Journal of Defence Studies

Networks of Rebellion: Explaining Insurgent Cohesion and Collapse by Paul Staniland

Insurgency and rebellion are often common lexicons appearing in scholarly works on conflict. Perhaps the reason for this could be the possible magnitude of impact of such events on overall...

Operation Golden Bird: Revisiting Counter-Insurgency on the India-Myanmar Border

Operation Golden Bird, conducted along the Indo-Myanmar border in the North-Eastern state of Mizoram under the aegis of 57 Mountain Division (57 Mtn Div) in April–May 1995, has often been...

Die in Battle, Do not Despair: The Indians on Gallipoli 1915, by Peter Stanley

The First World War of 1914-1918 was a very significant event in the history of the world. It led to the dissolution of five empires and redrawing of the map...

UNIFIL: The Many Challenges of Successful Peacekeeping

Nations from the developed world have rarely participated in complex and difficult UN peacekeeping operations (PKOs) while those from the developing world have rich peacekeeping experience. The United Nations Interim...

The US Pivot and Indian Foreign Policy: Asia’s Evolving Balance of Power, by Harsh V. Pant and Yogesh Joshi

The US Pivot and Indian Foreign Policy is based on the premise of the ascendance of Chinese power and relative decline of the United States (US) on the world stage...

The Chinese Maritime Militia: A Perfect Swarm?

The South China Sea is a zone of contention between China and other nations in the region. The US Navy has decreased the number of ships available to counter Chinese...

India in Japan’s Geo-strategic Outlook

Japan’s long-standing alliance with the US is the key feature of its defence and security policy. However, China’s rise and impact on shaping the regional security architecture, and the vigour...

Revisiting Nuclear India: Strategic Culture and (In) Security Imaginary, by Runa Das

Following a critical social constructivist approach, Runa Das affirms in Revisiting Nuclear India that India’s nuclear decisions are a product of the state’s strategic culture, which is generated by its...

Countering the Threat of Radicalisation: Theories, Programmes and Challenges

In recent years, rising instances of home-grown terrorism, lone-wolf operations and growing polarisation within societies have upstaged the global military struggle against major transnational terrorist organisations. As the dissemination of...

Revisiting the 1965 War

The 1965 war was an unexpected one, forced on India by Pakistan. Yet, India rose as one to face the threat to her safety and integrity, and defeated the designs...

Equilibrium in Higher Defence Organisation and the Need for Restructuring

The article deals with the issue of the necessity of identifying and maintaining equilibrium between the two key constituents of the higher defence organisation (HDO) of the country, namely, the...

War and State-Building in Afghanistan: Historical and Modern Perspectives, edited by Scott Gates and Kaushik Roy

War and State-Building in Afghanistan deals with one of South Asia’s most turbulent states, Afghanistan, and its socio-political and military conditions. This book also traces the processes that have shaped...

The Importance of the Spies in Ancient Indian Diplomacy

Intelligence studies is a sub-discipline of international relations though in India, the subject is yet to become part of the academic curriculum. The topic has been covered in detail in...

1962: The War That Wasn’t, by Kunal Verma

The title of the book is self-explanatory. And the tone and tenor thereof is an implied challenge to the conventional wisdom, and thesis, propounded in India’s China War, written by...

Australia’s 2016 Defence White Paper: An Indian Perspective

Australia’s comprehensive strategic approach towards the Indo-Pacific region and a renewed interest in the Indian Ocean has served to rekindle its relationship with India. Australia’s recently released 2016 Defence White...

Kautilya’s Arthashastra: Restoring its Rightful Place in the Field of International Relations

India’s rise in the twenty-first century has resulted in renewed attention on the country, especially in the sphere of strategic thought. This focus has brought into limelight ancient India’s pioneering...

Reorganisation of Defence Outlay for 2016–17: A Tepid Affair

Beginning 2016–17, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) will present four detailed demands for grant (DDGs)1 instead of eight that it had been presenting to the Lok Sabha2 in the past....

Galvanising ‘Make in India’ in Defence: The Experts’ Committee Chips In

In spite of spending close to Rs 500,000 crore on capital acquisitions between 2002–03 and 2014–15, the Indian Armed Forces continue to suffer from a chronic shortage of equipment and...

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...

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...