Siang Upper Multipurpose Project: Sustainability and Indigenous Rights The Siang Upper Multipurpose Project is an example of India's challenge of reconciling hydropower goals with ecological fragility and indigenous rights. Srotaswini Hazarika | | Issue Brief
Pakistan’s Afghanistan Problem The Taliban 2.0 have refused to bow to Pakistan’s dictates on multiple issues, including on cracking down on the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan and their relationship with India. Priyanka Singh | | Issue Brief
US–China Cyber Relations and the Weaponisation of Microsoft Platforms China has increasingly exploited Microsoft vulnerabilities in its cyber rivalry with the US. Ishanya Sharma | | Issue Brief
The 12th ADMM-Plus Meeting: Future Prospects The ADMM-Plus plays a critical role in building regional solidarity through practical cooperation. Temjenmeren Ao | | Issue Brief
An Indigenous Unified Defence Cloud: Securing India’s Digital Sovereignty An indigenous Armed Forces Cloud is crucial for protecting national security, enhancing operational readiness and preserving technological independence. Mohit Walia | | Issue Brief
The Risk of a Renewed Nuclear Arms Race Donald Trump’s decision to resume US nuclear testing risks reigniting a competitive nuclear build-up that could destabilise international security. Abhishek Verma | | IDSA Comments
Towards Effective Defence Procurement: Lessons from the US SPEED Act 2025 The US SPEED Act 2025 illuminates how agile, outcome-based acquisition models can quicken defence procurement. Chaitan Chouhan | | Issue Brief
The Mistaken History of the Korean War: What We Got Wrong Then and Now by Paul M. Edwards For Koreans, the Korean War was undoubtedly a watershed moment, which cemented the bifurcation of Korean Peninsula that continues more than seventy years after the fact. It is impossible to segregate the Korean War from the history of United States. US had, after all, provided for around 5.7 million personnel in the UN initiative against North Korean ingression into South Korea. Meghna Pradhan | July-September 2025 | Journal of Defence Studies
The Arctic Frontier: Geopolitical Chessboard of Major Powers? The Arctic region, once considered a distant and inhospitable corner of the world, is rapidly emerging as a focal point in global geopolitics. Harvard International Review (HIR) argues that “nations have begun to engage in a modern gold rush over the region’s unclaimed territory, natural resources and strategic position”.1 This transformation is driven by a confluence of factors: the region’s substantial mineral wealth,2 the strategic importance of newly accessible maritime shipping lanes,3 the unique opportunities for scientific discovery,4 and the broader implications for global politics.5 As the Arctic ice cover diminishes at an unprecedented rate due to climate change, the region’s significance is magnified, drawing the attention of major global powers and reshaping international relations. Its vast mineral resources are at the heart of the Arctic’s growing importance. Estimates suggest that the region harbours a significant portion of the world’s untapped reserves of oil and natural gas, with projections indicating that the Arctic could contain about 13 per cent (90 billion barrels) of the world’s undiscovered oil and 30 per cent of its undiscovered natural gas (USGC).6 These figures highlight the Arctic as a critical energy security and economic opportunity area, particularly as traditional reserves in more accessible regions become depleted. Rahul Pandey | July-September 2025 | Journal of Defence Studies
Outer Space as a Global Commons: Evolving Governance and the Challenges of the 21st Century Space has long been considered a domain beyond territorial claims, governed by international treaties that emphasised cooperation and peaceful exploration. However, in the face of rapid technological advances, the increasing involvement of private entities in space, and the rise of new space powers, the concept of space as a global commons is being fundamentally redefined. While the 1967 Outer Space Treaty (OST) laid the foundational principles for the peaceful use of outer space, it has become increasingly inadequate in addressing the complex dynamics of 21st-century space exploration. This commentary explores the challenges and opportunities in rethinking the governance structures for outer space, emphasising the need for updated international legal frameworks to safeguard space as a domain for the benefit of humanity. Martand Jha | July-September 2025 | Journal of Defence Studies