COAS Gen Upendra Dwivedi, PVSM, AVSM PROFESSIONAL READING LIST-

 This reading list is curated to inspire growth, enhance leadership skills, and foster critical thinking. Each book has been selected for its unique insights and relevance. The list is divided into five categories: Strat Environment, Leadership, Military Studies, Technology and General Reading with an aim to steer the reader on the genres they are interested in. I encourage you not to limit yourself to this list but expand your perspectives through continuous reading. Please do note that the appearance of a book on this reading list does not imply that COAS endorses the authors views. - Gen Upendra Dwivedi, PVSM, AVSM

world Order Henry Kissinger// Penguin Books, 2014; Cumulative Rating: 4.4 Henry Kissinger offers in World Order a deep meditation on the roots of international harmony and global disorder. Drawing on his experience as one of the foremost Statesmen of the modern era byadvising Presidents, traveling the world, observing and shaping the central foreign policy events of recent decades. Kissinger reveals his analysis of the ultimate challenge for the TwentyFirst Century. Brings out his perspective of a shared international order in a world of divergent historical perspectives, violent conflict, proliferating technology, and ideological extremism. 

How India Sees the World Shyam Saran // Juggurnaut, 2017; Cumulative Rating : 4.07 In his book, part memoir and part thesis on India’s international relations since Independence, Shyam Saran discerns the threads that tie together his experiences as a diplomat. Using the prism of Kautilya’s Arthashastra and other ancient treatises on statecraft, Saran shows the historical sources of India’s worldview. He looks at India’s neighborhood and the changing wider world through this lens and arrives at fascinating conclusions. 

Perception and Misperception in International Politics R Jervis // Princeton University Press, 1976; Cumulative Rating : 4.38 The perspective established by Jervis remains an important counterpoint to structural explanations of international politics. From it, he has developed a large literature on the psychology of leaders and the problems of decision making under conditions of incomplete information, stress, and cognitive bias. Finally, the author tests his ideas through a number of important events in international relations from Nineteenth- and Twentieth-century European history. War & Change in World Politics R Gilpin // Cambridge University Press, 1981; Cumulative Rating : 4.28 

War & Change in World Politics introduces the reader to an important new theory of international political change. Arguing that the fundamental nature of international relations has not changed over the millennia, Professor Gilpin uses history, sociology, and economic theory to identify the forces causing change in the world order. The discussion focuses on the differential growth of power in the international system and the result of this unevenness. 

Arms and Influence Thomas C. Schelling // Yale University Press, 2020; Cumulative Rating : 4.19 Originally published in 1966, in this landmark book, Nobel laureate Thomas C. Schelling considers the ways in which military capabilities (real or imagined) are used as bargaining power. It emphasizes how the possession of military capabilities can shape international negotiations & decision making. The book highlights the importance of signaling and communication in the realm of military strategy. S