An inquiry into how rebellion begins, and how it ends
Jaideep Saikia’s most recent book, ‘Conflict: Quotations on Rebellion and Resolution’, was published on October 1, 2026. His 19th book examines why individuals and polities rebel and what brings rebellion to an end.
The book presents a sustained inquiry into the origins, grammar and termination of organised dissent. Twenty-five aphorisms, each accompanied by a commentary, examine the conditions under which individuals and polities rebel and the mechanisms through which rebellion gives way to settlement. The form is deliberate: compression compels precision, and each aphorism functions as a proposition to be tested rather than a maxim to be admired.
Three essays also appear in the appendices: (1) “Philosophy of Security: Prolegomena to a New Discipline”, (2) “The Sanctified Aberration: Radicalisation and Brain Science” and (3) “The Unaudited Ledger: Defective Partition of Space”.
The first essay, originally proposed by the author, organises the study of security around five foundational questions: its ontology (what security is), epistemology (how it is known), logic (how it is reasoned), normativity (what it ought to protect) and phenomenology (how it is experienced). Together, the essays situate the book within a broader philosophical framework and offer scholars of strategy, international relations and political theory a rigorous point of departure.
Prof. Edward Newman of the University of Leeds, United Kingdom, has endorsed the book: “A profound and compelling meditation on conflict, power, and the human realities of political violence, this remarkable work challenges conventional strategic wisdom with rare insight and originality. Jaideep Saikia demonstrates the contribution of a personal Philosophy of Security, charting a path from rebellion to reconciliation with intellectual courage and enduring relevance.”
— Prof. Edward Newman, University of Leeds, United Kingdom
Jaideep Saikia is a distinguished fellow of the Council for Strategic and Defense Research, New Delhi, and holds the Distinguished Chair in Counter Terrorism at the Centre for Internal Security Analysis, India. He is the author or editor of several books, including Contours, Terror Sans Frontiers, Terrorism: Patterns of Internationalisation, Mind over Matter, Bangladesh: Treading the Taliban Trail, Frontier in Flames, Documents on North East India and Point of Impact.
A celebrated poet, Saikia is an alumnus of the Royal Indian Military College, Dehradun; St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi; and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA. He was a Fellow at West Point, USA, an Expert (North East) at the National Security Council Secretariat, Government of India, and a Senior Fellow at the Vivekananda International Foundation.
Saikia was also a member of Track II dialogues with China, Bangladesh and Myanmar. In 2003, he visited the United States as an International Visitor at the invitation of the US Department of State.
Source: A press note on the book and its author.