Indic Strategic Culture and Iran

The heroic resistance put up by the Islamic Republic of Iran can be analyzed from one of the most notable thought leaders in India’s strategic culture.

Within the context of exercising power, the strategic culture of an actor matters a lot. Alastair Johnston, a renowned authority on the idea of strategic culture, defines it as a “mental map or software program of shared beliefs that tells a state how to respond to threats.”

Ever since the United States of America and Israel launched their illegal and imperialist war against Iran on February 28, military strategists the world over have been trying to deconstruct almost every single facet of the war so as to enhance their respective countries’ security.

When it comes to Iran, the Islamic Republic is exercising force that, interestingly, is based on the lessons of one of India’s most celebrated statesmen—Kautilya.

Kautilya, popularly known as Chanakya, was an ancient Indian statesman who served as the prime minister of the first pan-Indian empire in its history— the Mauryan Empire. He is known for his treatise Arthashastra, or the ‘science of statecraft.’ Divided into 15 books, the treatise serves as a foundational guide for a ruler on how to carve out an empire and enforce good governance. While the treatise deals with a multiplicity of subjects such as taxation, maintenance of law and order, agriculture,........

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