• From Child Soldier to Defense Analyst: Kagusthan Ariaratnam | Podcast by ONPOD

    Description: In this episode of the Expert Seat Podcast, host Kristen sits down with Kagusthan Ariaratnam, a defense analyst and consultant with over 25 years of experience. Kagusthan’s story is unlike any other: once a child soldier with the Tamil Tigers during the Sri Lankan civil war, he later served as a military intelligence analyst with Sri Lanka’s Directorate of Military Intelligence, working…

  • The Cut-Rate Submarine: Why Hangor Isn’t the Yuan Beijing Keeps for Itself

    Pakistan’s much-hyped Hangor-class submarine programme has been repeatedly showcased as a technological leap in its naval modernisation drive. But beneath the fanfare lies a crucial detail: the Hangor is not the same as the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) frontline Yuan-class submarine. Instead, it is a cut-down export derivative, the S26 design, that lacks several…

  • Mobilising the Future: Rapid Deployment and Theatre Readiness

    In May 2025, Operation Sindoor reminded India that future conflicts will demand not only precision strikes and layered air defence, but also the ability to move forces and firepower rapidly across fronts. Theatreisation, now gaining momentum with the activation of the Inter-Services Organisations Act rules and the CDS empowered to issue binding joint orders, is…

  • Beyond the G7: How BRICS is Redrawing the Global Economic Map

    Richard Wolff, a prominent US-based Marxist economist, argues that the American empire is in decline, a process he attributes to the rise of a new global power bloc led by BRICS. In his view, this shift in economic and geopolitical power is the single most significant reality the world faces today. Wolff’s analysis posits that…

  • Beyond the Archetype: Agency, Trauma, and Institutional Betrayal in the Narrative of Kagusthan Ariaratnam

    The landscape of popular culture is populated by enduring archetypes—figures who, through repeated narrative deployment, become symbolic shorthand for complex human experiences. Among the most potent of these are the “child soldier” and the “double agent.” The former often embodies the ultimate loss of innocence, a symbol of war’s depravity; the latter represents the ultimate…

  • With INS Nistar, India Joins an Elite Club of Navies with Deep-Sea Rescue Expertise

    July 18, 2025, marked a watershed moment in India’s naval capabilities as the Indian Navy formally commissioned INS Nistar, the nation’s first indigenously designed and built Diving Support Vessel (DSV), at the Naval Dockyard in Visakhapatnam. This milestone places India in an exclusive club of nations possessing advanced submarine rescue and deep-sea diving capabilities, fundamentally…

  • Seeds of Influence: Iran’s Subtle War on Western Democracy Through Student Engagement

    The Islamic Republic of Iran has long employed a layered and deliberate strategy to expand its global ideological influence. Central to this ambition is the state’s investment in Muslim students studying in the West. At first glance, these educational and cultural exchange initiatives may appear benign or even altruistic. However, upon deeper examination, they reveal…

  • Beyond the Iron Fist: Reimagining Israel’s Power Through Soft Strategies

    This article critically evaluates the predominant reliance on hard power by the Israeli state in its conflict with the Palestinian population, particularly in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. It analyzes the strategic limitations of military force and intelligence-based approaches, drawing on Joseph Nye’s conceptual framework of hard and soft power. Through historical and…

  • Rethinking the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami: A Whistleblower’s Perspective on Strategic Environmental Manipulation

    The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami is widely understood as a natural geological disaster. However, this paper examines the event from a lesser-known perspective—through the lens of intelligence manipulation and environmental warfare. As a former child soldier, intelligence officer with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), and informant for multiple national security agencies including the…

  • Melodies Against Militancy: How Music Undermines Terror and Wins Hearts

    The application of soft power in counterterrorism is a profoundly underutilized yet effective tool, particularly through cultural mediums such as music. Soft power, a term coined by Joseph Nye (2004), refers to the ability to influence others through attraction rather than coercion or payment. This influence can be manifested through values, policies, and cultural exports.…