Journal of Defence Studies

Land Warfare in the Indian Context: Time for a Transformative Shift?

The Indian Army is in the process of a transformative effort, envisaging changes not only at the apex level, within the Army Headquarters, but also in the field, with the...

Vivek Chadha |
July-September 2019 |
Journal of Defence Studies

HQ Integrated Defence Staff in the National Security Structure

The Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS) was one of the major structures raised after the Kargil conflict of 1999, representing, for the first time since independence, a step towards...

Satish Dua |
July-September 2019 |
Journal of Defence Studies

The Evolution of India’s National Security Architecture

The Kargil War of 1999 focussed the nation’s attention on shortcomings in India’s national security management system, which was largely inherited from the British in 1947. A comprehensive review resulted...

P. S. Raghavan |
July-September 2019 |
Journal of Defence Studies

Influence and Leverage of Indian Seapower: From Kargil to Future Readiness

Using the Kargil conflict as a backdrop, the article explains why the leverage and influence of sea power matters. During Kargil, situated in a small area of Jammu and Kashmir,...

The Kargil War and India’s Security Environment

The Kargil conflict presented an opportunity for a relook at India’s national security environment in terms of defence preparedness. The Kargil Review Committee report pointed to the deficiencies in India’s...

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July-September 2019 |
Journal of Defence Studies

Kargil to Balakot: The Tumultuous Journey of Indian Air Power

The conceptual and capability changes in a kinetic force remain intertwined with the prevailing and emerging security scenarios. Air power, a key kinetic capability, being technology dependent, needs continuous re-equipping...

The Line of Control: Travelling with Indian and Pakistani Armies, by Happymon Jacob

India–Pakistan relations have become more complicated in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack that took place in February 2019, on the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel in the most...

Shrabana Barua |
July-September 2019 |
Journal of Defence Studies

Line on Fire: Ceasefire Violations and India–Pakistan Escalation Dynamics, by Happymon Jacob

While contending the prevailing realists’ explanation of war happening because of power struggle, John Vasquez argues in his book, The War Puzzle Revisited, that a majority of wars are fought...

Rebel Law: Insurgents, Courts and Justice in Modern Conflict by Frank Ledwidge

Frank Ledwidge begins Rebel Law with a vision to consolidate and derive comprehensive narratives surrounding lawfare—law used as a means of achieving agendas—and to provide recommendations as to how effectively...

Kautilya and Non-Western IR Theory by Deepshikha Shahi

The recognition of Kautilya’s Arthashastra as a foundational text of international relations (IR) theory has been a cumbersome process, both in India and internationally. The IR community has exhibited a...

India and World War II: War, Armed Forces, and Society, 1939-45 by Kaushik Roy

World War II (1939-45) was a watershed moment in modern world history. It drastically changed the social and political map of the world, and especially of the Indian subcontinent which...

India and China at Sea: Competition for Naval Dominance in the Indian Ocean, edited by David Brewster

A multitude of reasons, like world geopolitics, rapid double-digit economic growth, military development, trade, presence in multinational organisations and global initiatives such as Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Maritime...

In Awe of the Atom: Proliferation, Threats, and Costs of Nuclear Management

ince the time of their invention and the first-and-only use on 6 and 9 August 1945 on two Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively, nuclear weapons have been seen by...

Broadening the Education for Synergetic Civil–Military Relations

Statecraft, diplomacy and warfare are not only a matter of brute force, but also a function of scholarship to understand the past, present and future of the art, science and...

Internet of Things Centricity of Future Military Operations

Since the last decade of the twentieth century, network centricity has profoundly transformed warfighting and the outlook of the military. The next level of the networking ladder is Internet of...

The Generation of Rage in Kashmir, by David Devadas

Kashmir has been experiencing new dynamics of conflict. Though not entirely unknown to students of ethnic conflicts, the dynamics and complications that have developed over a period of time have...

India’s National Security: Annual Review 2018

National security refers to securing a nation’s citizens, territory, resources, assets, ideologies, institutions, and interests against threats which may emanate from changing geopolitical state of affairs, changing relations between nations,...

Atul Pant |
January-March 2019 |
Journal of Defence Studies

India’s Domestic Debate over China’s Growing Strategic Presence in the Indian Ocean

This article seeks to capture the domestic debate in India over China’s activities in the Indian Ocean. It engages the critical geopolitical articulation around formal, practical and popular geopolitics, and...

Debating Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems

Technology and the armed forces have a symbiotic relationship. Many technologies which are presently used in day-to-day life, like the Internet or navigation systems (global positioning system [GPS]), actually have...

Ajey Lele |
January-March 2019 |
Journal of Defence Studies

The Strategy Trap: India and Pakistan Under the Nuclear Shadow

Ever since India and Pakistan emerged as declared nuclear weapon states in 1998, national security ideation in both countries has factored in the nuclear dimension in significantly different ways. While...