Deepening insecurity (Indian defence strategy)

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 Deepening insecurity (Indian defence strategy)

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• Being visibly strong : The "Mission Shakti" anti-satellite test was carried out in March 2019 to give the message that India has a certain deterrence, and enemies may stay away.
• An ancient urge, in nuclear times : Since pre-historic times, this urge to keep enemies away has existed, and that now exists in nuclear armed nations. So time to revisit the MAD doctrine - Mutually Assured Destruction.
• MAD : This doctrine was created when both the US and USSR were ready to kill the whole Earth many times over, during the Cold War (1950-1991). But both had a detente - relaxation of hostilities (no one fired a nuke at the other). So we may wrongly assume today that MAD is a valid doctrine.
• A wishful thought : Many science fiction authors have always thought that one day, mankind will have a weapon so horrible that the thought of its use and impact will end war for ever.
• Dynamite gave a similar hope in 1867 : Alfred Nobel, inventor of dynamite, had similar thoughts back then. But nations went on to build ever more dangerous weapons - chemical and nuclear. And war has not ended. And a global arms race is on!
• We spend huge sums : Today, annual spend on armaments is $1.7 trillion. Total nuclear weapons are 15,000+. Economic impact of violence in the world is growing constantly (as per Global Peace Index).
• Where is the deterrence : Having competing weapons has not deterred nations from acting hostile. The Colombian war ended after 50 years through negotiations, not weapons.
• Peace = More growth : The Index shows that peaceful nations have grown at 3X the speed of other. Many nations are now actually spending less on military as a % of their GDP.
• UN and ICAN : Both the United Nations and International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) are working for encouraging disarmament. ICAN won the 2017 Nobel peace prize.
• MAD deepens insecurities : So MAD was supposed to end insecurities, but it intensifies those as instant annihilation is a real possibility - supersonic missiles, nuclear warheads etc.
• WRI : The War Resisters International (WRI) have for 100 years tried to convince people the futility of an arms race. They remind us that dissolving enmity is possible only by going to the roots of any problem, not by weapons. So, the only question is - "What will make the world truly more secure"?
• Summary : Whether more weapons make us more secure or less, remains a topic of debate in light of the theory of MAD - mutually assured destruction.

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