Title | Date | Author | Time | Event | Body | Research Area | Topics | File attachments | Image |
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Nanotechnology: Current Global Trends and Future Military Applications for “Soldier as a System” | May 23, 2014 | Sanjiv Tomar | 1030 to 1300 hrs | Fellows' Seminar |
Chair: Dr W Selvamurthy |
North America & Strategic Technologies | |||
Indian Maritime Strategy: Drivers and Imperatives | May 16, 2014 | Sarabjeet Singh Parmar | Fellows' Seminar |
Chair: R Adm (Retd) K Rajamenon The author argues that as the world looks towards Indian Navy to deliver more it is time to take a stock of where India’s maritime strategy stands. The paper traces the evolution of India’s maritime strategy from the pre-natal days of independence and examines if the present day strategy has aided its quest to be seen as a responsible stable provider of security in the IOR and as a reliable partner in its other areas of interest. It also looks at imperatives that require re-examining. The paper also identifies imperatives that require to be included to enable a cogent maritime strategy and place India in its rightful place in the comity of nations as a responsible and stable actor. The paper tries to explain India’s maritime strategy in terms of drivers and imperatives of strategy. It defines driver as an aspect that has a long term effect; is the raison d’etre and has a direct bearing on the strategy. By imperative it means an aspect that could be temporary; impinge on the strategy and would require a solution so that the drivers are not affected. Therefore, the roles envisaged by the doctrines have been broadly acknowledged as the drivers since they have more or less remained permanent especially since 1998. The author concludes that Indian Maritime Strategy which has been based on a consistent thought process since independence could be viewed as a cognitive articulation of India’s maritime outlook limited by funding, lack of an enforceable higher directive and inherent internal dynamics of governance. The advantage bestowed by geography and the relative intra-regional balance of power equation that has weighed in India’s favour since 1947 could be lost due to the ingress of external powers like China and their ability to exert influence directly or indirectly both on land and sea. It could also be affected by reluctance of nations like the US in maintaining a safe and stable maritime environment. Either way, as India is looked upon by most of its neighbours and other IOR nations as a stability and balancing factor with reasonable capacity and capabilities there is a need to:
Major Points of Discussion and Suggestions to the Author:
Report prepared by Amit Kumar, Research Assistant, IDSA |
Military Affairs | ||||
Indian Army: Evolving to Adapt Military Change in CI Operations | May 09, 2014 | Vivek Chadha | Fellows' Seminar |
Chair: Lt Gen Mukesh Sabharwal (Retd.) While presenting the paper the author at the outset made it clear that this paper is part of a project that seeks to explain how the Indian army adapts to change in different arenas. The focus of this paper is to understand military change in the context of Counterinsurgency (CI) operations. The paper argues that military change in conventional wars is brought about when armies adopt an approach which is often revolutionary, driven by cutting edge technology. Its implementation is directed from the highest level, making it essentially top-down. In contrast, in CI operations, this process is evolutionary, with limited influence of technology. More often than not this is based on bottom-up adaptation, even if in some cases it manifests in top-down implementation. The paper argues that change is resisted in every organization, particularly bureaucratic organizations. Moreover, the nature of resistance is almost similar. It stands true for the military set up also. However, the Indian army is faced with a paradoxical situation of resistance to change and the utmost need thereof. In this struggle of the opposites, the later seems to be guiding the army at present and counterinsurgency (CI) operations are a clear manifestation of army’s willingness to change. Major Points of Discussion and Suggestions to the Author:
Report prepared by Amit Kumar, Research Assistant, IDSA |
Terrorism & Internal Security | ||||
Changing Patterns in Nepal-China Relations | May 09, 2014 | Pushpa Raj Adhikari | 1030 to 1300 hrs | Fellows' Seminar |
Chair: Maj Gen Ashok K Mehta (Retd) |
South Asia | |||
The ULFA, the PLA, and the UNLF: Will negotiations Work? | May 02, 2014 | Namrata Goswami | 1030 to 1300 hrs | Fellows' Seminar |
Chair: Shri E N Ram Mohan The paper aims to understand whether the peace negotiations with the armed groups, i.e., the UNLF and the PLA of Manipur, are viable, and also underlines the debates generated in Assam as a result of the peace negotiations with the ULFA. The author argues that within the framework of peace negotiations, it is important to understand the discourse that exists in these societies before negotiating with the armed groups. This is because protracted conflicts play a very significant role in determining the kind of debates that take place in the public sphere. The process of identity formation, for instance, would depend on the conflict that an individual has witnessed over time. Taking the Naga peace process into consideration, a major reason for its efficacy was due to the discourse that existed in the civil society, i.e., one in which the people were demanding that the armed groups should go for peace talks to end the restrictions of the AFSPA in the state. Along with this, the NSCN (IM) felt that the status quo was not in their favour, and for its leaders, projecting the peace process at a high level of visibility was itself an achievement. The situation in Manipur and Assam is very different as compared to this. One reason why the peace process is so problematic is because of existing categorizations of friend and enemy that have been the basis of identity of an individual from the beginning, which consequently are very difficult to counter. The public discourses in these societies are very narrow and full of assumptions that result in the use of a particular kind of language to describe the other. Let us take a few examples of these existing discourses:
Therefore, given these existing discourses it becomes very disorienting for the armed groups to have peace talks with the government. A ceasefire with the state would pose a question to their authenticity and would mean changing their entire frame of reference. In order to deal with this problem, it becomes important to begin by challenging these existing discourses of difference. And to counter these exclusivist categorizations, new frames have to come into existence. Along with these there are other specific challenges that need to be considered. In the ULFA case, the group has been involved in peace talks with the Government of India since 2011. However, the legitimacy of these talks has been questioned as most of the leaders who were brought to the table were arrested, and hence ‘coerced’ into the peace process. Another challenge to the peace talks is the anti-talk faction of Paresh Barua who is not willing to join the negotiations. While looking at the UNLF and PLA’s contention for peace talks, the most important challenge is an embedded belief that the peace negotiation process is not about conflict transformation or about dealing with the root causes of the problem, but only a counter-insurgency strategy. They feel it is to ensure the group gets divided, weakened and militarily dominated. To counter these challenges, it is important to ensure a significant pre-negotiations stage. Such a stage would involve:
It is also important to remember that negotiations are complex and susceptible to transformation. Four things that are important for the success of a negotiation process are – leadership; the right kind of incentive structures and a common vision; institutional structures that enable the negotiations to succeed; and finally the right kind of implementation. Key points that were raised during the discussion:
Report prepared by Ms. Husanjot Chahal |
Terrorism & Internal Security | |||
Egypt’s Faltering Transition: Domestic and Regional Dynamics and Challenges for India | May 02, 2014 | Rajeev Agarwal | Fellows' Seminar |
Chairperson: Ambassador Arundhati Ghose The paper is an attempt to analytically examine the intricacies of Egypt’s transition, its domestic-regional dynamics and nature of Indo-Egyptian relations. In the introductory remarks, author briefly discussed Egypt’s geographic, demographic, civilizational and geo-political significance and highlighted Egypt’s centrality in West Asia-North Africa (WANA) region’s strategic landscape. Author raised four concise research questions which form the major premise of this study; Factors responsible for faltering transition, Major domestic stake-holders in Egypt’s transition, External factors influencing the Egyptian transition and reverberations of transition on the region, and India’s key interests in Egypt. In the first section, author identified four factors responsible for the flawed transition of Egypt. As per author’s contentions, SCAF in its short political existence of sixteen months failed to address the popular demands of Egyptians and thus its political miscalculation proved to be an obstruction in Egypt’s democratic ambitions. Author further elaborated how multiple elections and constitutional referenda post-2011 created an element of ambiguity and frustration, and led to a directionless transition. The third factor responsible for transition’s failure was Muslim Brotherhood’s confusion, contradiction and hurry in managing the new democratic Egypt. Lastly, with reference to certain important economic variables, author affirmed that deplorable economic conditions and inability to revive the Egyptian economy further impeded the transitional movement. In the next section, author dealt with the major domestic players involved in writing the script of Egypt’s transition. Role played by Egyptian Armed forces, Political parties (Muslim Brotherhood, Islamic and secular political parties) and Youth Movements (April 6 movement, Revolutionary Youth Coalition, Tamarod) was analytically elaborated by the author. Third section of the paper was centered on external dynamics of the transition. Author classified the influences under two major sub-heads; Regional and extra-regional camps. Based on ideological differences and state of diplomatic relations, author established that Saudi-UAE-Kuwait formed the Anti-Muslim brotherhood lobby, and Turkey-Iran-Qatar group was labelled as the Pro Muslim Brotherhood camp. Under Extra-regional stake holders, the case of Russia and U.S. was studied in greater detail. To evaluate Egypt’s impact on the region, author studied the spread of Political Islam emanating from Egyptian territory, reaction of neighbours such as Iran and Turkey, probable trade-effects along Suez Canal and changing US policies. Last section of the paper focused on Indo-Egyptian relations by examining the cultural, civilizational, diplomatic, and economic-trade linkages. Special emphasis was laid on nature of bilateral ties in face of the Arab Spring. In conclusion, author emphatically articulated Egypt’s importance for India and deliberated upon challenges facing New Delhi while dealing with changing regimes in Cairo. Shri Sanjay Singh congratulated the author for producing a well-structured and analytically sound paper. He stated that developments in WANA region deserve a more detailed mention in the introduction section of the paper to place Egypt in the regional context. He further suggested the author to examine the impact of Iran P5+1 talks and Iraq elections on Egypt. He appreciated author’s detailed analysis of Muslim Brotherhood’s role in Egyptian transition and asked the author to further address intra Muslim Brotherhood clefts. Furthermore, Shri Sanjay Singh highlighted the centrality of domestic economic forces in shaping the transition. Lastly, it was stated that even though Egypt is important to India, GCC remains the centre of attention and thus labelling Egypt as the “vital cog” in India’s foreign policy matrix seemed to be an exaggeration. Prof. Gulshan Dietl appreciated the cogent and focused study undertaken by the author. She opined that the three years of turbulence have changed the status quo in Egypt and thus the argument that “Egypt is back to square one” remains contestable. While commenting on Egypt’s contemporary relevance, Prof Dietl mentioned that Cairo as headquarters of Arab league exemplifies Egypt’s centrality to the West Asian region. Additionally, author was urged to examine the role of Egyptian films and TV in evoking and influencing the public sentiment, in order to catch the pulse of Egyptian revolution. Ms. Ruchita Beri acknowledged author’s efforts. She mentioned that though Egypt geographically falls under the African continent, Egyptians generally alienate themselves from their African identity. She suggested that the author accommodate the issue of Egypt’s participation in the African Union within the subject-matter of this paper, and also briefly examine Sino-Egypt trade relations. Dr. P.K. Pradhan complimented the author. A succinct reference to Elie Kedourie’s work on Arab political culture was made to suggest that reminiscence of Mubarak still echoes across Egypt, even after his ouster from Egyptian political theatre. Sharing his insights on military dominance in Egypt, Dr. Pradhan asserted that even though the military leader has been removed, the institutional structures remain intact. He agreed with the author’s contention that military will dominate the domestic politics, and civilian misrule will not be tolerated by military in Egypt. Amb. Arundhati Ghose: The neutral, non-judgmental and objective approach of the paper was highly appreciated by Amb Ghose. The author was advised to include “people or masses” as another major internal player in Egyptian transition. Demographic profiling of protestors while examining the youth movements was strongly recommended. Amb Ghose emphatically stated that jihadis have contributed to the failure of transition, and thus the role of Jihadi elements in shaping the transition deserves a mention, if not detailed scrutiny. The discussion was followed by comments and questions from the floor. The need to examine the future of Egypt was underlined; in order to extrapolate whether Egypt will deteriorate into a failed state or will it bounce back and retain its influence on the region. Questions were raised on US policy towards Egypt post-Mubarak and Israeli view of Arab Spring and Egyptian transition. The issue of Egypt’s excessive dependence on foreign funds was debated and the need to study economic dynamics of Egyptian transition was duly acknowledged. |
Eurasia & West Asia | ||||
Indian Ocean Maritime Security Cooperation: Will India Lead? | April 11, 2014 | Lee Cordner | Fellows' Seminar |
Chairperson: R Adm (Retd) K Rajamenon The paper focusses on the prospects of Maritime Security Cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and India’s role in it. Maritime security has become a central issue for regional and extra-regional actors. Emerging traditional and non-traditional security challenges largely converge at sea as they impact economic, environmental, energy, human, food and national security. There are compelling drivers for enhancing maritime security cooperation in the IOR and considerable obstacles to be overcome. The author argues that as the major regional power and an emerging Asian great power India’s willingness and capacity to provide strategic leadership is critical. However, in view of the alleged civil-military dissonance and the demonstrable lack of political will for reform raises questions about India’s strategic competence and influences perceptions of India’s prospects as a regional leader. Moreover, India’s strategic policy ambiguity undermines regional trust and confidence. Notwithstanding India’s reluctance, the paper argues that regional actors will increasingly look to India to provide strong, proactive and coherent leadership; to engender a spirit of cooperation and shared destiny. The paper concludes that India’s strategic leadership presents a key regional security risk, and an opportunity. Major Points of Discussion and Suggestions to the Author:
Report prepared by Amit Kumar, Research Assistant, IDSA |
Military Affairs | ||||
Coping with a Rising China: An Analysis of the Indian Official Discourse 1996 - 2012 | April 25, 2014 | Peter Van Der Hoest | 1030 to 1300 hrs | Fellows' Seminar |
Chair: Lt Gen Y M Bammi (Retd) |
East Asia | |||
International Conference on A Nuclear Weapon-Free World: From Conception to Reality | April 02, 2014 to April 03, 2014 | Conference |
DAY I: Wednesday, April 02, 20140900 hrs Registration 1000 – 1045 hrs INAUGURAL SESSION CHAIR: Shri Shivshankar Menon, NSA. Welcome Remarks by Dr Arvind Gupta, Director-General, IDSA. Remarks by Shri Shivshankar Menon, NSA. Inaugural Address by Dr Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India. 1045 – 1100 hrs Tea Break 1100 – 1300 hrs SESSION 1: ROLES AND DOCTRINES RELATED TO NUCLEAR CHAIR: Dr Sverre Lodgaard, Senior Research Fellow, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. Theme I - Changes in Nuclear Arsenals and Evolution of Nuclear Doctrines Dr Bruno Tertrais, Senior Research Fellow, Fondation Pour la Recherche Stratégique, France. Prof Arvind Kumar, Department of Geopolitics and International Relations, Manipal University, India. Prof Rajesh Rajagopalan, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Theme II - Reconciling the Moral and Security Imperatives Ambassador Sheel Kant Sharma, Former Indian Ambassador to Austria and Governor on the IAEA Board of Governors. Dr Rebecca E Johnson, Acronym Institute, UK. 1215 – 1300 hrs Q&A 1300 – 1400 hrs Lunch 1400 – 1545 hrs SESSION 2: NUCLEAR RISKS AND THREATS CHAIR: Dr WPS Sidhu, Senior Fellow, Brookings India. Theme I - Addressing Today’s Risks of Proliferation Dr Patricia Lewis, Research Director for International Security at Chatham House, UK. Dr Rajiv Nayan, Senior Research Associate, Institute for Defence and Analyses, New Delhi. Theme II - Tackling the Challenge of Nuclear Terrorism Dr William C. Potter, Director, James Martin Center for Non-proliferation Studies (CNS), Monterrey, USA. Prof Rahul Roy-Chaudhury, Senior Fellow for South Asia, International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), UK. Brigadier (Retd) Feroz H. Khan, Lecturer, Naval Post Graduate School, Monterey, USA. 1500 – 1545 hrs Q&A 1545 – 1600 hrs Tea Break 1600 – 1800 hrs SESSION 3: CHALLENGES OF A NUCLEAR WEAPON-FREE CHAIR: Dr Theresa Hitchens, Director, United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research, Geneva, Switzerland. Theme I - Deterrence and Stability On The Road To Nuclear Zero Dr Manpreet Sethi, Senior Fellow, Center for Air Power Studies, New Delhi. Ambassador Bilahari Kausikan, Ambassador-At-Large for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore. Theme II - Verification Challenges Dr James Acton, Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, USA. Dr Arun Vishwanathan, Assistant Professor, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore. Dr K L Ramakumar, Director, RC&IG, Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India, Mumbai. 1715 – 1800 hrs Q&A 1900 hrs CULTURAL PROGRAMME FOLLOWED BY DINNER AT IDSA DAY II: Thursday, April 03, 20140930 – 1230 hrs SESSION 4: PATHWAYS TO A NUCLEAR WEAPON-FREE WORLD CHAIR: Ambassador Rakesh Sood, Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Theme I - Moving from Bilateral US-Russia Deep Cuts to Multilateralism Dr Fan Jishe, Research Fellow of Institute of American Studies at Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China. Dr Anton V. Khlopkov, Director, Center for Energy and Security Studies, Moscow. Theme II - Existing Treaty-based Regimes and Limitations Prof Ramesh Thakur, Director, Centre for Nuclear Non-Proliferation & Disarmament, ANU, Australia. Dr Mu Changlin, Senior Research Fellow, China Institute for International Studies, China. Theme III - New Stakeholders and New Approaches Mr Akira Kawasaki, Co-Chair of International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). Dr C Raja Mohan, Distinguished Fellow, Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi. Mr Alyn Ware, Global Coordinator of Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament (PNND). 1130 – 1230 hrs Q&A 1230 – 1400 hrs Lunch 1400 – 1545 hrs SESSION 5: CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS CHAIR: Dr Arvind Gupta, Director General, IDSA Reports by Session Chairpersons Chair I: Dr Sverre Lodgaard 1445 – 1545 hrs Exchange of Views on Reports and Follow-up. > 1545 – 1600 hrs Tea break |
Nuclear and Arms Control | |||||
Visit of Young Parliamentarians from African Countries to IDSA | March 13, 2014 | Other |
Facilitated by the Ministry of External Affairs, a nine member delegation of young parliamentarians from Algeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, South Sudan and Uganda visited the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses on March 13, 2014 for an interaction with Scholars. During the deliberations, following issues were discussed: Military and Defence related issuesThe young parliamentarians were very keen to discuss issues related to defence and military. They were interested in knowing the possibility and nature of co-operation between defence establishments of India and Africa. They were interested in the recruitment practices of Indian Army, the possibility of military co-operation with African countries and co-operation in terms of defence equipment and capacity building. Specifically, they wanted to know that how the Indian Military can help in building African militaries capacity to operate military equipment and about the system of monitoring atrocities committed by Armed personnel; the young parliamentarians wanted to know about possibility of co-operation with Indian defence establishments in terms of restructuring of Armed forces especially in countries going through post-conflict transition. The parliamentarians wanted to know whether women are recruited in the Armed Forces in India. Deputy-Director General, Brig. Dahiya said that in Indian military, women are present in non-combat roles, although the Central Police Reserve Force has women contingent. Women contingents are also sent as part of United Nations Peace Keeping Force. The DDG pointed out that India and Africa have long standing military co-operation. Indian military has been involved in military training in Lesotho and Botswana. India has established a Military Staff College in Tanzania. Cadets from Ghana, Kenya and Uganda have been coming for training in the Indian Military Academy. There is strong possibility of establishing military training with other countries like South Sudan. India-Africa RelationsRegarding India-Africa relations Ms. Ruchita Beri, Research Fellow and Centre co-ordinator of ALACUN cluster at IDSA, acknowledged that there were historic ties between India and Africa since Independence. India does not view Africa as a hopeless continent and has co-operated with Africa at both bilateral and African Union level. An important facet about Indian co-operation is that it does not come with any conditionality attached to it. Moreover, India attunes its co-operation to suit African requirements. Indian government has provided financial support to African Union Peacekeeping Mission in Somali and African led International Support Mission in Mali. India has supported African counties in defence training and capacity building. Globally there is a rethinking on the definition of “Security”. At present it encompasses both traditional and non-traditional security concerns. In this context, India may enhance its cooperation with African countries in counter–terrorism, energy security and space technology. Dr. G. Balachandran, Senior Research Fellow at IDSA, said that there were excellent historical as well as people to people relations between Africa but they have not fully capitalized it. The knowledge dissemination about Africa in India is done by third parties rather that African themselves. IDSA ResearchThe parliamentarians were interested in knowing IDSA’s research on issues related to terrorism, militia violence and illegal immigration. The Director General of IDSA, Dr. Arvind Gupta while briefing the delegation on the overall role and functioning of IDSA, touched upon these issues. In relation to terrorism, the Director General said that IDSA has an Internal Security Centre and interacts with various stakeholders to understand the issue of terrorism which includes a project with Ministry of Home Affairs. India has struggled with problem related to militias some of which have operated in India with outside support. India also faces problem of illegal migration which occurs due to economic reasons as well as other reasons like natural calamities and trafficking. IDSA with its engagement with law enforcement agencies attempts to understand the root causes of the problem of illegal migration. Report prepared by Nachiket Khadkiwala, Research Assistant, IDSA. |
Africa, Latin America, Caribbean & UN |