Journal of Defence Studies

Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems under Existing Norms of International Humanitarian Law

This article explores the position of lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS) under the existing rules of international humanitarian law (IHL). It argues that though the existing rules of IHL are sufficient for certain weapons systems, there is a need to develop new rules for fully autonomous weapons systems. The author makes a case that the call for a blanket ban on LAWS in general is premature and the expected use of such weapons must be acknowledged before such a ban is considered.

Human Rights in the Indian Armed Forces: An Analysis of Article 33 by U.C. Jha and Sanghamitra Choudhury

The armed forces are one of the most powerful tools to ensure safety and security of the state from external aggressions. This duty may call upon armed forces personnel to undertake missions with a very high risk to life. To motivate a human being to perform the allocated duty even at the peril of his/her life is an art that armed forces across the globe have mastered. For sustaining such a high level of motivation and to undertake missions in a very organised fashion, military discipline is a key attribute.

Leveraging India’s Maritime Diplomacy

It would have been difficult to visualise the current scenario in Sino-Indian relations just before COVID-19 overtook the world narrative. This was considering the immense political capital poured into the relationship by the Indian government, first at Wuhan in 2017 and then in Mamallapuram in 2019. It might be argued by some that the Doklam incident of 2017 should have been enough for India to wake up and smell the coffee.

Roby Thomas |
July-September 2020 |
Journal of Defence Studies

Russo-Japanese War: An Examination of Limited War Strategy

The Russo-Japanese War was fought well over a hundred years ago and symbolised the rise of Japan, as it defeated Russia by executing a near-perfect limited war strategy. Japan incisively defined limited political objectives and calibrated its war strategy accordingly.

Himadri Bose |
July-September 2020 |
Journal of Defence Studies

Contemporary Technology in Peacekeeping Operations

Since the Cold War, United Nations peacekeeping has evolved from monitoring peace treaties to multidimensional peacekeeping operations tasked with rebuilding states and their institutions during and after conflict. In June 2014, An Expert Panel on Technology and Innovation in UN Peacekeeping recommended investigating how innovative technology can strengthen peacekeeping missions.

The Absent Dialogue: Politicians, Bureaucrats, and the Military in India by Anit Mukherjee

Defence, a subset of national security, is an intricate subject. Primarily, defence policy and plans of a state emerge from its national security strategy to achieve its national goals. What happens when a state does not have a declared national security strategy? All stakeholders interpret the security scenario in their way and invariably pull defence policy and plans in multiple directions. Such has been the tale of Indian defence policy and plans since independence.

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.

Naval Modernisation in Southeast Asia: Problems and Prospects for Small and Medium Navies edited by Geoffrey Till and Ristian Atriandi Supriyanto

Against the backdrop of growing competition between the US and China, maritime security has become a high priority in the strategic policy narratives of most Southeast Asian countries. The book, Naval Modernisation in Southeast Asia: Problems and Prospects for Small and Medium Navies, edited by Geoffrey Till and Ristian Atriandi Supriyanto, analyses the varying problems and challenges faced by small and medium navies in Southeast Asia as they seek to increase their maritime power in response to their perceptions of strategic necessity.

Roby Thomas |
January-June 2020 |
Journal of Defence Studies

International Trends and the Evolving Role of the Integrated Financial Adviser in Defence

The Indian economy’s development over the past decades has given rise to complex challenges. Policy makers thus needed to make institutional changes in financial management systems. In the system of Financial Advice, the Financial Advisers are expected to provide independent financial advice to the administrative authorities in decision making for achieving organisational goals. Allocated resources are to be spent timely and prudently in the prescribed manner to achieve predefined outcomes. Integrated Financial Advice (IFA) in defence has also developed and evolved in recent years.

Human Capital for the Department of Military Affairs

The creation of the Department of Military Affairs (DMA) in the Ministry of Defence portends better civil-military cooperation. That India’s civil-military cooperation was in need of structural reform was never doubted. Yet, the implementation of such reform lacked political will, faced bureaucratic resistance, and was stymied by elements within the armed services.

Illicit Drug Trafficking and Financing of Terrorism: The Case of Islamic State, Al Qaeda and their Affiliate Groups

The revenue generated from the drug trafficking business constitutes a fifth of the organised crime revenues, with annual worldwide value of the trade estimated to be around $650 billion. As the trafficking of drugs provides a lucrative opportunity, transnational terror groups such as Al- Qaeda, the Islamic State and their affiliates are increasingly using illicit drug trade to fund their expenses and operational costs. Further, with the increasing surveillance of the funding routes of terror by the security forces, the traditional sources of revenue have dried up.

Influence of Alfred Thayer Mahan on Japanese Maritime Strategy

The Imperial Japanese Navy’s (IJN) resurgence during the Meiji Restoration was challenged by the absence of maritime capability and an equivalent strategic underpinning. In turn, the IJN reached out to Western navies to develop its capability and establish its maritime moorings. The musings of Alfred Thayer Mahan served to fill this void. The IJN studied Mahan’s tenets and became particularly fixated on certain ideas which fuelled their tactics and hardened their war plans.

United Nations Peace Operations: Personal Experiences and Reflections

We are passing through a decisive stage in the history of the international system. The threat of war between great states, or nuclear confrontation between major powers, is well behind us and, in fact, fading in our memory. However, new and diverse forms of threats, some clear and present, others only dimly perceived, are testing our resolve and questioning the validity of our existing mechanisms. Developments at the international level over the last two decades have exposed deep divisions within the membership of the United Nations (UN) over fundamental policies on peace and security.

A Conceptual Framework for Assessing Traditional Peace Operations

Despite decades of experience in peace operations, most United Nations (UN) operations have faced serious criticism for being unable to implement the mandate. At the same time, while the UN is in the process of establishing a clear framework for performance evaluation, as of now, there are no standard criteria to judge the performance of a peace operation. Therefore, it will be unfair to make only the peace operation missions accountable because of their inability to implement the mandate.

A.K. Bardalai |
October-December 2019 |
Journal of Defence Studies

Why We Fight, by Mike Martin

Desire (kama), anger (krodha), greed (lobha), attachment (moha) and ego (ahankar) are the five basic causes of human irrationality. In violence, one of the most significant human irrationality, intertwined strands of all these five factors can be seen. In Why We Fight, Mike Martin, a soldier and scholar, goes beyond these five tenets to look at the root cause of violence in societies. He attempts to describe connections between individuals and their social behaviour.

Understanding Ethical Behaviour towards Better Institutional Functioning in the Armed Forces

At the heart of ethical choices lies the complex interplay between individual intentions and environmental vectors. Factors such as stress, misguided motivations and the failure to handle positional power make the issue so very intriguing. Further, ethical dilemmas are often laden with inherent individual subjectivities, making it difficult to arrive at a singularly agreeable distinction between ‘right’ and ‘wrong’. Why do individuals transgress? Why do individuals give and take bribes? Why is it so difficult to report a course mate?

Ankush Banerjee |
October-December 2019 |
Journal of Defence Studies

The Long-term Effects of UK Defence Privatisation: Lessons for India?

This article argues that privatisation of defence has failed to achieve the objectives of increased competition (between producers) leading to increased choice and reduced costs (to purchasers). Instead, costs have increased, choice has decreased and much of the equipment supplied to the United Kingdom (UK) Armed Forces is now sourced wholly or partially from foreign suppliers—leaving the nation dangerously exposed to potential interferences in the supply (and replacement) of weaponry and munitions for political reasons.