Book Review: The absent dialogue: Politicians, bureaucrats, and the military in India, by Anit Mukherjee
DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0095327X211034550 |
Published date | 01 October 2022 |
Date | 01 October 2022 |
Subject Matter | Book Review |
Armed Forces & Society
2022, Vol. 48(4) 1003 –1005
© The Author(s) 2020
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Book Review
Book Review
Reviewed by: Ayesha Ray,Political Science, King’s College, Wilkes-Barre, PA, USA
DOI: 10.1177/0095327X211034550
In a richly detailed book that brings a much-needed and fresh perspective to the subject
of Indian civil–military relations, Anit Mukherjee’sThe Absent Dialogue makes a vital
contribution in explaining the inherently dysfunctional nature of Indian civil–military
relations. At the root of this dysfunction is what the author refers to as “the absent
dialogue”which gives rise to conditions ultimately detrimental to military effec-
tiveness. Mukherjee argues that patterns of democratic civil–military relations are
shaped by three factors—significant military autonomy, a lack of civilian expertise, and
strong bureaucratic control. Fundamental to the last is institutional design, the Ministry
of Defense’s (MoD) interaction with the three services. In addition, Mukherjee ex-
amines five variables associated with military effectiveness—weapons procurement,
jointness, professional military education (PME), officer promotion policies, and
defense planning. In making the central argument of the book, the author draws on
theoretical insights from Samuel Huntington and Eliot Cohen.
Chapter 2 examines the role of five war-time commanders and the, often, tumultuous
relationship they shared with India’s political leaders whose approach to the military
was driven by domestic imperatives and individual personality styles that often be-
trayed a lack of communication. This issue was especially visible during Nehru’s time,
and was handled better under Indira Gandhi, but accelerated again during the Vajpayee
years. Chapter 3 examines the weapons procurement process in detail and observes
how a combination of military autonomy and absence of civilian expertise with an
excessive reliance on self-sufficiency has stunted India’s defense procurement process.
Chapter 4 focuses on jointness as a measure of military effectiveness. Here, Mukherjee
argues that absence of civilian intervention has only intensified inter-service rivalries.
The chapter offers a rich description of jointness in India’s external wars with Pakistan
Anit Mukherjee. (2019). The absent dialogue: Politicians, bureaucrats, and the military in India.
Oxford University Press. 366 pp. $65.00 (hardcover).
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