Go Ahead And Become A Follower

Readers who want the latest from 21st Century Asian Arms Race (21AAR) can join the followers list by adding a preferred email address to the field below the CATEGORIES widget. To find it, check the right hand side of the home page and look for the text JOIN THE ASIAN ARMS RACE. The desired field is tucked in between the message “Enter your email address…” and the column of banner ads.

From June 2011 until today a total of 142 followers have signed up. This is a modest figure that suits the niche 21AAR occupies. The high volume traffic needed by clickbait sites isn’t essential now or in the future; it’s consistency that matters. Since it was launched seven years ago 21AAR has served as a repository–an “online resource” according to its founder–for information about militaries and military technology across the Asian continent.

Becoming a follower of 21AAR doesn’t require sharing any personal information and readers who value their privacy are encouraged to use a secondary email address. This means followers receive a summary of the latest articles published on 21AAR via email on a regular basis. Of course, it’s even easier to just bookmark 21AAR or follow its official Twitter account–@21aar_show. But why follow 21AAR in the first place?

As the world now enters a period of “multipolar” competition, where several countries with nuclear arsenals vie for influence and supremacy, it’s important readers everywhere have access to a resource that keeps them informed on the adoption and commerce in military technology and the conflicts where these are used. This present focus is a marked difference from the original purpose of 21AAR. When it started in 2011 its founder just wanted to collate information on the militaries of China, India, and Russia since these institutions were all rapidly enhancing their firepower.

But as the years went by the world kept becoming more complicated and dangerous. So many old conflicts refused to disappear and some even flared up again. Furthermore, automation and big data were suddenly indispensable for militaries; cyberwarfare emerged as a real offensive capability; the manufacturing tools and processes for advanced weapon systems spread to the unlikeliest places. Worst of all, the means to assemble nuclear weapons and their delivery systems proliferated faster than anyone anticipated. This sucks.

Taking all these woes in consideration, a critical and facts-based resource like 21AAR is valuable for readers who want a variety of sources to help them stay informed about security issues. Or, better yet, those topics connected to regional insecurity that undermine world peace, hence earning them the “security issue” label. Having more followers helps 21AAR’s lesser agendas as well. These are:

1. To sustain itself for the long-term.
2. Help other online media attract more readers.
3. Provide exposure to industry events. (Scroll down to check the event banners on the right.)
4. Build 21AAR’s audience for its next benchmark, which is to produce specialist reports.

For all who follow 21AAR and anyone who decided to follow it after reading this–THANK YOU.