S. Samuel C. Rajiv

Illuminated by the work of strategic classics, Thomas Kane shows that the link between military power and political goals has always been complex and continues to be so. This is because the use of armed force to achieve political objectives (the essence of military strategy) is fraught with serious consequences for nation-states and for the people inhabiting them. Many perceptive minds have tried to unravel these complexities to better understand how and why societies engage in war as well as to guide future strategists to wage them more effectively.

• Published: January 2015
• Journal of Defence Studies

This article examines Iranian contentions on three issue areas that exemplify the politicised nature of its interactions with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). These include access to military facilities, information credibility and the ‘nuclear activism’ of US-based non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

• Published: September 2014
• Strategic Analysis

Brigadier Feroz Hassan Khan (Retd) brings to bear the right credentialsto this six year effort under review. The career Pakistan Army officer andJohns Hopkins University graduate (1989–91), currently a faculty memberof the Naval Postgraduate School, Moneterey, California, spent the lastdecade of his 32 year service (he retired in 2001) dealing with nuclearissues in key positions.

• Published: January 2014
• Journal of Defence Studies

The November 24, 2013 Joint Plan of Action between Iran and its P5+1 interlocutors is the first agreement since November 2004 that contains Iran’s acceptance of certain short-term limitations on its nuclear programme.

• Published: December 09, 2013
• Issue Brief

Prospects of a solution will hinge on the ability of the two sides to moderate their maximalist positions and the ability of the Obama administration to play the role of an ‘honest broker’.

• Published: August 26, 2013
• IDSA Comments

After wining the elections, Hassan Rouhani has insisted that Iran is ‘ready to show more transparency’ over its nuclear programme, but has also affirmed that it has ‘inalienable rights’ to enrich uranium as a member of the NPT.

• Published: August 06, 2013
• Issue Brief

Even as the uncertainty over the alleged use of chemical weapons use in Syria deepens, the cautious US response to the situation has been conditioned by the lack of viable military options as well as its Iraq war experience.

• Published: June 03, 2013
• Issue Brief

The Patriot deployments signify Turkey’s attempt to secure itself and its allies against touted missile threats from the two countries with which it shares borders to the east – Syria and Iran.

• Published: January 24, 2013
• IDSA Comments

With reports noting that the Israeli government had authorised the mobilisation of close to 75,000 reservists ahead of a possible ground invasion, international attention is currently focussed on preventing this possibility

• Published: November 20, 2012
• IDSA Comments

Efforts undertaken to address concerns generated by the Iranian nuclear issue have primarily followed a dual-track approach made up of punitive non-proliferation and economic sanctions at the multi-lateral and unilateral levels and diplomatic-political engagement across the bilateral, tri-lateral and multi-lateral spectrum. These have, however, not been successful in ‘forcing’ cooperation from Iran on core issues of concern, including in such activities as the stopping of uranium enrichment activities.

• Published: November 2012
• Strategic Analysis