The Case for Cyber and Cyber-Physical Weapons: India’s Grand Strategy and Diplomatic Goals

This briefing document articulates a grand strategy for India to pursue the development of cyber and cyber-physical weapons, with a view to manage conflicts and the future balance of power in Asia.India must work towards creating a new legal and political architecture around cyber and cyber-physical weapons. Were such an order to emerge, India should enter it as a manager and not exclusively as a subject, disaggregating any links with the extant nuclear nonproliferation regime. The objective of regime creation can be pursued at an advanced stage of capabilities, with a view to limit their actual deployment in conflict. New Delhi should help ensure that cyber and cyber-physical weapons are not accessible to actors who pose a strategic threat in Asia.