Category Archives: arms exports

India’s strategic diffidence

Posted on November 29, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

Reproduced below is my chapter “India’s strategic diffidence” in the European Council on Foreign Relations compilation of essays titled ‘What Does India Think?’ and is available at http://www.ecfr.eu/what_does_india_think/analysis/indias_strategic_diffidence ———- India has not had a truly strategic foreign policy since before … Continue reading →

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Audio record of Carnegie book event Nov 12

Posted on November 19, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

The Carnegie event in Washington to launch my book –‘Why India is Not a Great Power (Yet)’ featured an introduction by Ashley Tellis, a presentation by me followed by a panel discussion featuring Lisa Curtis of the Heritage Foundation, Daniel … Continue reading →

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“Indian Machiavelli”!!

Posted on November 19, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

‘Breaking Defense’ covered the US launch of my book — ‘Why India is Not a Great Power (Yet)’ at Carnegie in Washington, DC, November 12. The story is accessible at http://breakingdefense.com/2015/11/indian-machiavelli-urges-confronting-china/ and is reproduced below. ——— ‘Indian Machiavelli’ Urges Confronting … Continue reading →

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Is India soft-selling its hard power?

Posted on November 6, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

The video of the book launch event in Mumbai hosted by Asia Society on Oct 9 instant featured a conversation involving former Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Vishnu Bhageat, former CINC, Western naval Command Vice Admiral Madanjit Singh and … Continue reading →

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UNSC membership — wrong emphasis at I-A summit

Posted on October 26, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

Delhi, predictably (in that that’s how much MEA/GOI is not clued into trends into mainstream African thinking), is fluffing it even as the grand show Modi is hosting for African countries gets underway. Modi and, only hours before the inaugural … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, arms exports, Asian geopolitics, China, Culture, Defence Industry, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, UN, Weapons | 2 Comments

Black Africa — not on MEA’s “radar”

Posted on October 25, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

On the eve of the India-Africa Forum Summit involving 54 states from that continent lying across the Ïndian lake, some home truths need to be acknowledged. While our foreign policy rhetoric and public posture has been pro-Third World, in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, arms exports, Asian geopolitics, China, domestic politics, Europe, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, Indian Politics, society, South Asia, United States, US. | 3 Comments

Raining trouble

Posted on October 23, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

When it rains, it pours has never been truer than it is now for India. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in Moscow to prepare the ground for Prime Minister Modi’s state visit in November, got a proper, if cold, reception. … Continue reading →

Posted in arms exports, Asian geopolitics, civil-military relations, Culture, Defence Industry, domestic politics, DRDO, Europe, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian democracy, Indian Navy, Indian Ocean, Indian Politics, Military Acquisitions, Missiles, nonproliferation, nuclear industry, Pakistan, Pakistan military, Relations with Russia, Russia, russian assistance, russian military, society, South Asia, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Technology transfer, Terrorism, United States, US., Weapons | 11 Comments

Letting a desperate Dassault off the hook

Posted on October 22, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

Today’s papers carried reports on 50% Rafale offsets amounting to $4.5 billion or Rs 30,000 crore (“Rafale deal:France agrees to meet 50% of contract’s worth in India’s related sectors” http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/rafale-deal-france-agrees-to-invest-50-of-contracts-worth-in-indias-related-sectors/articleshow/49487260.cms) — evidence that just the initial procurement cost of 36 … Continue reading →

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Grand ambitions, muddled planning

Posted on October 19, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

The impression created by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meetings with western leaders is that India will buy any de-rated military goods offered. His announcement about purchasing 36 1980s-vintage French Rafale planes to meet the Indian Air Force’s requirement for ‘medium … Continue reading →

Posted in arms exports, Asian geopolitics, China, China military, civil-military relations, Culture, Defence Industry, domestic politics, DRDO, Europe, Geopolitics, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Navy, Military Acquisitions, Missiles, Nuclear Weapons, Relations with Russia, Russia, russian assistance, russian military, society, South Asia, Strategic Forces Command, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Technology transfer, United States, US., Weapons, Western militaries | 11 Comments

Going slow on Brahmos to Vietnam?

Posted on October 17, 2015 by Bharat Karnad

The more one hears of things happening in the Modi government the more dispirited one gets. After his meeting with Obama, who frowned upon the destabilizing aspects of India’s Brahmos supersonic cruise missile transfer to Vietnam, the prime minister, per … Continue reading →

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