India

The Human Element in Military Effectiveness: A Systems Approach

This paper examines the human issues in the entire system that could make the military more effective recognising the military as a sub-system within the larger system, which is created to address the aims of that very system. It asserts that there is no requirement to institute committees or make any more laws to address the human element issues relating to military effectiveness. The existing politico-legal system being adequate, there is no need for ‘novel’ or ‘creative’ solutions but only the will to effectively and ruthlessly apply them.

Military Diplomacy

This paper provides conceptual and practical aspects of military diplomacy. It examines India’s recent efforts in enhancing its military diplomacy vis-àvis Chinese military diplomacy conundrum in Asia, especially in South and Southeast Asia. It points out that India’s inability to evince trust and goodwill with its neighbours has led to most of them preferring to employ military diplomacy with China as an India-specific countervailing factor. It argues that India’s military diplomacy is yet to catch up with its rising power status.

India’s Defence Diplomacy in Southeast Asia

With Southeast Asia, India has been enjoying the historical legacy of the strong influence of the Indic civilization and has been strengthening its linkages through strategic engagement, economic liberalization and Free Trade Agreement with the ASEAN countries. After 1992, India formulated its defence diplomacy in consonance with the ‘Look East’ policy to safeguard its eastern seaboard and secure its strategic interests in the Indian Ocean region.

India-Republic of Korea Military Diplomacy : Past and Future Projections

As the first decade of the 21st century ended, India-Republic of Korea (ROK) relationship has assumed robustness in almost all dimensions – political, cultural and economic. As both countries enter the new year, a new dimension – security and strategic – that began in the preceding decade is likely to be seen in the expanding military cooperation, that began in the closing months of the preceding year. The foundation for such a relationship is already in place as both countries have identified a convergence of interests.

Illegal Bangladeshi Migration to India: Impact on Internal Security

Migration, a worldwide phenomenon, has often been seen as beneficial for both the sending and receiving countries. However, post-9/11, the phenomenon is seen as a mixed blessing. It is also being realised that it is impossible to check illegal migration unless the sending country cooperates. In South Asia, India has been at the receiving end of the problem of illegal immigration from Bangladesh. This paper argues that such illegal migration is posing a threat to internal security because the issue has not been properly securitised.

India’s Neighbourhood Policy: Perceptions from Bangladesh

Security has been a major driving force of India's neighbourhood policy. India's sympathies with democratic forces and its aversion to extra-regional presence are all geared to optimise its security interest, which is ensconced in its principal belief of a stable neighbourhood while engaging in a mutually beneficial relationship. Within this broad framework, this paper attempts to study Bangladesh's reaction to these parameters of India's neighbourhood policy.

Thinking about an Indian Grand Strategy

This article is primarily a conceptual overview on the theme of a grand strategy for a rising power such as India. The objective is to promote a systematic and structural way of thinking on grand strategy—the dynamic art of relating ends and means. The author identifies and expounds on the major domestic and international variables that will shape India's grand strategy.

India and the Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty: Policy Options

The international community inside and outside the Conference of Disarmament is underscoring the need for concluding a fissile material cut-off treaty (FMCT). The Indian government, for a long period, has been sponsoring the idea. Notwithstanding the international stagnation, the issue has been instigating periodic debate in India on the Indian approach. The periodic revival of the issue requires that India revisit its policy on fissile material production as well as its approach towards a possible FMCT.