DMS Lecture 4

8/3/2019 DMS Lecture 4

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Kautilya (317-293 B.C.)Strategizing Warfare and Diplomacy

Lecture 4

Syed Muhammad Ali

NDU2011


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Kautilya:

Key advisor to the Indian

King ChandraguptaMaurya (317-293 B.C.)

Authored Arthashastra,

which dealt with science ofPolitics, intended to teach a

wise king how to rule.

.


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Recognition ad relevance

Academic recognition:

Max Weber, recognized asthe principal architect ofmodern social science bythe Stanford Encyclopedia

of Philosophy, describedArthashastra as one thegreatest political books ofthe ancient world, calling itas truly radical

Machiavellianism.


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Diverse Practical Utility

Practitioners in various fieldscontinue to follow Kautilyan ideasin various disciplines rangingfrom Indian diplomacy,geopolitical grand strategy,

business intelligence, IndianIntelligence services strategy andtactics, leadership andmanagement courses etc.

In consonance with Kautilyas

precepts, RAWs espionagedoctrine is based on the principleof waging a continuous series ofbattles of intrigues and secretwars.


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Relevance to Modern Statecraft, Policy and Strategy

Probably the first-ever academic proponent of Geopolitics, Kautilya dealt with

various types of wars, diplomacy, alliances, treaties, intelligence, psychological

warfare, propaganda and strategic communication, all of which continue to berelevant to modern strategy and particularly the contemporary South Asian

geopolitical environment.


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ArthasastraA leaders Manual in Realist Statecraft

Contents Warfare

Types of warfare

World Conquest Diplomacy

Alliances and adversariesWho and why?

Treaties and international Agreements

Role of Intelligence and Secret services Propaganda, Strategic Communications and

Psychological warfare


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Comparison with other Classical

Realist thoughts

Compared to it, Machiavellis The

Prince is harmless.

Source:

Max Weber, Politics as a Vocation, Cambridge,

1978, P.220


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Realism without a parallel..

..his wish to have his king become a world conqueror, hisevaluation of which kingdoms are natural allies and which areinevitable enemies, his willingness to maketreaties that he knew hewouldbreak, his doctrine ofsilent war or a war of assassinationandcontrived revolt against an unsuspecting king, his approval ofsecret agents who killed enemy leaders and sowed discord among

them, his view ofwomen as weapons of war, his use of religion andsuperstition to bolsterhis troops anddemoralize enemy soldiers,his employment of disinformation, and his humane treatment ofconquered soldiers andsubjects.

Source:Roger Boesche, Kautilyas Arthasastra on War and Diplomacy in

Ancient India, The Journal of Military History, 2003


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Historical Background

Kautilya, key advisor to Indian KingChandragupta Maurya (c. 317293 B.C.E.), whodefeated the Nanda kings, stopped the advance of

Alexanders successors, and thefirstto unite mostof the Indian subcontinent in an empire.Kautilyasometimes called chancellor or primeminister to Chandragupta, composed his Artha

s- astra, orscience ofpolitics, to show a wiseking how to defeat his enemies and rule on behalfof the general good.


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Use of Political assassination to gain

power

Just afterAlexanders death in 323 B.C.E., Chandragupta and Kautilyabegan their conquest of India by stopping the Greek invaders. In this effort

they assassinated two Greek governors, Nicanor and Philip.

The assassinations of the Greek governors, wrote Radha KumudMookerji, are not to be looked upon as mere accidents.

By taking much of western India (the Punjab and the Sindh) from the Greeks

and concluding a treaty with Seleucus (Alexander the Greats Greek heir to

western India), Chandragupta and Kautilya succeeded in bringing togetheralmost all of the Indian subcontinent and is now considered thefirstunifier

of India and thefirstemperor of India.


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No substitute to hard Power

Megasthenes, theambassador of Seleucus toChandraguptawrote thatChandraguptas armytotaled about six hundred

thousand infantry, thirtythousand calvalry, eightthousand chariots, and ninethousand elephants.

Source:

Wolpert, A New History of India, 59;(Baltimore, Md.: Penguin Books, 1966),79.


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Secularization of societyEssential instrument for Social-restructuring

Step1:Secularization

Step 2: Nationalism

Step 3: Ideology

Step 4: Religion.

Caste system:

A political system defining

ideology rather than

vice versa.


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Warfare: Means to creating a New

Political Structure

The king, after conquering the world, should

enjoy dividing it into varnas [classes/castes]

Source:

Kautilya, Arthasastra, 13.4.62: 491.


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Ends justify the Means

Kautilyas Arthasastra - a book of political

realism, a book analyzing how the political

world does work and not very often stating

how it ought to work, a book that frequently

discloses to a king what calculated and

sometimes brutal measures he must carry out

to preserve the state and the common good


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Arthasastra

R. P. Kangle translates the word Arthasastra as science ofpolitics, atreatise to help a king in the acquisition and protection of the earth.

A. L. Basham says it is a treatise onpolity,

Kosambi emphasizes the economic importance of the word in calling it ascience of material gain,

G. P. Singh labels it a science of polity. Kautilya claimed to be putting forth what Heinrich Zimmer rightly calls as

the

timeless laws of politics, economy, diplomacy, and war.

Source:

Heinrich Zimmer, Philosophies of India(Princeton, N.J.: Princeton Univer-sity Press, 1967), 36.


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Ethics of A Global AgendaRejection of Fate & separation of Religion & Politics

Because he was offering his readers a science with which they couldmaster the world, Kautilya believed that having a passive stance toward theworldfor example, trusting in fate or relying on superstitionwasoutlandish.

One trusting in fate, noted Kautilya, beingdevoid of human endeavor,perishes.

His philosophy called for action, not resignation: The object slips awayfrom the foolish person, who continuously consults the stars; . . . what willthe stars do?

In urging the king to rely on science and not the precepts of religion,Kautilya separated political thought from religious speculation.

Source:

Sharma, Aspects of Political Ideas and Institutions in Ancient India, 26566.


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Psychological Warfare

Like Thomas Hobbes, Kautilya believed the

goal of science was power. His statements

Power is (possession of) strength and

strength changes the mind show that

Kautilya sought the power to control not only

outward behavior, but also the thoughts of

ones subjects and enemies.


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Blending Soft Power and Hard Power

An arrow, discharged by an archer, may kill

one person or may not kill even one person;

but intellect operated by a wise man would kill

even children in the womb.

Source:

Kautilya, Artha

sastra, 10.6.51: 453.


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Politics is more important than wealth,

armies and conquests

One who knows his science of politics canconquer the world, that one possessed ofpersonal qualities, though ruling over a small

territory . . . conversant with (the science of)politics, does conquer the entire earth, neverloses.

Source:

Kautilya, Arthasastra, 6.1.18: 317.


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Peace and Imperialism

For Kautilya world conquest is the true

foundation for world peace.

Source:

Narasingha Prosad Sil, Political Morality vs. Political Necessity: Kautilya and

Machiavelli Revisited, Journal of Asian History, 10142


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Diplomacy and Foreign Policy

Extensions of warfare Power and Self-Interest maximizing nature of state.

Morality & International obligations are irrelevant tonational interests.

War and peace only depend upon self-interest or

conditions of advantage for the state Alliances depend upon strengths and weaknesses of

state, not goodwill or moral obligations.

Political, economic and military interests determine

allies and enemies, which can change with changinginterests.

Humanitarian efforts are also based on self-interest


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Reliance on neighbours is weakness

A leader not assuming a worst case scenario

would be betraying his own people. A nation

forced to rely on the kindness of neighboring

states is weak and, unless it can change

rapidly, doomed to destruction


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Geopolitics: Mandala Theory of

Foreign Policy One with immediately proximate territory is the natural enemy.

Immediate neighbors should be considered as enemies, but any stateon the other side of a neighboring state is regarded as an ally, or, theenemy of my enemy is my friend

With respect to the middle king [he himself], the third and thefifthconstituents are friendly elements. The second, the fourth, and the

sixth are unfriendly elements.

Source:

Kautilya,Arthasastra, 6.2.19: 318.


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Foreign Policy:

Conquer or be conquered

Diplomacy:

War by non-violent means.

A non-violent strategy used in the prolongedwarfare that was either always occurring or being

planned for.Alliance Strategy:

All allies are future conquests, when the time is ripe.


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Blending both Soft & Hard power to

target the will of the adversary

A neighboring prince possessed of the excellences ofan enemy is the foe; one in calamity is vulnerable; onewithout support or with weak support is fit to beexterminated; in the reverse case, fitto be harassed or

weakened. These are the different types of enemies.

When Kautilya wrote ofexterminating an enemy, hemeant killing only the leaders. As we will see in more

detail later, he thought the best policy toward ordinarysoldiers and subjects was to treat them well.


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Preventing Balance of Power

In case the gains of two are equal, there

should be peace; if unequal, fight,


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Expecting JusticeThe Ultimate Sign of Weakness

Ineffectiveness of moral considerations in

asymmetry of power

Speaking of justice to an enemy about to

conquer is the last tactic of the weak

Accept treaty and use moral arguments

Abhorrence of war

Psychological tactics, bravery of men etc.


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Is Peace possible between India &

Pakistan?

Whereas these balance of power theorists

suggest that a nation arm itself so that it can

ensure peace, Kautilya wanted his king to arm

the nation in order to find or create a weaknessin the enemy and conquer, even to conquer the

world, or at least the subcontinent of India.


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War is the natural phenomenon among states, only

difference is in types and dimensions due to

differences in capabilities

Weaken the powerful

Conquer the weak

If weaker yourself, make treaty

Once stronger, breach treaty and destroy yourenemy

If equal in strength, avoid war and instead usediplomacy, psychological warfare, propaganda,agents, women to create disunity and moralweaknesses among the adversary to make itweaker than yourself, then destroy it.


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Role of intelligence Agents

Gather information regarding weaknesses, vulnerabilities, personallives of leaders, their relationships, likes/ dislikes etc

Identify societal differences and exploit them to create disunityamong enemy state

Divide the allies of adversary, to weaken and isolate him

Identify unhappy elements against opposing leader Incite enraged, frightened, greedy and proud elements, cultivate

them and use them against their own state

Influence the greedy through gifts

Use of women, cooks, artists, astrologers, assassins, poison givers as

agents Influence the non-greedy through dissention and force

Use of Rumors


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Weaken your neighbours and make his

adversary your dependent

Kautilya also sought to take a nation trying to remainneutral or indifferent and secretly provoke warbetween that nation and a neighboring kingdom, untilthe neutral nation sought his help.

Then Kautilyas king could place him under (his)obligations.

Kautilya himself had no moral qualms about breakingobligations or trust: That ally who might do harm or

who, though capable, would not help in times oftrouble, he should exterminate him, when trustingly, hecomes within his reach.


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Foreign policy: Extension of Wars

Foreign policy is just an extension of a nationswars, and the goal of foreign policy is not toend wars, but rather to ward off defeats and to

make sure one is successful in subsequentwarfare.

For Kautilya, all ambassadors were potentialspies with diplomatic immunity.

He wrote an entire section about how to fightwith the weapon of diplomacy.


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Rural Areas: Source of strength

While urban areas are rich, educated and

developed, they are also more vulnerable and

less patriotic during War

Bravery, Firmness, cleverness and numerical

strength all comes from the rural countryside.

Proposed Homogeneous Army (e.g; Ethnicity,

caste and profession)

Heriditary troops better than hired troops


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Military Affairs

Leader should keep a close watch on his ownmilitary

Counter-Intelligence

Monitoring loyalty of soldiers and officers toprevent coups

Generosity towards the defeated armies

Assassination, a better strategy than War Role of religion in Disinformation campaigns


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Types of War

Open WarConventional War

Concealed WarLIC/ Civil War

Silent War -Silent war is a kind of warfare with

another kingdom in which the king and hisministersand unknowingly, the peopleall actpublicly as if they were at peace with theopposing kingdom, but all the while secret agentsand spies are assassinating important leaders in

the other kingdom, creating divisions among keyministers and classes, and spreading propagandaand disinformation.


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Three Modes of fighting

According to Kautilya, Open war is fighting at theplace and time indicated; creating fright, suddenassault.

Striking when there is error or a calamity or revolt,

giving way and striking in one place, are types ofconcealed warfare; (1971)

Secret practices and instigations through secret agentsis the mark of silent war. (CBM of cultural, journalists,artists exchanges/Psy Ops/ Public Diplomacy/Strategic

Communications through Star Plus, Cartoons etctargeting the vulnerable segments of society, ladies andchildren)


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How can we Defend Pakistan beyond

the realm of Conventional Conflict

Whenever an enemy king is in trouble, and

his subjects are exploited, oppressed,

impoverished and disunited, he should be

immediately attacked after one proclamationof war.

Source: Rajendra Prasad, Politico-Geographical Analysis of the Arthashastra (New Delhi:

Inter-India Publications, 1989), 5860


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The Indian Imperialist agenda

Every adjacent kingdom should be looked upon as an enemy. If a kingdom

is strong, Kautilya called it a foe; if a kingdom is suffering calamity, then

it is vulnerable; if a kingdom has weak or no popular support, then it is

fit to be exterminated. Even if one cannot attack a strong neighbor or

foe, one can harass it silently and weaken it over time.

What Kautilya called an enemy fit to be exterminated was an enemy

with little or no popular support, an enemy whose subjects quite likely

would desert to Kautilyas attacking army.

Kautilya argued, that imperial expansion was the correct goal: After

conquering the enemys territory, the conqueror should seek to seize the

middle king, after succeeding over him, the neutral king. This is the first

method ofconquering the world. . . . And after conquering the world he

should enjoy it divided into varnas

Concl sion


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ConclusionKautilyasRelevance to 21st century statecraft

and modern strategy Intelligence and covert means

of statecraft

Chemical weapons programme

Political Assassinations

Psychological Warfare,

propaganda, public diplomacyand rumors

DiplomacyCoercive anddefensive

Foreign Assistance

Geo-politics Guerrilla Warfare

Regime changes, revolts andpolitical instability

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