The New Arthashastra

For a country that has fought five wars and is hemmed in by nuclear - armed states, India surprisingly does not have a formally declared national security strategy. All the major powers of the world publish documents that spell out their national interests, identify their threats-political, economic, diplomatic or with regard to security-and draw up policies to deal with them. The absence of a similar doctrine makes India�s defence policy look ad hoc and creates the impression that the country is unprepared to realize its global ambitions. The New Arthashastra is a path - breaking attempt to recommend a national security strategy for India. It does the difficult groundwork for India�s political leaders and policymakers by bringing the best names-from within the community as well as from the armed forces and academia-to the ideating table. This collection of twenty essays covers a wide range of topics - Nuclear deterrence, defence spending, the domestic production of weapons and bracing for the wars of the future that will be fought in space and cyberspace. Most important, it presents a roadmap to address India�s chief concerns - Chinese assertiveness and Pakistan�s unrelenting proxy war. Informed by the expertise of analysts with inside-out knowledge of their domains, The New Arthashastra offers enduring and practical insights to strategists and lay readers alike. About the Author : Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd) is Distinguished Fellow, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi and Adjunct Fellow, Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Wadhwani Chair, Washington, DC. He was Director, Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS), New Delhi (January 2008�March 2012), the Indian Army�s think tank. He has co-founded two Delhi - based think tanks - Forum for Strategic Initiatives (FSI) and the South Asian Institute for Strategic Affairs (SAISA). Brigadier Kanwal commanded an infantry brigade in the high - altitude Gurez Sector on the LoC with Pakistan (Operation Parakram, 2001�03) in northern Kashmir and an artillery regiment in counter - insurgency operations in the Kashmir Valley (Operation Rakshak, 1993 - 94). He has served as Deputy Assistant Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Doctrine, Organization and Training) at HQ IDS, New Delhi, Director MO - 5 in the Directorate General of Military Operations at Army Headquarters (dealing with threat, strategy and force structure), United Nations Military Observer in UNTAG, Namibia, Brigade Major of an infantry brigade and Instructor-in-Gunnery at the School of Artillery, Devlali. He opted for voluntary retirement in 2003 and joined the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), New Delhi, as Director, Security Studies and Senior Fellow. He has also served as Senior Fellow, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi and Senior Fellow, Centre for Air Power Studies, New Delhi. He has been a Visiting Research Scholar at the Cooperative Monitoring Centre (CMC), Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, United States and in other think tanks in London and Singapore. Brigadier Kanwal has authored several books - Nuclear Defence - Shaping the Arsenal, Indian Army - Vision 2020, Pakistan�s Proxy War, Heroes of Kargil, Kargil �99 - Blood, Guts and Firepower and Artillery - Honour and Glory. He has edited and co - edited many books on defence. He has contributed extensively to various journals and leading newspapers, including a column in the Statesman for over two years. He is a regular speaker at well - known international think tanks and military institutions.