the US should agree to a sort of Finlandization of Ukraine. K. P. Fabian | August 25, 2014 | IDSA Comments
