Warfare is an ultimate recourse that is adopted by nation-states when other less
destructive options fail to protect their interests against a continuum of
inter-state rivalries.
It is thus that nation-states maintain the institution of armed forces as best
as they can. Keeping the military institution at the desired level of efficiency
is a costly and time-intensive exercise, more so since outcome of war is
dictated by an intangible combination of material, technological, temporal and
spiritual strength.
The charter of policy-makers in this context is an exacting one, as it entails
finding the right equilibrium between socio-economic and political aspirations
of the people on one hand, and