May 5, 2022Digital initiatives in prevention of violent extremism and peacebuildingPeacebuilding seeks to transform society in non-violent ways, through engagement with the structural conditions conducive to violence, in order to create durable and sustainable peace (Galtung 1969, Lederarch 1997). Peacebuilding is multi-disciplinary and involves a variety of intergovernmental, regional and local agencies, theoretical perspectives and historical processes in pre-and-post conflict…Counterterrorism8 min readCounterterrorism8 min read
Jun 26, 2021Climate Change: Resilience based approachesAbstract The key action to be taken by the international community against climate-change induced extreme weather events is building resilience. Central to this effort are advances in resilience thinking and methods to achieve it. In this essay, aspects of resilience are evaluated from a trans-disciplinary perspective. Various interdependencies at play…Climate Change24 min readClimate Change24 min read
Mar 14, 2019Hyperreality and the New NormalWhat really happened on February 26, 2019 in Balakot? Contesting claims, widespread disinformation and media saturation seem to have clouded our judgement. The military theorist Clausewitz might call this the “fog of war” — a decrease in situational awareness, a sense of confusion and a loss of perspective, while engaged…War4 min readWar4 min read
Feb 5, 2019Nuclear No-First Use: Revisiting Hawks, Doves and OwlsThe present international system is as dangerous as it was in 1953 — at the start of the nuclear arms race. At least that’s what the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists believes, as the Doomsday Clock remains at two minutes to midnight in the “new abnormal” of 2019. Central to this…North Korea5 min readNorth Korea5 min read
Jan 31, 2019Restraint in the Age of Hashtag DiplomacyA new bill introduced in the Senate of the United States aims to establish a policy of no-first use (NFU) of nuclear weapons. …Nuclear Weapons4 min readNuclear Weapons4 min read
Nov 15, 2018Swords Into PloughsharesWhen John Bolton announced in late October that the US was withdrawing from the INF treaty, it triggered concerns that a key pillar of arms control was coming undone. The INF treaty signed in 1987 was meant to secure Europe from the positioning of intermediate range (500–5500kms) missiles by Russia…Nuclear Weapons4 min readNuclear Weapons4 min read
Oct 10, 2018Kashmir through Antigone’s LensAn ancient Greek tragedy by Sophocles holds a lesson for modern Kashmir. In mid-2017, the mediascape in India was consumed by debates about the deaths of two young men. The first was Lt Ummer Fayyaz Parray, a young army officer who was abducted by militants from a wedding in the Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir in May 2017 and killed. Fayyaz…India4 min readIndia4 min read
Jun 26, 2018MoD has politicised security for electoral reasons. Opening of cantonment roads shows thatBy LT GENERAL PRAKASH MENON and RAM GANESH KAMATHAM published on 22 June, 2018 in The Print The opening of cantonment roads to public has become a raging controversy and another point of friction in the civil-military relations. …Security6 min readSecurity6 min read
May 23, 2018Deep thinking on the Indian OceanBook Review of: India & China at Sea — Competition for Naval Dominance in the Indian Ocean David Brewster (Ed) OUP; 272 pages; Rs 950 The Indian Ocean Region (IOR) is where India and China’s strategic ambitions in the maritime realm converge. The degree to which both countries will be…China4 min readChina4 min read
