Deconstructing India's national security system

In recent years, several books have been published on India's national security, but what makes this volume edited by Milan Vaishnav both unique and especially useful, is its comprehensive description and critical analysis of the institutional underpinnings of India's security policy.

Dr Vaishnav must be complimented on assembling a group of bright and relatively young academics as contributors, who bring both rigour and acuity to their examination of a complex and often opaque subject. This is an opportune time to explore the various institutions through which the Indian state seeks to uphold the security of the country because they are inevitably being affected by the rapid and significant shifts taking place in both the domestic and external security environment.

The book is divided into four parts. Part 1 looks at the Indian armed forces the Army, Navy and Air Force, their strengths and vulnerabilities. Part 2 examines the structure and capacities of the country's premier intelligence agencies, the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) for external operations and the Intelligence Bureau (IB) with a domestic remit. Neither has any legal instrument as its basis and therefore, are not subject to parliamentary or judicial oversight.