Journal of Defence Studies

In the past few years, the emergence of social media as a robust platform has ushered in a new era of social interaction, communication, community building, and sadly, fomenting conflicts through disinformation and propaganda. Social media has opened new, easily accessible avenues for disseminating falsehood, sowing division and promoting real-world (offline) damage through violence, harassment and exploitation. Using disinformation to win wars is not something new.

• Sunil Tyagi |
• April-June 2023 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

This article presents a comprehensive review of China’s emerging private space industry, including an analysis of government policies, investments and international relations. China’s private space industry has grown significantly since 1988, with over 60 startups emerging by 2022, thanks to the strong support from the government and military civil fusion.

• Arpan Chakravarty |
• April-June 2023 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

This article aims to analyse the bilateral defence relations between India and Malaysia in the context of ongoing geo-political and strategic issues confronting the Indo-Pacific region. Writings on defence partnerships between India and Malaysia are very few and when seen in the context of India’s new ‘Act East Policy’, this article attains significance. The article analyses these relations in a descriptive and analytical manner by first looking into the historical relations and thereafter by highlighting, in brief, the developments during the Cold War era.

• M. Venkataraman |
• April-June 2023 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

The battlefields of the future will be dynamic, chaotic, unpredictable, and uncertain. In such interlinked battlefields in multiple theatres and domains, commanders and staff would be sifting through multitude of data for information, decision, and feedback. In such a time-constrained operational environment obscured by Clausewitzian fog of war, effective and unbiased decision-making by leaders and cohesive, cogent actions by teams of humans and machines/systems will be enablers for succinct victory.

• G. Praveen |
• April-June 2023 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

With the growth of hyper-active internet, the requirement of protection against hostile threats has become a matter of concern. In this article, an effort has been made to create a suggestive model based on Artificial Intelligence algorithms to understand the nature of calculated threat posed by potential threats and take necessary actions as and when deemed suitable. The suggestive model can be useful for policy-makers and concerned industries to consider more research effort unilaterally or collectively.

• Sandeep Bhattacharjee |
• April-June 2023 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

Is 22 kilometres (kms) adequate enough for an emotional connection? The famed Siliguri Corridor is 22 kms wide at its narrowest point, a rectangular box of about 400 sq kms (20x22 kms), and has multi-dimensional aspects connected to it: strategic, economic, emotional and political. Have we recognised the importance of this 22 kms strip? Strategically yes, but what about other issues, which connect a nation? Have we connected with it politically and emotionally?

• V.S. Ranade |
• January-March 2023 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

The journey of the Indian Armed Forces over the last 100 years has in many ways mirrored the momentous history of the birth, struggles and victories of India. It straddles a colonial period in which the armed forces of India owed allegiance to a foreign sovereign and could readily be used to fight an alien power’s wars and promote its strategic objectives. This did not however erode the heroism and professionalism that the Indian armed forces came to be known for over two centuries.

• Amb. Sujan R. Chinoy |
• January-March 2023 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

‘Soft Power’ has never before been explicitly stated as part of India’s foreign policy, like it has been done in the last few years. However, much remains to be done to transform India’s capacities into capabilities for an effective soft power exercise, and to be able to employ such soft power as a veritable instrument of influence. This article discusses the civilisational asset that India possesses and its potential for enhancing soft power, that is, India’s historical and civilisational ties with, and the cultural footprints thereof, in different parts of the world, especially Asia.

• Arpita Mitra |
• January-March 2023 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

The use of social media such as Twitter by terrorist organisations to spread their propaganda and to recruit new members is well-documented. As per an estimate, there were about 46,000–90,000 Twitter accounts in 2014, which either advocated for Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) or were run by supporters of the group. In 2015, Twitter reported that it had banned 1,25,000 ISIS sympathetic accounts. In 2016, it published an update that 3,25,000 accounts had been deleted.

• Ranjit Mishra |
• January-March 2023 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

Starlink, a satellite internet constellation owned by Elon Musk, provides satellite-based internet connectivity to consumers globally, and has been actively involved in guiding Ukrainian military drones and missiles against Russian military positions, thus becoming party to the ongoing Russia–Ukraine conflict and a bonafide military objective. Russia had also accused Starlink of helping the Ukrainian forces to guide and modify fire of the two Neptune missiles, which led to the sinking of the Russian warship Moskva.

• Kaushik Ray , William Selvamurthy |
• January-March 2023 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

India’s defence cooperation with African countries is on the rise. This cooperation is to some extent driven by the common security challenges faced by these countries. It is also guided by three principles: keeping African priorities first, SAGAR (Security and Growth for All) and ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, the World is One Family. Training of African defence officers, involvement in United Nations Peacekeeping on the continent and maritime cooperation are the three pillars of defence engagement with African countries.

• Ruchita Beri |
• July-September 2023 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

For a book published in 2021 and preceding the current Russian invasion of Ukraine, 2034: A Novel of the Next World War by Elliot Ackerman and Admiral James Stavridis is remarkably topical and prescient. It forecasts a future where great power ambition and a sense of infallibility of a superpower lure it towards utilising ‘compellence’ as a strategy towards attaining its goal of world domination, leading to predictable consequences.

• Alok Deb |
• January-March 2023 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

Militaries are the sword arm of the state, entrusted with defending the state against all threats that would harm its interests. These threats are increasingly emanating from cyberspace and militaries around the world are being called upon formally to undertake responsibility for defending against threats from this domain in addition to the existing physical domains of land, sea, air and space. The unique nature of this domain has required some restructuring on the part of the military.

• Cherian Samuel |
• January-March 2023 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

Tanzania is a strategically located country on the eastern coast of Africa. It is an important node of China’s Maritime Silk Road project and constitutes a significant part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Under the BRI, China had envisaged that Bagamoyo would be the largest port in all of Africa, supplemented by a Special Economic Zone (SEZ), and a trans-continental railway line, making Tanzania a hub of commerce in East Africa.

• Sibapada Rath |
• January-March 2023 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

India is a classic case of a ‘quasi-federal’ country. There is a plethora of literature available separately on the Indian armed forces and Indian federalism. However, the deployment of India’s Central Armed Forces in its federal units (States) is one of the most understudied and unexplained areas of research. To avert any grave disorder in the country, the Centre constitutionally enjoys power regarding the deployment of its armed forces in the federal units. However, in practice, there are various factors that come into play during the deployment.

• N. Manoharan , Niharika Singh Rana |
• January-March 2023 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

An unusual, multi-dimensional conflict is underway in Europe. One dimension of this conflict is that Ukraine and Russia are engaged in seemingly endless conventional military battles on the ground in Ukraine. The other dimension is that United States (US) led North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance is arming and funding Ukraine for these battles. The alliance is also pursuing an all-out economic war against Russia through trade and financial sanctions against Russia, and Russians.

• Rajan Katoch |
• January-March 2023 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

Traditionally, Kautilya or Vishnugupta, is considered the author of Arthashastra. He is also known as Chanakya, the scholar and chief minister who ‘destroyed the power of the Nandas and placed Chandragupta Maurya on the throne of Magadha’ in the 4th century bc. By the name of Chanakya, he had also authored a text known as Chanakya Niti. However, there is no proper understanding in the general public about the seminal work authored by Kautilya such as the Arthashastra and Chanakya Niti.

• P. K. Gautam |
• January-March 2023 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

The history of mankind is replete with devastating wars since the beginning of civilisation. The Indian history also witnessed many wars. The earliest wars in India appear to have been fought by the people of the Indus Valley civilisation. Their expertise in building forts to defend themselves confirms this theory. Subsequently, the Aryans waged wars against the natives of the land (p. 18). The battles depicted in the epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata further provide valuable information about the warfare mechanism of the ancient period.

• Narender Yadav |
• January-March 2023 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

Drones, often referred to as ‘dull, dirty and dangerous’, are fast becoming crucial to militaries around the world as a force multiplier

• Kritika Roy |
• October-December 2022 |
• Journal of Defence Studies

When Tesla and SpaceX Founder Elon Musk, in a room full of US Air Force personnel, asserted that autonomous drone warfare is the future and will replace fighter jets, it sparked a controversial but crucial debate.1 The decade post 9/11 saw the proliferation of drones in the military domain. Drones and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have been used extensively to disable conventional weapon systems in Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Libya and Ukraine. Hence comes the conundrum of replaceability and disruptiveness of conventional warfare vis-à-vis drone warfare.

• Krutika Patil |
• October-December 2022 |
• Journal of Defence Studies