Publication Filter

Into its third year, the Syrian conflict has been fuelled by a multiplicity of interest groups and countries, overshadowing the initial cause of the protests. Gains for either side in Syria have come to mean corresponding losses for different regional and international stakeholders.

• Melissa M. Cyrill |
• July 08, 2013 |
• Issue Brief

Trends towards direct energy weapons (DEW), though yet to be fully mature and battle proven, indicate a major shift in the conduct of aerial combat in the coming decades.

• Vivek Kapur |
• July 08, 2013 |
• Issue Brief

One of the biggest advantages of the navigational satellite, once the system gets fully operational, is to reduce the dependency on the GPS. This would make India largely self-sufficient in the navigational field.

• Ajey Lele |
• July 08, 2013 |
• IDSA Comments

Over the past decade, defence capital acquisition reforms have enhanced standardization, transparency and bigger acquisition budgets. Yet the system grapples with delays, cost escalations and gaps in operational preparedness. This article explores the structure, process and cultural dimensions of the acquisition system, unpacking the underlying linkages between policy, planning, budgeting, strategic direction, and outcomefocused analytical decision-making—factors that influence effectiveness of the procurement system.

• Vandana Kumar |
• July 2013 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

As a nation, we have a tendency to react once a crisis overtakes us. This holds good in the case of natural disasters like the annual floods in the North-East, earthquakes, the tsunami, the most recent calamity in Uttarkhand or national security threats like Kargil, 26/11 in Mumbai, and the Chinese intrusion in Eastern Ladakh in April 2013. To this list can be added the chimera of Maoism or Left-wing Extremism (LWE).

• Deepak Kapoor |
• July 2013 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

It needs to be noted that discipline and efficiency is the first demand in disaster response and relief tasks, which are often dangerous missions and quite naturally the military brings in order in post-disaster operations.

• P. K. Gautam |
• July 05, 2013 |
• IDSA Comments

The objective of the TPCR is to give an opportunity to the Indian industry to draw up business plans for developing technologies which could be transformed into capabilities required by the armed forces.

• Amit Cowshish |
• July 02, 2013 |
• IDSA Comments

United States President Barack Obama's new national security team for his second term in office was finally put in place at the end of February. It is an impressive team of men who share Obama's worldview and seem likely to accept the White House lead preferred by this president. The one woman, Susan Rice, added to the team as National Security Adviser in May reinforces the public image of foreign policy shaped by Obama.

• Surjit Mansingh |
• July 2013 |
• Strategic Analysis

The Barents Euro–Arctic Region (BEAR), which in terms of land territory is one of the biggest international region-building projects in Europe, was established in 1993 to meet the new security challenges following the breakup of the Soviet Union and the opening up of the borders between East and West. Stretching over major parts of Northwest Russia and three Nordic countries, the region bridges areas, which for decades were heavily influenced by high Cold War tensions and deep social, economic and political cleavages.

• Rune Rafaelsen |
• July 2013 |
• Strategic Analysis

Nearly 2,500 years ago the Greek historian Thucydides noted that the foreign policy of Athens was driven by fear, interest and honour.

• S. Kalyanaraman |
• July 2013 |
• Strategic Analysis