The Brahmastra Series on Nuclear Statecraft is a research initiative of The Statecraft Institute (TSI) that examines the political, strategic, technological, and diplomatic dimensions of nuclear weapons in contemporary international relations. Drawing on the concept of the Brahmastra from India’s epic tradition as an instrument of extraordinary and potentially decisive power, the series employs the metaphor to frame nuclear weapons as tools of statecraft. It moves beyond purely technical or doctrinal treatments to analyse how states acquire, develop, deploy and ultimately restrain the most destructive instruments of modern warfare.
The series is particularly timely. Nuclear dynamics today intersect with great-power competition, regional conflicts, missile defence, emerging technologies (including cyber capabilities and artificial intelligence), maritime security and the strategic calculations of middle powers. A defining feature of the series is its deliberate effort to connect strategic theory with contemporary practice, thereby complementing TSI’s emphasis on interpreting strategy, national security and the evolving international order.
