By Harshita Pandey

The book ‘The Secret War: Inside the Dark Nexus of Global Terror’, authored by Dr Sreoshi Sinha, is an extremely appropriate, well-timed, and comprehensive contribution to the complex and contested subject of global terrorism.

It deeply provokes the reader’s conscience and shapes their understanding of global terrorism, underscoring it as a threat to civilisation rather than merely a state security issue.

The book also underscores the ambiguity about the word terrorism and the dark nexus emerging from this ambiguity, which is leveraged by financiers of global terrorism, state agencies that sponsor and use terrorism as a strategic tool, covert networks, and ideologues who manipulate the ambiguity to further self-serving agendas.

The book distinguishes itself by anchoring its well-structured arguments in concerns for humanity, morality, and the impact on statecraft. The issue of global terrorism is seen as a threat to civilisation and not merely a threat to national security.

The central question or concern that holds the book together is how a democratic country like India can respond to the dark nexus of global terrorism while preserving its democratic core.

Unravelling the dark nexus calls for a firm stand against terrorism, and provides only a constricted space to protect civilians, their liberty, and to keep intact the spirit of the rule of law of the nation.

The ambit of the book encompasses understanding terrorism in various forms that include militant activities across borders, religious extremism, radical insurgency, and radicalised ideological propaganda.

The book is very comprehensive and spans over 278 pages. The book’s structural framework includes three core parts, each thematically divided, where part one, Understanding the Nature of Terrorism, addresses the broader conceptual framework of terrorism and its political, social, and philosophical aspects.

The introductory chapter starts with the devastating trauma and horrors of the Pahalgam attack that took place on April 22, 2025.

The chapter engages with deeper questions: endangering humanitarian values on the one hand and, on the other, dealing with terrorism by adopting extraordinary measures that, albeit, bypass idealist concerns.

India’s approach to dealing with terrorism reflects its democratic and constitutional values with respect to International Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law.

The first chapter, Decoding Terrorism, highlights the core elements of terrorism, which encompass violence, fear, motivation and intent, target audience, spectrum of victims, the perpetrator (the terrorist), terrorism — a campaign — and, lastly, the public and symbolic nature of terrorism as a communicative act of violence.

This section also highlights the ill-defined contestation between terrorists and freedom fighters. The author also provides a working definition of terrorism by highlighting it as an “unlawful act of violence committed during peacetime with deliberate purpose of instilling fear, not only within the immediate victims but also within wider audiences, and may be directed against both human beings and non-human objects.”

Part two comprises Legal Foundations and Frontiers, encompassing international law, international humanitarian law, counter-terrorism, and human rights.

The author engages with the complex realities of terrorism and the state’s duty to combat terrorism in the context of international laws. The core argument highlights the tightrope challenge that the state faces in balancing liberty and security.

Dr Sinha suggests that the state should adopt ways that allow the values of liberty and security to coexist without undermining or challenging each other.

The third part assesses India’s Response and Legal Compliance, which includes comprehensive policies adopted by India to counter terrorism.

The author traces the history of terrorism in India and its counter-terrorism architecture: the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and its 2019 amendment.

The section deals with India’s tri-services and its response to combating terrorism. It also engages with threats from India’s maritime sphere and the role of the Indian Navy in guarding India’s coast, both of which are extremely relevant to today’s emerging maritime warfare challenges.

The Balakot Air strike also highlights the role of the Indian Air Force and leveraging India’s defence capabilities to combat terrorism, reflecting a stark contrast in the change of India’s response to combat terrorism over the past decades.

What makes the book unique is that it also seeks to provide an international humanitarian law framework by tracing ancient Indian scriptures and the ambit of humanitarian law in Hinduism.

The book, published in collaboration with the Centre for Joint Warfare Studies, is a must for policymakers, veterans, and scholars engaged in global politics and issues.

It is truly a commendable effort as it highlights the vantage point of the global south amidst the Western-dominated stance on terrorism and also problematizes their selective and convenient take on terrorism.

The book is especially relevant to contemporary world politics and its normative dimensions, while also offering a policy-oriented approach, making it an analytical and coherent reading on global terrorism.

Despite having excellent subject coverage in 278 pages, the book has been priced only at INR 1,495 with the aim of reaching out to all the stakeholders.

The book has been published by Pentagon Press (rajan@pentagonpress.in) as a CENJOWS publication (cenjows@cenjows.in).

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