ARTICLE: India's quiet sea power, By Sudha Ramachandran, Asia Times, Aug 2, 2007
For more on this topic, read Tom's India's 12 Steps to a World-Class Navy. In brief:
1. Admit they are powerless over the Army and Air Force in determining national security priorities.2. Believe that a greater power—globalization—can elevate their force to strategic vision.
3. Make a decision to turn their Navy’s operational focus toward influencing events ashore.
4. Make a searching and fearless inventory of their lack of involvement in recent international coalitions.
5. Admit their mistakes in force structure planning.
6. Understand they are a relatively young navy, with the shortcomings that come from a lack of international experience.
7. Expand their nation’s security paradigm beyond the “sacred soil syndrome.”
8. Improve their relationships with all small littoral neighbors.
9. Make some amends to regional rivals.
10. Make an inventory of the global maritime insecurities they need to play a more prominent role in reducing.
11. Seek an expanded navy-to-navy relationship with the world’s sole military superpower.
12. Having achieved this awakening from the strategic isolation of the Cold War, carry their new message of internationalism to the world.
Thanks to Lexington Green for sending this.
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Comments (2)
Six years later, it sounds like the Indian is executing on Barnett 12 step program.
I wonder how much was Tom predicting astutely where they were going, and how much actual impact he had.
Posted by Lexington Green | August 5, 2007 8:10 PM
India's naval leadership loved the article and gave it a lot of play in their subsequent debates. Immodestly, let me say that most of the CNOs in attendance at the conference said my talk was da best!
It was one of the best strategic interactions I've ever had, but it was not by my design. The commandant of the Indian naval war college made it all happen, based on reading my stuff on the NWC web. He made it seem like he was inviting Roger Barnett, a conservative, traditional thinker also then at the college, when in fact, he invited the "other Barnett" whom no one in India had heard of at the time. Pretty sneaky guy, this commodore, so I made it worth his while.
Do I make something happen that otherwise does not happen? Hardly. I was a useful tool for a generation of leaders who wanted to move in that direction anyway--one of many useful tools. But a good example: right message + right allies + good timing = impact.
But I compare the role of the grand strategist to a lead actor in a movie: he can make all the difference in the overall quality, but all by himself, he's just an unemployed actor.
Posted by Tom Barnett | August 6, 2007 1:01 PM