Indo Pak Nuclear Cold War

America, with its nuclear arsenal capable of destroying the world several times over, could not defend itself against the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, which paralyzed the nation. The erstwhile Soviet Union, another superpower with equal quantity of nuclear weapons, could not survive the crisis that splintered it into several countries. India, instead of becoming more powerful by declaring itself a nuclear weapon state after the 1998 tests, has been powerless to pursue the militants across the border in Kashmir for fear of Pak nuclear capability. More than Kashmir and cross-border terrorism, the nuclear arms race in the sub-continent is the menacing danger to the millions in India and Pakistan. A nuclear arms race and a possible nuclear war would ruin both countries. Those who point to the US-USSR Cold War that did not break out into a nuclear exchange, as an example of successful deterrence, should know Indo-Pak hostility is a different matter. Muslim fundamentalism and Hindu fanaticism do not work rationally.

Mario Carranza studies in depth the linkages between Indo-Pakistani nuclear relations and the International Nuclear Order. He critically analyzes the de facto recognition by the United States of India and Pakistan as nuclear weapon states and looks at the impact of that recognition on the International Nuclear Order and its linchpin, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The book provides a critical analysis of the New International Nuclear Order sponsored by the United States after the September 11 terrorist attacks and the place of India and Pakistan in that order. The author considers the survival of India and Pakistan in relation to a strategy of nuclear deterrence and debates the possibility of establishing a robust nuclear arms control regime in South Asia as part of a broader effort to revive global nuclear arms control and disarmament negotiations.

Nuclear tests in India and Pakistan brought the threat of nuclear war back to the world's centre stage. The tests and nuclear moves have raised regional tension, increased poverty in already impoverished nations, and could possibly have fuelled an arms race which goes beyond the borders of the two countries. This text examines the causes and consequences of India and Pakistani nuclear tests. The book provides a framework for understanding the global context of these tests, and looks at approaches for nuclear abolition in Asia and the West.

In India, Pakistan, and the United States. Dr. Shirin R. Tahir-Kheli points out that the end of the Cold War and the rise of a new generation of Indians and Pakistanis willing to break with the past and concentrate on economic development provide opportunities for all three countries. Sustained American involvement in South Asia - previously the United States has tended to focus on the region only during periods of international crisis - could both generate major economic opportunities for the United States in one of the world's largest markets and help solve the difficult issues of Kashmir and nuclear proliferation. Discussing South Asia's disputes, alliances, and alignments, its role in the Cold War, and the prospects for controlling the spread of nuclear weapons, the author considers the past, present, and future relations among India, Pakistan, and the United States. This book is a valuable contribution to improving American understanding of two of the world's most populous countries.

Using a constructivist model, this study brings nuclear arms control and disarmament back into the debates on the future of Indo-Pakistani relations. Constructivism recognizes the independent impact of international norms, such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Norm (NNPN), on India and Pakistan’s nuclear behavior. Even though the NNPN does not legally bind them, it is reinforced at the global level, and may lead the South Asian rivals to move in the direction of nuclear arms control and disarmament, thus reducing the costs, dangers, and risks of an eternal strategic rivalry. After examining the main tenets of constructivism in international relations, the works delves into the proliferation debate, discussing nuclear reversal and U.S. policy toward the subcontinent since the G. W. Bush administration. It looks at the prospects for nuclear arms control and disarmament in South Asia after the U.S.-India nuclear deal of 2008, and the nuclear abolitionist wave during the first Obama administration. It concludes with the contribution of social constructivism to understanding how changes in the India-Pakistan nuclear status quo can happen.

This book attempts to fuse two topical subjects and deal with them in a holistic manner. It is oft said and is also widely believed that the 21st century belongs to Asia and that the two giants of Asia, namely, China and India are going to dominate the world in the ensuing decades. It is also implicitly accepted that nuclear weapons are going to be there, at least for the foreseeable future. These are the two topics that have been analysed in this book; nuclear weapons and the emerging epicenter of global affairs, namely, Asia. The book deals with the fundamental nature of nuclear weapons itself. It purposely steers away from the Cold War mindset of viewing nuclear weapons in a western manner and attempts to unravel the manner in which the nations of Asia view these weapons in their own unique way. It is also about the nature of disputes in Asia and the security environment in Asia, both presently as well as in the foreseeable future. Since it is a fact that there are unresolved disputes in the region, the book also deals with the aspect of analysis of potential conflict scenarios. Will the countries succeed in settling their disputes diplomatically? Can deterrence succeed? What will happen if that fails? What will be the shape of future conflicts? This book makes a modest attempt to provide answers to some of these perplexing questions that plague policy makers and strategists in Asia today. Since the study is from an Indian perspective, the focus is naturally biased more towards South Asia vis-a-vis the other parts of Asia. Though the book attempts to answer all questions, some tough questions typically deny neat solutions. As the author admits, the aim of the book is to get both the policy and decision makers as well as the professional military to think about these issues, so that, in time, workable solutions can be evolved."