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A. Vinod Kumar is Associate Fellow at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), and a Visiting Faculty at the Institute of Foreign Policy Studies (IFPS), University of Calcutta, Kolkata. His research interests include nuclear policy issues (including non-proliferation, nuclear energy and deterrence), missile defence and India’s relations with the great powers. Kumar’s first book titled India and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Regime – The Perennial Outlier was published by the Cambridge University Press in April 2014. He has written extensively in acclaimed publications including Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, The National Interest, Strategic Analysis, South Asian Survey, Asia Times, Huffington Post, The Indian Economist and Vayu Aerospace Review, among others. Prior to joining IDSA, Kumar was a journalist with stints in print and audio-visual media platforms and have spearheaded pioneering endeavours in mass communications including the first political public relations campaign in Kerala. He has been a private broadcaster as well as a first generation online journalist and was part of many web ventures, including as Executive Editor of South Asia Monitor – a media diplomacy platform. Kumar was earlier a Fellow at the Indian Pugwash Society. His ongoing study is on the implications of missile defence for nuclear deterrence. Concurrently, he is also spearheading an archival mining effort to trace India’s nuclear and foreign policy history. Kumar is recipient of the Ministry of Defence Madras Medal.
NPT@50: How India Framed its Decision to Reject the Treaty
India’s decision to reject the NPT was a display of astute statecraft with idealist posturing used to masquerade pursuit of national interests.
In Defence of Non-alignment
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.
China is becoming the new pariah
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.
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Saving a Billion: How India Confronted the COVID-19
The outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the final months of 2019 in China had led to a global pandemic with the disease-causing pathogen, the SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus-2), spreading virulently to almost all habitable land on Earth within a matter of 2-3 months. Even over six months after its first imprint in Wuhan, the pathogen remains unconquerable with over 4 million being infected and more than three lakh people dead.
Virus As Bio-Weapon: Contested Origins of Novel Coronavirus
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.
NPT@50: The Genesis of a Flawed Bargain
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.
Is it a dead-end for US-North Korea talks?
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'.
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.
‘No First Use’ is Not Sacrosanct: Need a Theatre-Specific Posture for Flexible Options
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.
India’s ASAT Test: Joining the Arms Race in Outer Space?
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.