Journal of Defence Studies

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 concept of Integrated Battle Groups likely to be implemented soon. The past record of major changes within the army suggests an incremental approach, and also disconnect between doctrinal thought and restructuring. The only exception were the changes post the 1975 military reforms.

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

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 integration of the three armed forces with other relevant elements of power. This article situates and examines the functions of HQ IDS in the broader context of India’s national security architecture. It begins by giving a historical overview of the higher defence organisation in India, the issues pertaining to its security architecture, and the far-reaching impact of Kargil on these.

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

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 in a major overhaul, ensuring tighter coordination between the various security structures, reforming the higher defence organisation, and bringing in a holistic approach, recognising the political, economic, technological, ecological and sociological factors impacting on national security.

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

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, and far away from the sea, the robust deployment of the Indian Navy created politico-diplomatic pressure that contributed indirectly to the outcome. Two decades hence, the navy’s multiple strategies as doctrinally enunciated, when complemented by the broader initiatives of SAGAR and SAGARMALA, assist in India becoming a pivot for economic progress and for mutual security in the Indian Ocean Region.

• Sudarshan Shrikhande |
• July-September 2019 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

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 security management system and gave a call for course correction especially in terms of integration of the armed forces, defence modernisation, and optimum defence budgeting and expenditure.

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• July-September 2019 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

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 and up gradation. The force structure and organisation too need to adapt to ensure optimal exploitation of available capability. Indian air power has transformed in the last two decades and expanded its capability in all critical facets.

• Kishore Kumar Khera |
• July-September 2019 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

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 volatile territory of India, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). That the diplomatic ties between the two countries are arguably decided by what happens in the state has never been understated—precisely why Kashmir has remained the focus of study for experts on the topic.

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

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 over territory, either to defend or occupy it. According to Vasquez, territorial disputes between two countries are ‘much more war-prone’ than others.

• Nazir Ahmad Mir |
• July-September 2019 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

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 policymakers and practitioners may use it to counter destabilisation in the light of unjust dissent. His experiences from years at the front end of British foreign policy form the backbone on which this book takes shape.

• Suriya Narayanan |
• April-June 2019 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

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 rather neurotic attitude towards Kautilya, ranging from outright denial of his relevance for the discipline to hesitant admission that there are conceptual elements in the Arthashastra which have theoretical eigenvalue as well as relevance for empirical research.

• Michael Liebig |
• April-June 2019 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

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 was under colonial rule at that time. Several significant works have appeared in recent times on the diverse aspects of the war. Among them is Kaushik Roy’s authoritative account, India and World War II: War, Armed Forces, and Society, 1939-45.

• Manas Dutta |
• April-June 2019 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

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 Silk Route (MSR), keeps China at the forefront in global news. Any discussion of world order or superpowers is incomplete without the mention of China, and more so because of its contentious maritime issues.

• M. Doraibabu |
• April-June 2019 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

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 the states that possess them, or the ones that seek them, as the ultimate guarantors of their security.1 It is believed that these weapons are key to achieving victory in a war that otherwise may go on for a long time or may end in defeat if fought in conventional ways by a weaker country; in other words, nuclear weapons are believed to act as instruments of deterrence.

• Nazir Ahmad Mir |
• April-June 2019 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

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 literature of national and international security. At higher levels in their professional career, besides the armed forces, a number of civil servants too have to deal with the state’s use or threat of the use of legitimate force. This article suggests broadening the education for synergetic civil–military relations (CMR).

• P. K. Gautam |
• April-June 2019 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

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 Things (IoT), which has already started to disruptively change the ways in the civil domain, bringing a considerable autonomy to various processes by linking of a plethora of smart devices that are talking to each other. Militaries, in the near future, are also likely to see similar proliferation of IoT, which will bring a material change to their functioning and conduct of operations.

• Atul Pant |
• April-June 2019 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

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 made the Kashmir conflict extremely complicated given the number of actors involved in it. Additionally, it has been seen that the semblance of peace in the state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has often been mistaken as resolution of the conflict.

• Rajrajeshwari Singh |
• April-June 2019 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

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, groups, races, sects, advancing technology and changing ideology. In the prevailing complex geopolitical scenario, India’s national security is facing new challenges and acquiring new dimensions with every passing year.

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

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 provides a narrow perspective on the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). It begins with a look at how India and China perceive the IOR, which is crucial to understand how the Indian Ocean is framed in the public consciousness in India.

• Rajdeep Pakanati |
• January-March 2019 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

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 a link to, or are derived from, military innovations. Artificial intelligence (AI) is one arena of present generation technology that militaries have been developing mainly for two purposes: first, for juxtaposing it on their existing defence architecture for its performance enhancement; and second, for developing new types of militarily instruments and weapon systems.

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

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 Pakistan views its nuclear arsenal as an offensive weapon against what it perceives to be an existential threat from India and a conduit to wage a proxy war in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), India has a nuanced perspective of nuclear weapons as primarily a credible deterrent and not a weapon of war fighting.

• Arjun Subramaniam |
• January-March 2019 |
• Journal of Defence Studies