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Brigadier Arun Sahgal (retired) is a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Defense Studies and Analysis and a Distinguished Fellow at the School of Geo-Politics, Manipal Academy of Higher Education.
Brigadier Sahgal has the unique distinction of being a soldier and an academic. In a career spanning over 36 years in the Indian army he held a number of important command, staff and instructional appointments. His most distinctive service assignment, however, has been as the founder (there is something missing here).
As Director of the Office of Net Assessment, Integrated Defense Staff (Ministry of Defense), Brigadier Sahgal, undertook long-term strategic assessments, assisting in national security planning and in the development of India’s future military capabilities. He introduced Net Assessment techniques such as Scenario Building and Politico-Military assessments in the strategic milieu of Indian security planning.
Apart from attending all important service courses, his civil qualifications include a Master of Science (Defense Studies) and a Ph.D. in Defense and Strategic Studies. He has rich international exposure and has attended a number of international conferences, panels and meetings, including the Symposium on East Asia Security, a four-week program aimed at providing senior policy makers of the region incisive inputs on security issues concerning the Asia-Pacific region. Brigadier Sahgal pioneered work in the use of Gaming Techniques for strategic assessments, the latest of which includes a Joint Scenario Building exercise titled “Asia 2030.” Other exercises include Net Assessments on Nepal, Options for India in Resolution of J&K Problem, and “Project Mirror”- an international assessment of the Iraq war.
He has extensive research experience in the field of National Security Management and Operational Planning. Some of his important works include: Conflict Escalatory Dynamics: A case study of South Asia, Systems Approach to National Security Management, and National Aspiration and Military Capability, and a modeling exercise on Chinese Future, Dragon Awakens-Analyzing Alternative Chinese Futures (2004-2030). As Director of Net Assessment he initiated two important studies, namely ‘Assessment of Pakistan’s War Waging Potential-2020’ and ‘Maritime Balance in Indian Ocean-2020.’ A prolific writer, he is a regular contributor to international and national journals and newspapers.
At the Institute of Defense Studies and Analysis, Brigadier Sahgal is working on geopolitical and geo-strategic dimensions of Asian security with a focus on China.
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