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Power and Diplomacy: India’s Foreign Policies during the Cold War, by Zorawar Daulet Singh

Realpolitik and its terminology have dominated the discourse on the conduct and behaviour of states in ‘anarchical’ international environment. Concepts like balance of power (BoP) and security dilemma continue to draw the attention of students of international politics. It has been argued, or presumed, that in the security-driven environment of the international system, foreign policies of individual states are externally driven.

China’s India War: Collision Course on the Roof of the World, by Bertil Lintner

In the autumn of 1962, two worlds collided. After long-standing confrontations in disputed border areas, China unleashed its military machinery on India and triumphed. The spectre of the war haunts both sides to this day, as it was shown by the Doklam stand-off in 2017. Understanding the past could guide us in the present, but we still lack the full picture of Indian and Chinese decision making in the run-up to 1962. The second part of the Henderson Brooks Report remains classified and Chinese primary documentation is elusive on the topic.

India and China in Asia: Between Equilibrium and Equations, edited by Jagannath P. Panda

India and China in Asia: Between Equilibrium and Equations, edited by Jagannath P. Panda, is a significant contribution among the latest books and volumes on India–China relations. The volume is divided into three parts. The first part largely deals with perceptual dimensions impacting and defining bilateral relations. The second part takes a stock of critical strategic concerns essentially of bilateral nature, such as the possibility of a local war between the two countries, the boundary dispute and the lingering Tibet factor between them.

Achieving Jointness in War: One Theatre One Strategy

The creation of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) is a start to defence reforms. This should improve jointmanship in peacetime; however, joint wartime performance needs further reform and improvement. We face three problems: (i) historical lack of unified warfighting strategy formulation at the apex military level; (ii) the unclear division of responsibility and resources between service Chiefs and Commanders-in-Chief (C-in-Cs); and (iii) the differing natures of command and control between the three services, which manifest as differences in structural organisations.