Turkey Treads a Fine Line in Syria In the light of Trump’s decision to withdraw US troops from Syria, Ankara has adopted a cautious approach towards the Syrian Kurds and has decided to take Moscow’s concerns into account before making any move in northern Syria. Md. Muddassir Quamar | January 04, 2019 | IDSA Comments
Perilous Interventions: The Security Council and the Politics of Chaos Article 108 of United Nations (UN) Charter states that the Charter can be amended if it is adopted by two-third members of the General Assembly and ratified by two-thirds of the members of UN, including the five Permanent Members, also known as the P-5. Changing international dynamics and the need for including hitherto unrepresented quarters further call for the restructuring of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The role of UNSC has changed over the years and Hardeep Singh Puri’s book discusses the role of UNSC in resolving the crisis spanning Asia and Europe. Lakshmi Priya | January-March 2019 | Journal of Defence Studies
Will the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration solve the crisis? The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration embodies the international community’s collective commitments to promoting cooperation on migration and solve the growing migrant crisis. Rajeesh Kumar | January 02, 2019 | IDSA Comments
KARGIL: Past Perfect, Future Uncertain? Publisher: KW Publishers The Kargil conflict was fought 20 years ago. However, it continues to remain relevant for strategic analysts, military historians, academics, armed forces personnel and diplomats. This book, delves into the structures, planning processes and procedures adopted while pursuing diplomacy, higher direction of war and strategic communications, on both sides of the Line of Control during the Kargil conflict. In doing so, existing arguments are challenged and alternative conclusions drawn. This includes the debate around the decision not to cross the LoC during operations, the decision making process involved with the employment of air power and limitations of existing strategic communication structures of the armed forces, as observed during the conflict. The second part of the book employs Kargil and the succeeding 20 years, as the basis for analysing the changing character of war. This includes a study of its implications on the notion of victory and shifts needed while pursuing diplomacy, higher direction of war and strategic communications. It also introduces the concept of finite and infinite game theory to conflicts in the sub-continental context, in an attempt to contextualise it through a fresh perspective. ISBN: 978-93-89137-13-2, Price: ?.880/- E-copy available Vivek Chadha | | Book
Pakistan Occupied Kashmir: Politics, Parties and Personalities Publisher: Pentagon Press This book is a rersult of research undertaken on the subject by the scholars associated with the IDSA project on Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) - also known as Pakistan Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (PoJK) - Which includes both the so-called "Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK)" and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), was legally a part of the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kahmir, which acceded to India in October 1947. The authors of this book seek to provide a critical analysis of the politics of the above mentioned two regions within PoK; throw light on the genesis and evolution of various political parties and interest groups, and acquaint the readers with different pesonalities playing important role in politics therein. The main aim of the publication is to help the scholars, analysts, and policy-makers to understand the dynamics of the political systems in PoK, the complex interaction of these systems with the government in Islamabad and the responses of the local leadership to Pakistan's strateghy of keeping them under strict control in the name of representative governance over the last 70 years. ISBN: 978-93-86618-67-2, Price: ₹1495/- E-copy available Surinder Kumar Sharma , Yaqoob-ul-Hassan , Ashok K. Behuria | | Book
US-Taliban Peace Talks and the Disquiet Trump seems to have reconciled himself to the fact that Afghanistan may become an ‘Islamic Emirate of Taliban’ with Sharia Law being imposed with or without the consent of the people. V. Mahalingam | January 01, 2019 | IDSA Comments
Global Strategic Trade Management: How India Adjusts its Export Control System for Accommodation in the Global System Publisher: Springer This book explores what military strategy is and how it is interconnected with policy on one hand and military operations on the other. In the process, it traces the transformation of the notion of strategy from its original military moorings to a more policy-oriented and-influenced conception and elaborates upon a tripartite framework of policy, strategy and doctrine to think about, understand, and analyse the use of force. The book explores the politics of India-Pakistan conflict in order to root the study of Indian military strategy in the political sphere. It discusses three main issues that have ensured the persistence of conflict: incompatible national identities, Pakistan's congenital quest for parity with and compulsion to challenge India, and irreconcilable positions on the Kashmir issue. The book argues that India has invariably pursued limited political aims that did not threaten Pakistan's survival or form of government or regime in power albeit containing a counter offensive elements. It states that India employed the strategy of exhaustion during the Indian Army's campaigns in the 1947-48 conflict and 1965 war, which made way to strategy of annihilation during the 1971 war (East Pakistan), but after Pakistan's acquisition of nuclear weapons capability the strategy is back to exhaustion. The book highlights the importance of designing an overall military strategy for waging limited war and pursuing carefully calibrated political and military objectives by creatively combining the individual doctrines of the three services by establishing a Chief of Defence Staff system. ISBN: 978-81-322-3924-6 , Price: EUR 119.99/- Rajiv Nayan | | Book
East Asia Strategic Review: China’s Rising Strategic Ambitions in Asia Publisher: Pentagon Press The East Asia Strategic Review is the publication form the East Asia Centre, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi. The volume entitled, China's Rising Strategic Ambitions in Asia is intended to bring out Indian perspectives on the growing influence of China in Asia. These perspectives are particularly seen in the light of expanding Chinese political and economic engagement in Asia. As a major country in Asia, the Indian perspectives contribute the necessary input towards the ongoing debate on the Chinese role. ISBN: 978-93-86618-65-8, Price: ?.1245/- E-copy available M.S. Prathibha | | Book
Disruptive Technologies for the Militaries and Security Publisher: Springer, Singapore This book debates and discusses the present and future of Disruptive Technologies in general and military Disruptive Technologies in particular. Its primary goal is to discuss various critical and advanced elucidations on strategic technologies. The focus is less on extrapolating the future of technology in a strict sense, and more on understanding the Disruptive Technology paradigm. It is widely accepted that technology alone cannot win any military campaign or war. However, technological superiority always offers militaries an advantage. More importantly, technology also has a great deterrent value. Hence, on occasion, technology can help to avoid wars. Accordingly, it is important to effectively manage new technologies by identifying their strategic utility and role in existing military architectures and the possible contributions they could make towards improving overall military capabilities. This can also entail doctrinal changes, so as to translate these new technologies into concrete advantages. ISBN: E-book-978-981-13-3384-2, Hardcopy-978-981-13-3383-5 Price: E-book- € 118.99, Hardcover- € 139,99 Ajey Lele | | Book
Reimagining Pakistan: Transforming a Dysfunctional Nuclear State Pakistan as a state has been in constant turmoil since its creation in 1947. Institutions of a modern, functional state could never take root in the country. Consequently, it has been the military that has dominated the politics undermining the space available for democracy and democratic institutions. The politics in Pakistan and the interesting trajectory it has taken since its inception has drawn the attention of many scholars who have analysed various aspects of Pakistan polity, its security dilemmas and its fractious relationship with its neighbours. Rajrajeshwari Singh | January 2019 | Strategic Analysis
