After India held firm in the Doklam stand-off last year, there was a spate of excitement among some pundits, politicians, and optimistic analysts in India (and DC).
But a certain degree of sobriety has returned in recent weeks, especially in the wake of bad budget news for the Indian armed forces (here’s the report). For an overview, see pieces by Srinath Raghavan, Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Abhijnan Rej, Sushant Singh, numerous pieces by Ajai Shukla, Laxman Behera, and even Shiv Aroor. I chimed in with a broader piece on the limits of Indian military power in War on the Rocks that included deep concerns about the budgets underpinning India’s military rise.
Paul Staniland 