India’s Afghan Muddle: A Lost Opportunity by Harsh V. Pant The book provides a brief history of Afghanistan from ancient times to year 2014, and brings out the strategic interest of world powers in the country. It highlights that Afghanistan has seen considerable turmoil, upheavals and external forces battling for strategic control since the 1970s. In 2001, this culminated into an ‘international war against terror’ post the 9/11 attacks in the US by Al Qaeda, the leaders of which were then sheltered by the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. Y.M. Bammi January 2016 Journal of Defence Studies
Geostrategic Imperative of the Indo-Pacific Region: Emerging Trends and Regional Responses The global economic power shift from the West to East (Asia) and the increasing geostrategic significance of the Indo-Pacific region has resulted in cooperation and competition among the established and rising powers in the region. While the economic cooperation between them has significantly grown in recent past, the geostrategic and geopolitical frameworks remain very uncertain. In essence, the emerging trends and issues in the Indo-Pacific offer unique opportunities as well as daunting challenges to the nations. Saroj Bishoyi January 2016 Journal of Defence Studies
PrepCom: Setting the Stage for the ‘Eighth’ Review Conference of the Biological Weapons Convention On April 26, 2016, the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) meeting for the Eighth Review Conference (RevCon) of the Biological Weapons Convention (or BWC) jump-started the Convention’s quinquennial review process which is… Continue reading PrepCom: Setting the Stage for the ‘Eighth’ Review Conference of the Biological Weapons Convention Animesh Roul January-June 2016 CBW Magazine
Preparations for the Eighth Review Conference to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention Numerous planning documents and policy statements are being generated in the lead-up to the Eighth Review Conference to the 1972 Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) for which Ambassador György… Continue reading Preparations for the Eighth Review Conference to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention John Hart January - June 2016 CBW Magazine
India’s Policy towards WMD Weapons: Status and Trends Preventing the spread and buildup of nuclear weapons remains one of the highest priority international security challenges. Following the concerns over the spread of nuclear weapons, came the issue of… Continue reading India’s Policy towards WMD Weapons: Status and Trends Chandreyee Chakraborty January-June 2016 CBW Magazine
Honour and Fidelity: India’s Military Contribution to the Great War 1914–1918 by Amarinder Singh Three days after the ‘Great War’ was declared at midnight on the 4–5 August 1914, mobilisation orders were issued to marshal what would become the largest expeditionary force of that war and, arguably, of all wars till date. These instructions were issued by Lord Hardinge— the then Viceroy of India—resulting in Expeditionary Force ‘A’ that embarked for France within the month. Akash S. Goud January 2016 Journal of Defence Studies
The South China Sea: The Struggle for Power in Asia by Bill Hayton The South China Sea disputes have received considerable attention from international relations scholars, world leaders and policymakers in the recent decades. China’s aspirations in the region are challenged by the relatively smaller East Asian countries, including Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan. The territorial disputes, mixed with the concept of sovereignty and national pride, have led to the development of geopolitical rivalry in the region. Sampa Kundu January 2016 Journal of Defence Studies
China’s Emergence as a Cyber Power Cyberspace is increasingly becoming an area of contestation among nation states. Similar to the physical domains of land, sea, air and space, superiority in the cyber domain enables a nation state to exert its cyber power. In recent years, China has invested colossal amounts in building the requisite infrastructure and capabilities of its armed forces as well as governance practices to advance towards ‘informationalisation’. This article seeks to discern the motives, threats, objectives, strategy and intent that drive China to amass cyber power. Munish Sharma January 2016 Journal of Defence Studies
Tanzania’s President John Magufuli – The Hero of the Hour India needs to take advantage of its historically close and friendly ties with Tanzania and step up its ties with that country, perhaps by scheduling a visit of Prime Minister Modi at the earliest. Debnath Shaw January 22, 2016 Issue Brief
The North Korean Nuclear Test: Quest for Deterrence The January 6 ‘thermonuclear’ test is the fourth in the series of nuclear tests in North Korea’s consistent quest to attain credible deterrence against the United States. Skand Tayal January 22, 2016 IDSA Comments
