ABOUT THE BOOK
Information Warfare has played a crucial role in
conflicts for centuries. The ability to control the information domain offers a
nation-state or group a significant advantage over its adversary. In modern
times, Information Warfare is vital for achieving national interests during
competition, contestation, confrontation, and conflict. A nation or group, such
as Hamas, can influence an opponent’s strategic behaviour and shape global
perceptions despite military and economic asymmetry in the adversary’s favour.
Cyberspace and media-based operations have transcended the limitations of
military imbalance and geographical boundaries, blurring the lines between
combatants and non-combatants, as well as between kinetic and non-kinetic
operations, and between contact and non-contact warfare. This comprehensive
book examines various forms of Information Warfare in contemporary history,
dating back to World War I. It analyses narrative warfare and the use of
cyberspace and media during the ongoing Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas
conflicts, along with Chinese aggression in the South China Sea. The book also
reviews India’s cyberspace and media-based threats from adversaries. It also
highlights key aspects of IW during the recent Operation SINDOOR before
presenting specific recommendations in the Indian context. India must take
proactive actions to enhance deterrence and offensive defence IW capabilities
including cyberspace and media-based operations.
ABOUT Author
Colonel Amit Kumar Sharma, Senior Research Fellow at the United Service
Institution of India, has over two and a half decades of active service across
varied terrain and operational conditions. The officer has also served in the
United Nations Peacekeeping Force. A keen observer of contemporary warfare, the
officer holds a Master of Science in Defence and Strategic Studies from the
University of Madras. Additionally, he has a Master of Philosophy degree in the
same subject from the University of Mumbai. The officer has been closely
following the evolving non-contact warfare and has written a strategic
perspective article on the issue of national importance. His first book
examines the important subject of Information Warfare in contemporary history
and ongoing conflicts.