A. Vinod Kumar

The era of non-alignment provides immense insights on how visionary leadership seeking to influence international politics could develop ideational frameworks to propel the grand strategy of their choosing.

• Published: September 02, 2020
• Issue Brief

Associate Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Mr. A Vinod Kumar's commentary on China, titled ‘China is becoming the new pariah,’ has been published in ‘The Week’ on June 24, 2020.

Not aggression, but responsibility and compensation was expected of a great power with parentage of a pandemic, the article points out, arguing for a global coalition of democracies to discipline China and rein in its aggression.

Read Complete Article [+]

• Published: 24 June, 2020

It might be difficult to prove any weaponisation intent or man-made origins to the SARS-CoV-2. Yet, the mass deaths and disruption caused by the virus forebodes imminent exploitation of biological agents for political ends.

• Published: May 12, 2020
• IDSA Comments

Even after five decades of its entry-into-force, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is largely seen as a Cold War era instrument that has failed to fulfill the objective of creating a pathway towards a credible disarmament process.

• Published: March 31, 2020
• Issue Brief

• Published: January-June 2020
• CBW Magazine

Associate Fellow, IDSA, A. Vinod Kumar's analysis titled "Is it a dead-end for US-North Korea talks?" has been published by the British American Security Information Council (BASIC). The article seeks to place in perspective the events in the Korean Peninsula pertaining to the US-North Korea talks; it sheds light on some specific aspects of the talks and also examines the possibility of a major nuclear/missile related event, which Kim Jong-Un promised to deliver as a 'Christmas Gift'.

Read Complete Article [+]

• Published: 20 December, 2019

Nuclear doctrines and postures are dynamic processes that evolve with the security environment. Twenty years after India’s nuclear doctrine was first drafted, the time is ripe for a comprehensive review and suitable revisions.

• Published: August 27, 2019
• Issue Brief

An ASAT in itself is not a defensive system that could ‘safeguard’ any asset. Instead, it is an offensive system that could solely be used for retribution in response to an attack on India’s space assets. In that sense, the capability can only be used as a deterrent against a potential rival.

• Published: March 28, 2019
• IDSA Comments

Associate Fellow, IDSA, Mr A. Vinod Kumar's written evidence to the ‘Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and Nuclear Disarmament Inquiry’, conducted by the International Relations Committee of the House of Lords was published (NPT0015) by the Parliament of the United Kingdom on February 26, 2019.

The evidence addresses questions on the challenges facing the NPT and global nuclear diplomacy, the fate of Iran nuclear deal and de-nuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, the state of nuclear arms control, etc. It also discusses the impact of nuclear modernization programmes and new strategic technologies on global disarmament efforts and concludes with comments on the role of P-5 and the UK in global nuclear diplomacy.

html version [+]

PDF version [+]

• Published: 26 February, 2019

Associate Fellow, IDSA, Mr A Vinod Kumar's research article, ‘Struggles of Norm Construction in the Global Nuclear Order: An Indian Perspective on the Formative Years,’ was published in Artha-Journal of Social Sciences, Vol. 17, No. 4, 2018.

The article revisits the early struggles of nuclear norm construction through the perspective of an actor with multiple role identities, and analyses the conceptual issues associated with the normative structures during the formation of the nuclear non-proliferation regime.

Read Complete Article [+]

• Published: 17 January, 2019