About the Occasional Paper

This USI Occasional Paper examines theaterisation as a critical reform for India’s armed forces in an era of multi-domain, grey zone warfare and shifting global power balances. Against the backdrop of China’s assertive rise, Russia’s resurgence, a fragmented Euro-Atlantic order and collusive hybrid threats from the China–Pakistan nexus, the authors argue that India must move from siloed Service structures to an integrated, theatre-based model. The paper explains the logic of unity of command and synergy of effort, reviews US and Chinese theatre models, and relates these to India’s three primary fronts—western, northern/eastern and maritime. It candidly addresses institutional reservations, especially within the IAF, and emphasises that theaterisation must be guided by a National Security Strategy, Military Security Strategy and a clear vision document. Finally, it proposes a phased, “make haste slowly” roadmap, including empowering the CDS, restructuring HQ IDS and Service HQs, and raising functional and theatre commands.