Deterrence in the Shadow of Terror: US Nuclear Weapons Policy in the Aftermath of 9/11 The paper assesses that in the aftermath of 9/11, efforts to improve and sustain the potency of US nuclear arsenal are far more pertinent than efforts to reduce their salience. S. Samuel C. Rajiv | | Occasional Papers
Sky’s No Limit: Space-based solar power, the next major step in the Indo-US strategic partnership? This paper provides a policymaker's overview of a highly scalable, revolutionary, renewable energy technology, Space-Based Solar Power (SBSP), and evaluates it utility within the context of the Indo-US strategic partnership. Peter Garretson | | Occasional Papers
Mahan and Mackinder: Addressing the False Dichotomy in the Eurasian Pivot theory Halford Mackinder’s 1904 paper: The Geographical Pivot of History, has been an object of scholarly contention for more than eight decades. Endlessly regurgitated, the process of the Mackinder review has become a niche within International Relations theory that has evolved over time but retained a number of core themes. Philip Reid | | Occasional Papers
India’s Unfinished Security Revolution This paper argues that internal security reforms are crucial not only for India's own security and that of its immediate neighbourhood, but also for its rise as an Asian and world power. Dr Alexander (‘Sandy’) Gordon | | Occasional Papers
From Looks to Action: Thailand-India Strategic Convergence and Defence Cooperation After 67 years of diplomatic relations and two decades of collaboration in connecting India with Southeast Asia in January of 2012, Thailand and India finally signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Defence Cooperation. This effort to deepen defence and military ties between the two countries emerged relatively late when compared with those between India and most other Southeast Asian countries. Sasiwan Chingchit | | Occasional Papers
Trump’s Own “Star Wars” The 2019 US BMD Review and What It Augurs for India? The Trump administration’s BMDR, released in early 2019, can be described as the most proactive BMD plan since the SDI days with fillip given to areas like directed-energy, addressing gaps in boost-phase interception and harnessing the space frontier. Besides analyzing the BMDR threadbare, this Volume uses a hitherto unexplored cache of documents to reconstruct the anatomy of the India-US BMD dialogue so to ascertain why it failed and what the BMDR augurs for India’s BMD future. A. Vinod Kumar | | Occasional Papers
Threats to Space Assets and India’s Options Space assets are vulnerable to a variety of threats that include jamming of communications, command and control systems/links, physical attacks on satellites and ground stations, dazzling or blinding of satellite sensors; high-altitude nuclear detonations (HAND). Deepak Sharma | | Occasional Papers
India’s Northeast 2020: Four Alternative Futures This Occasional Paper focuses on the insurgency problem in the Northeast and give policy recommendations to bring about peace and development in the region. Namrata Goswami | | Occasional Papers
Aerial Drones in Future Wars: A Conceptual Perspective Aerial drones are fast making way into military operations. With further advancement of technology, their role in warfare is set to increase exponentially. The new generation aerial drones promise to be at the centre stage of military operations in future warfare, in both lethal and non-lethal roles. Atul Pant | | Occasional Papers
A Study on Illegal Immigration into North-East India: The Case of Nagaland Efforts to control and prevent illegal immigration remain highly inadequate in India; and likely to remain so in the coming years. But, the reality is that unabated illegal immigration has enormous demographic and social implications, capable of creating tensions and conflict between the immigrants and the natives; and more so among the natives. M. Amarjeet Singh | | Occasional Papers
