Guardians of God: Inside the Religious Mind of Pakistani Taliban, by Mona Kanwal Sheikh In the recent past, several Islamist movements promising to re-establish the pristine political system dating back to the days of the Prophet have captured the mind of believers. Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is one such movement that grew out of the resentment against the established religious parties’ failure to implement sharia, coupled with Pakistan’s decision to join the war on terror which fuelled religious anxiety that this war was aimed against Islam. Smruti S. Pattanaik | October-December 2019 | Journal of Defence Studies
The McMahon Line: A Century of Discord, by J.J. Singh The Sino-Indian boundary dispute remains the most enduring and challenging problem that bedevils relations between India and China. With a history of well over a century of differences on the border alignment, and a war that represented its lowest point in their relations, the two countries remain suspicious of each other’s motives, actions and statements emanating from them and their possible implications. Vivek Chadha | October-December 2019 | Journal of Defence Studies
China’s DF-41 Ballistic Missile Deployment and the Impact on its Nuclear Deterrence The deployment of the DF-41 ballistic missile in China shows that the nature of its nuclear posture is at a critical stage of evolution. On the one hand, the deployment illustrates the achievements in Chinese missile modernisation, which poses a threat to the US deterrence capacity. On other hand, it exposes the limitations in its deployment patterns. M.S. Prathibha | October-December 2019 | Journal of Defence Studies
Will Turkey be Able to Establish a ‘Safe Zone’ in Syria? Turkish President Erdo?an has made the issue of establishing a ‘safe zone’ inside Syria a domestic political issue, linked to national security. However, given the complexities of the Syrian crisis, the differences between the United States and Turkey over the expanse of the planned safe zone, and lack of Russian and Iranian support for the plan, the chances of establishing the safe zone appears bleak. Md. Muddassir Quamar | October 11, 2019 | IDSA Comments
The Abqaiq Attack – Fallout on Oil Market While there is no immediate shortage of oil as the market is balanced for the time being, there are growing concerns about potential conflict in the region leading to supply disruption and resultant price spike, affecting the already nervous market sentiment. Shebonti Ray Dadwal | October 07, 2019 | IDSA Comments
Is Xenophobia Gripping South Africa? The recent spate of violence in South Africa appears to be rooted in the country’s failure to fully transform itself in the post-apartheid era. If the government fails to effectively address the issue of rising unemployment and widening socio-economic inequality in the country, the violence is likely to recur from time to time. Anand Kumar | October 04, 2019 | IDSA Comments
China’s Continuing Rare Earth Dominance Given China’s stated policy of using its rare earth dominance for strategic purposes, countries have been looking for ways to diversify their sources of supply. India too needs to acquire expertise in valorising rare earth minerals and shift to developing its downstream sector. Shebonti Ray Dadwal | September 27, 2019 | IDSA Comments
Additional Allocation for Defence – A Challenging Task for MoF The government seems to have little fiscal space for accommodating the demand of the armed forces for additional funds, given its quantum on the one hand and the state of its revenues on the other which are already quite stressed. Amit Cowshish | September 26, 2019 | IDSA Comments
The Next Step in Building India-China Military to Military (M2M) Relations The incremental and calibrated improvement in the India-China defence ties has withstood the test of time. The next step in building M2M relations could provide the required impetus to further accelerate the process of strengthening peace and stability along the LAC. Mandip Singh | September 16, 2019 | IDSA Comments
India’s ‘No First Use’ Nuclear Doctrine The Defence Minister’s recent statement on ‘no first use’ basically underlines the fact that India’s current nuclear doctrine is working well. Rajiv Nayan | September 16, 2019 | IDSA Comments