Consequences of Af-Pak failure

BHARAT VERMA, Editor of the Indian Defence Review paints a pessimistic picture of an Asia in 2020 engulfed by authoritarian regimes such as Islamic fundamentalists, communist dictatorships, military junta and non-state actors who would then redraw international boundaries. In an article, "Unprepared and Unwilling", he states that the situation was a Catch-22 with neither the West nor India could prevail without each other's assistance and calls for India to provide boots on the ground in Af-Pak in exchange for a change in U.S. focus towards Islamabad as otherwise India would be faced with a simultaneous threat on two-fronts and an internal insurgency.

Non-nuclear means of deterrence

AJAY LELE of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses questions the continuing relevance of nuclear weapons at the centre of the deterrence debate in India in the wake of the changing nature of threats and proliferation of new and advanced weapons systems. In an article in the Indian Defence Review, "Bows, Arrows and Nuclear Weapons", he calls for India to supplement its existing deterrence mechanism with additional non-nuclear weapons which had the capability to 'deter' and advertise such weapons as weapons of deterrence in the security lexicon.