Introduction The growing potential of the India-Armenia bilateral is anchored in defence and security cooperation. As a central component of the latter, intelligence liaison can enable policymakers to accomplish the full potential of this bilateral. Espionage has a long history in both India and Armenia. Kautilya’s Arthashastra formalised the politics of intelligence within the statecraft of Mauryan India. [1] A millennium later, the Byzantines recruited heavily from their Armenian frontier provinces for the empire’s tasinarioi [a] units. [2] Geopolitical volatility, including in the Caucasus, adds relevance to these legacies. As a consequence of the war in Ukraine, the regional influence of Russia—which has been the traditional security guarantor of the South Caucasus—has dwindled. In the subsequent multi-stakeholder contest for control in regional geopolitics, Armenia has sought to redefine its strategic posture away from its post-Soviet identity. This shift has reiterated the need for increased diversity of strategic partners for Yerevan. India occupies a position of trust in Armenia’s strategic community. Defence relations have strengthened since 2020 as a result of India’s diplomatic and military support for Armenia in its war of self-defence against Azerbaijan. In this context, close security ties with India, especially in intelligence, gain significance.
Authors
Related Organizations
- Attribution
- Archishman Goswami, “An India-Armenia Intelligence Partnership for the 2020s,” Issue Brief No. 741 , October 2024, Observer Research Foundation.
- Pages
- 18
- Published in
- India
Table of Contents
- Archishman Ray Goswami 2
- Introduction Introduction 3
- Intelligence Reforms in Armenia 4
- Domestic Drivers Domestic Drivers 4
- Domestic Drivers Domestic Drivers 5
- Emerging Technologies 6
- Domestic Drivers Domestic Drivers 6
- Domestic Drivers Domestic Drivers 7
- The Ankara-Islamabad Axis 8
- External Factors External Factors 8
- Drug Trafficking 9
- External Factors External Factors 9
- External Factors External Factors 10
- Figure 1 Known Heroin Trafficking Routes Between Afghanistan and Europe 10
- External Factors External Factors 11
- External Factors External Factors 12
- Conclusion Conclusion 13
- Endnotes Endnotes 14
- Endnotes Endnotes 15
- Endnotes Endnotes 16
- Endnotes Endnotes 17
- 20 Rouse Avenue Institutional Area 18
- New Delhi - 110 002 INDIA 18
- Ph. . Fax 18
- E-mail 18
- Website 18
