A Report on the International Seminar on “Peace, Security and International Law: An outlook into the Future” K. Santhanam | January 2003 | Strategic Analysis
BBIN Sub-Region: Perspectives on Climate-water-Energy Nexus Publisher: Pentagon Press Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) are home to 21 per cent of the world’s population. With projected economic growth in the BBIN countries, a consequent increase in the demand for electricity and heavy dependence on fossil fuels are expected despite the pitch for renewable energy. The region also faces unprecedented climate change, particularly in the Hindu Kush Himalaya, the cradle of major sub-continental rivers, and where melting glaciers, unpredictable weather conditions, and rainfall patterns are affecting the life of millions and instigating frequent natural disasters. Since 2014, India has tried to maximise sub-regional interaction with the aim of promoting cooperation in the economic, social, cultural and scientific fields. This has opened new thinking and opportunities, complementing the pace of globalisation and liberalisation. The fear, of course, is that this approach can easily dissipate in the face of security complexities and political difficulties. The climate-water-energy nexus is now a familiar concept in the resource management debate requiring long-sighted approaches that help avoid maladaptive pathways and, as a tool, to anticipate the tilt and balance of the nexus resources and the nature of their interactions. The nexus as a policy approach brings together the concept of ‘security and sustainability’. However, the framing of the nexus around a scarcity crisis narrative often pushes states towards control and possessiveness of the resources rather than driving them towards stability and durability solutions. Beyond this framework, a more nuanced political–economy understanding of the BBIN sub-region is essential. ISBN: 9788195189458 , Price: ₹ 995/- E-copy available Uttam Kumar Sinha | | Book
Bangladesh and Its Security Relationship with External Powers Publisher: KW Publishers A state’s security is heavily dependent upon its geopolitical environment. The geopolitical setting of South Asia changed in 1971 with the birth of Bangladesh as a new, independent nation. India already faces a hostile neighbour on its western border. In the north, China is a major threat. In this geopolitical setting the kind of relationship India has developed with Bangladesh becomes important. The military coup of August 1975 in Bangladesh marked a major shift in the way the country perceived its foreign and defence policies. India, its supporter in the liberation war, was now presented as the main threat to national security. A country’s defence policy and defence-related procurements depend on the threat perception of that country. Bangladesh, despite being a poor country, has tried to acquire significant defence capability mainly due to its perceived sense of insecurity and to some extent to participate in the United Nations peacekeeping operations. Some of the steps taken by Bangladesh purportedly to enhance its own security have meant that the security environment in the region has actually deteriorated. In this context Bangladesh’s security relationship with other major powers has significant implications for Indian security, and the book tries to throw light on it. ISBN: 978 93 91490 15 7 , Price: ₹ 980/- E-copy available Anand Kumar | | Book
Indian Defence Industry: An Agenda for Making in India Publisher: Pentagon Press This book thoroughly probes the Indian Defence industry and the policies pertaining to it. Based on hard core evidence, it identifies the key shortcomings of this vital sector and provides a detailed roadmap for the Modi government’s ambitious ‘Make in India’ programme to succeed in defence production sector. Though written with a clear focus on influencing policy making, the book is presented in an accessible format to be easily understood by the wider strategic community. ISBN 978-81-8274-905-4, Price: ?. 995 E-copy available Laxman Kumar Behera | | Book
India-China Relations: Politics of Resources, Identity and Authority in a Multipolar World Order Publisher: Routledge The rise of India and China as two major economic and political actors in both regional and global politics necessitates an analysis of not only their bilateral ties but also the significance of their regional and global pursuits. This book looks at the nuances and politics that the two countries attach to multilateral institutions and examines how they receive, react to and approach each other’s presence and upsurge. ISBN 978-11-3883-359-3 Price: £90.00 E-copy available Jagannath P. Panda | | Book
Russia in the System of Global Economic Relations The socio-economic history of Russia demonstrates that its ‘place’ in global economic relations has been subject to complex cyclical processes. The country entered the 20th century with a high growth rate and burgeoning industrialisation that included significant foreign capital. Historically exports primarily included raw materials such as grain and timber while imports consisted largely of machinery and consumer goods. Leonid Grigoryev | | Strategic Analysis
Transfer of Defence Technology: Understanding the Nuances and Making it Work for India Publisher: KW Publishers In recent years, transfer of defence technology to India, as an alternate route to indigenous development, has been frequently brought up with widely varying views from the Indian defence technology fraternity. Some lament its failure to help India achieve self-reliance, while others suggest it can enable India to leapfrog ahead. While it has been paradoxically found to be more expensive than outright purchase of defence systems, there are indications that countries such as Israel, South Korea and China have gained immensely from it. While there has been a flood of ToT proposals from foreign OEMs after the launch of the Make in India initiative, there have been few proposals which have materialised and a miniscule number successfully implemented. Acknowledging the need to unravel these mysteries, this book attempts to throw light on the entire range of connected aspects from a brief historical perspective to an understanding of its fundamentals and nuances, to how ToT should be aligned with national goals and there on to its implementation issues. Initially addressing the conventional mode and its complexities, it expands to touch upon the others, then the unconventional ones, the facilitators such as offsets and the transaction in its widest sense. Thus enveloping the complete spectrum, it brings its insights together to converge on a possibly successful arrangement for India. Written in an explorative, questioning style, this book will intrigue interested readers and propel the Indian defence technology community to dwell on its findings and suggestions for the formulation of a cogent way forward. ISBN: 978-93-89137-17-0, Price: ?.980/- E-copy available Kevin A. Desouza | | Book
Chinese Power: Trends in Engagement and Containment Publisher: KW Publishers The East Asia Strategic Review is an annual publication of the East Asia Centre, Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA), New Delhi. The current volume titled "Chinese Power: Trends in Engagement and Containment" intends to present an Indian perspective on China's strategic outreach in the East Asian region under President Xi Jinping. It analyses how Beijing employs the instruments of diplomacy, economy, military and political outreach to engage with the regional countries and how US presence influences the regional dynamics. ISBN: 978-3-030-72721-5 , Price: EUR 74.89 [ebook] | EUR 89.99 [Hardcover] E-copy available Gaurav Misra | | Book
Indigenisation: Key to Self-Sufficiency and Strategic Capability Publisher: Pentagon Press The book attempts to study the defence industrialisation process that has been adopted by the militarily developed and developing nations to analyse, orient and adapt their best practices to the Indian defence industry and technological base. The analysis reveals that there is a requirement to re-assess, re-align & re-model the Indian defence industry apparatus in line with the vision of accelerating indigenisation, self-sufficiency and strategic capability, as pertaining to military systems. ISBN 978-81-8274-892-7, Price: ?. 1295 E-copy available Ranjit Ghosh | | Book
Riverine Neighbourhood: Hydro-politics in South Asia Publisher: Pentagon Press Rivers are the most visible form of fresh water. Rivers are ancient and older than civilizations a ‘mini cosmos’ spawning history, tales, spirituality, and technological incursions. Flowing rivers are the largest renewable water resource as well as a crucible for both humans and aquatic ecosystem. ISBN 978-81-8274-914-6, Price: ₹ 895 E-copy available Uttam Kumar Sinha | | Book
