India's defence imperatives transcend the ideological "defence vs. butter" debate. Even while there may be no profound existential concerns, the geo-political reality of a deeply troubled neighbourhood, long legacy of border disputes with neighbours in the north and west and a widening spectrum of potential warfare from conventional and strategic to the asymmetric can be ignored at our own peril.

Keeping in mind the necessity as well as the urgency of reform, this volume brings together practitioners as well as researchers on defence issues, on the key issue of defence reforms. The aim is not just to interrogate the status of reforms in current times but to also place the issue before a wider readership.

In The Absent Dialogue, Anit Mukherjee examines the relations between politicians, bureaucrats, and the military in India and argues that the pattern of civil-military relations in India hampers the effectiveness of the Indian military. Informed by more than a hundred and fifty interviews with high ranking officials, as well as archival material, this book sheds new light on both India's political and military history, as well as democratic civilian control and military effectiveness more generally.

China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) has embarked on its most wide-ranging and ambitious restructuring since 1949, including major changes to most of its key organizations. The restructuring reflects the desire to strengthen PLA joint operation capabilities- on land, sea, in the air, and in the space and cyber domains. The reforms could result in a more adept joint warfighting force, though the PLA will continue to face a number of key hurdles to effective joint operations, Several potential actions would indicate that the PLA is overcoming obstacles to a stronger joint operations capability. The reforms are also intended to increase Chairman Xi Jinping's control over the PLA and to reinvigorate Chinese Communist Party (CCP) organs within the military. Xi Jinping's ability to push through reforms indicates that he has more authority over the PLA than his recent predecessors. The restructuring could create new opportunities for U.S.-China military contacts.

Soldiering is all about the growth and development of human potential in the military organization. The approach to soldiering in China is apparently distinct as compared to Indian or Western military and the shaping of soldiery in China has taken a very unique and somewhat enigmatic course. In the context of PLA, in the ongoing reform era, a clear shift in the approach to HRM is apparent. One of the most important objectives of the ongoing reforms and restructuring of PLA is to appreciably augment its potential and efficiency for the effective prosecution of Integrated Joint operations (IJO) for winning Local Wars under Informationised Condition (LWUIC). This book attempt has been made to take a holistic look at soldiering and development of human potential in PLA thus progressing understanding in the broadly interpreted field of HRM in the context of the Chinese military. The author argues that PLA has been adopting a very systematic, methodical and focussed approach towards identifying the key issues and addressing them in a time-bound manner to enhance the quality of its personnel to include the enlisted personnel, NCOs, officers, and higher leadership. However, success or failure of HR policies depends as much on several tangible factors(educational qualification, technological prowess, economic and social background), as on various intangible aspects (influence of culture, belief system, traditional practices, political and ideological factors impinging on the morale, motivation and value system). The book would enable interested readers to comprehend and grasp the nuances of the development of human potential in the military in general and PLA in specific. Various HRD themes like organizational culture, leadership, efficient decision making, etc. analyzed in the book can find application in general context as well.

There is a widespread perception amongst the intelligentsia that India lacks strategic culture. The deficiency if any perhaps lies in the reluctance to articulate India’s perceptions on strategic issues, as also to formulate a long-term strategic view. As the oldest think tank in Asia, United Services Institution of India (USI) decided to address the above issue and how it could contribute to evolution and dissemination of strategic thought on challenges facing the Nation. To this end the publication of a USI Strategic Yearbook 2016, which was the maiden attempt, which received wide appreciation for its quality and contents. This current issue of the Yearbook contains series of articles by eminent persons and experts on various aspects of national security; the aim is to provide a strategic perspective which will create awareness and also help the policymakers in giving a strategic direction for India to transform into a developed society and a secured nation. USI hope’s that readers will find this publication useful and interesting.

This ground-breaking book offers an extensive legal analysis-grounded in public, EU, and international law-of arms trade regulation, integrated with insights drawn from international relations. The sale of weapons and related technologies is, globally, one of the most politically controversial and ethically contentious forms of commerce. Intimately connected with sustaining repressive governments and violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, arms exports are also a central element in the economic and strategic policies of the governments of all large industrial states. They have also been the source of abundant corruption, and of serious challenges to the norms and effectiveness of constitutional accountability in democratic states. On paper, the arms trade is heavily regulated: national legislation and international treaties are in place which purport to prohibit certain transactions and limit others. Yet despite its importance, legal and international relations scholarship on the subject has been surprisingly limited. This book fills this gap in the literature by examining and comparing the export control regimes of eight leading nations - USA, Russia, the UK, France, Germany, Sweden, China, and India - with chapters contributed by leading experts in the field of law and international relations.