Journal of Defence Studies

Unmanned systems pose grave threat to several countries and their interests due to a number of reasons: low barrier of entry into the procurement sector, commercial availability off the shelf (COTS), ubiquity, persistence and low radar cross section (RCS). Due to this, counter drone systems have been either deployed piecemeal or existing air defence systems have been used to fill the gap. The Indian Armed Forces have a very limited experience of dealing with either drones or counter-drone systems in an operational environment. The Jammu attack using improvised drones was a wake-up call.

• Akshat Upadhyay |
• October-December 2022 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

Majority of conflict situations in which the United Nations (UN) intervenes today are complex and as per their mandates, joint efforts of both men and women are required to make the peacekeeping operations as effective as possible. In many instances, maintaining good relations with the civilian population is a prerequisite for effective peacekeeping, as it often implies easy access to information at the grassroots level and increased security for UN personnel and the local population.

• Ingudam Yaipharemba Singh |
• July-September 2022 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

The Second World War created many apprehensions as the world had not witnessed catastrophe of that scale before. It raised many concerns for global peace, and led to the creation of United Nations (UN) primarily to prevent the world from the scourge of the Third World War. The UN Charter mandates the creation of a peacekeeping force for securing and creating conditions for lasting peace within the states and between the states. Since then, we have witnessed many ups and downs in the global order. There have been times when somehow war of a global scale was prevented.

• Rajeev Yadav |
• July-September 2022 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

Liberia has witnessed intense internal strife, conflicts and total breakdown of law and order in the past. A West African organisation, ECOWAS and United Nations operated together in Liberia to obtain a peaceful settlement. It was the first UN peacekeeping mission undertaken in collaboration with a peacekeeping operation already being undertaken by a regional grouping. Though there are obvious advantages of regional groupings taking such initiatives there are numerous nuances which emerge when such organisations operate together.

• Mandip Singh |
• July-September 2022 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

The United Nations peacekeeping operations (UNPK) have been evolving continuously and Bangladesh as a country has been playing an important role in it. The country wants to remain a dominant contributor to UNPK even in future as the participation brings several advantages in military, diplomatic, economic and social arena. Meanwhile, it has also been realised that to make the UNPK more effective, women have to play an important role as there are certain functions which women can perform better.

• Anand Kumar |
• July-September 2022 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

The United Nations Charter requires that all UN personnel mustmaintain the highest standards of integrity and conduct. The UN is committed to ensuring that all its personnel deployed globally serve with professionalism, courtesy and dignity. Allegations of Misconduct as well as Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by peacekeepers from various nations have often tarnished the image of the mission they represent and UN in general.

• V. Vidyashankar |
• July-September 2022 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

Air power has played a critical role in counter-insurgency and irregular warfare across the world. India’s own rich experience is full of documented
roles of air power in such campaigns. This article documents the unique experience of Indian air power in ‘robust’ peacekeeping under the

• Rajesh Isser |
• July-September 2022 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

When UN peacekeeping missions get deployed, adherence to the UN norms helps the missions get legitimacy, earn credibility, and find better acceptance in society. The UN norms namely the three principles of peacekeeping, which were conceptualised in 1958 have further evolved with different interpretations making the norms ambiguous impacting the performance of the UN peacekeeping operations.

• A.K. Bardalai |
• July-September 2022 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

Recent years have witnessed pronounced militarization and spread of global conflicts, throwing up new challenges to the UN on managing and resolving new conflicts. With the operating environment undergoing constant transformation, UN peace operations are experiencing a paradigm shift in their entire spectrum of peacemaking, peacekeeping and peacebuilding. Climate security and COVID-19 pandemic have aggravated international tensions escalating political violence, social distress and economic decline.

• J.S. Lidder |
• July-September 2022 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

Women in conflict throughout the world are taking significant risks to contribute to peace and security and their participation in peacekeeping operations has enhanced their role in peacebuilding and defending the rights of women. Women peacekeepers have proven themselves equal of their male counterparts in the execution of jobs under tough circumstances in all disciplines of peacekeeping.

• Pintu Kumar Mahla |
• July-September 2022 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

The United Nations (UN) was established post-Second World War in 1945 to prevent another catastrophe of that magnitude and to promote international peace and cooperation.1 The UN Charter aims to maintain international peace and security and to that end, take collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to peace and for the suppression of acts of aggression. Of all the activities undertaken by the UN, peacekeeping missions have attracted the greatest public attention. The concept of peacekeeping evolved in 1950.

• P.K. Chakravorty |
• July-September 2022 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

Air power has made its presence felt ever since the Wright Flyer took to the air in 1903. The air domain, over the years and in all conflicts, has established itself as a pivotal tool in the hands of the politician and of course, the military exponent. Its attributes of speed, reach, mobility and flexibility along with the ability to be employed in a logistics, humanitarian and/or an offensive role positions it as an ideal tool to be used in all aspects of peace operations. Indeed, India has been at the forefront of such missions for bringing-in peace in troubled lands far and wide.

• Manmohan Bahadur |
• July-September 2022 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

The United Nations Peace Support Operations (PSOs), originally envisaged for simple missions like monitoring ceasefires and facilitating negotiations during international armed conflicts, underwent a massive transformation after the end of the Cold War when the UN found itself involved in complex military operations embedded in violent intra-state conflicts. As civilians are increasingly subjected to brutality and atrocity in such conflicts, the use of force by the UN has become necessary for fulfilling its mandate for Protection of Civilians (POC) and Responsible to Protect (R2P).

• R. Vignesh |
• July-September 2022 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) was accepted into United Nations (UN) on 25 June 1971, replacing the nationalist government of Chiang Kai-shek, who fled to the island of Taiwan in 1949. Chiang’s Republic of China had been among the founding members of the UN. Being one of the five permanent members (P5) of the UN Security Council (UNSC) with veto rights, China is presently the second largest fund contributor after the United States (US).

• G. Praveen |
• July-September 2022 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

As it evolved over the years, UN peacekeeping became an extraordinary art that called for the use of the military personnel not to wage war but to prevent fighting between belligerents. To ensure the maintenance of cease-fires, and to provide a measure of stability in an area of conflict while negotiations were conducted. To that extent, it is important to distinguish between the concept of ‘collective security’ and peacekeeping in the international environment.

• Satish Nambiar |
• July-September 2022 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has seen conflict and violence ever since its independence, for varied reasons. The main causes are its abundant and ill-managed natural resources, lack of institutions, ethnic issues, lack of state authority and undisciplined and ill-trained national security forces.

• Chander Prakash |
• July-September 2022 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

South Sudan gained its independence on 9 July 2011, after an overwhelming referendum held in January 2011 and became the youngest country of the world.

• K.S. Brar |
• July-September 2022 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

Thanks to the Director General, MP-IDSA Amb. Chinoy, Col. Pillay, Dr Ruchita Beri and their team for providing the opportunity to share my views from an Indian viewpoint on the Appraisal of the UN’s Peacekeeping System and Mechanism.

• Mono Bhagat |
• July-September 2022 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

The subject of today’s discussion is peacekeeping but you have asked me to speak on a much broader plane about the past and future of the United Nations. Last year marked a hundred years of multilateralism. The founding of the League of Nations in January 1920 to maintain peace and foster international cooperation represented the first real institutionalization of multilateralism.

• Vijay Nambiar |
• July-September 2022 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

This couplet from an old Iranian poem, inscribed at the entrance gate of United Nations (UN) Headquarters (HQ), conveys a message signifying the purpose of the UN. The principal aim of the UN is to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to peace, including actions for suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of peace. The UN peacekeeping attempts to help countries navigate the difficult path from conflict to peace.

• Guru Saday Batabyal |
• July-September 2022 |
• Journal of Defence Studies