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For a country that has fought five wars and is hemmed in by nuclear-armed states, India surprisingly does not have a formally declared national security strategy. All the major powers of the world publish documents that spell out their national interests, identify their threats ‘political, economic, diplomatic or with regard to security’ and draw up policies to deal with them.

The absence of a similar doctrine makes India’s defence policy look ad hoc and creates the impression that the country is unprepared to realize its global ambitions. The New Arthashastra is a path-breaking attempt to recommend a national security strategy for India. It does the difficult groundwork for India’s political leaders and policymakers by bringing the best names " from within the community as well as from the armed forces and academia " to the ideating table.

This collection of twenty essays covers a wide range of topics: nuclear deterrence, defence spending, the domestic production of weapons, and bracing for the wars of the future that will be fought in space and cyberspace. Most important, it presents a roadmap to address India’s chief concerns: Chinese assertiveness and Pakistan’s unrelenting proxy war. Informed by the expertise of analysts with inside-out knowledge of their domains, The New Arthashastra offers enduring and practical insights to strategists and lay readers alike.