Synopsis
Expert Road Map for Reducing Nuclear Dangers in South Asia The advent of nuclear weapons has not made the Indian Subcontinent a safer or a more stable place. Pakistan, in fact, views its nuclear weapons as a great equalizer India's superiority in conventional forces, something which facilitates its support to militancy in Kashmir. Crises over Kashmir have subsequently grown both more frequent and more intense. The two countries clashed in Kargil in 1999 under the nuclear shadow and again fully mobilized their forces during 2002. The sobering fact, however, is that there are no instances of a successful, limited war between nuclear states. The need for reducing the risks of nuclear conflagration in South Asia is therefore urgent and calls for cooperation, political will and wisdom on the parts of Indian and Pakistani leaders and people. Equally, it requires a clear understanding and implementation of measures that can reduce the risk of a nuclear war. In this book, a dozen experts from India, Pakistan and the US provide precisely such a road map: How nuclear risk can be reduced by building on common ground What South Asia can learn from the experience of the Cold War Risk reduction in Kashmir How to craft a policy of a minimal, credible nuclear deterrence Missile threat reduction and monitoring Indian and Pakistani perspectives on missile defense Nuclear risk reduction between China and India How to tackle conventional military clashes in a nuclear environment. Nuclear Risk Reduction in South Asia is essential reading for policy makers, government officials, diplomats, security analysts and military thinkers, academics, researchers, political commentators and all those who seek a safer future for the Subcontinent. Expert Road Map for Reducing Nuclear Dangers in South Asia The advent of nuclear weapons has not made the Indian Subcontinent a safer or a more stable place. Pakistan, in fact, views its nuclear weapons as a great equalizer India's superiority in conventional forces, something which facilitates its support to militancy in Kashmir. Crises over Kashmir have subsequently grown both more frequent and more intense. The two countries clashed in Kargil in 1999 under the nuclear shadow and again fully mobilized their forces during 2002. The sobering fact, however, is that there are no instances of a successful, limited war between nuclear states. The need for reducing the risks of nuclear conflagration in South Asia is therefore urgent and calls for cooperation, political will and wisdom on the parts of Indian and Pakistani leaders and people. Equally, it requires a clear understanding and implementation of measures that can reduce the risk of a nuclear war. In this book, a dozen experts from India, Pakistan and the US provide precisely such a road map: How nuclear risk can be reduced by building on common ground What South Asia can learn from the experience of the Cold War Risk reduction in Kashmir How to craft a policy of a minimal, credible nuclear deterrence Missile threat reduction and monitoring Indian and Pakistani perspectives on missile defense Nuclear risk reduction between China and India How to tackle conventional military clashes in a nuclear environment. Nuclear Risk Reduction in South Asia is essential reading for policy makers, government officials, diplomats, security analysts and military thinkers, academics, researchers, political commentators and all those who seek a safer future for the Subcontinent.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review
"If ever a region needed innovative measures to reduce nuclear risks, it is South Asia -- the world's most volatile nuclear powder keg, according to many. This Stimson Center volume provides the most accessible, expert, and realistic guide to what can and should be done to stabilize the Indo-Pak nuclear relationship."-- George Perkovich, Vice President, The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and author, "India's Nuclear Bomb"Anyone interested in the mechanics of reducing the danger of nuclear conflict in South Asia must read this book. At a time when India and Pakistan are feeling their way toward detente and China is playing a constructive regional role, the analyses in the Stimson Center's penetrating compendium of essays will enrich negotiators and policy thinkers alike. What lessons from the Cold War may be applied in South Asia remain to be worked out, but this timely volume provides an invaluable data base for choice." -- Nicholas Platt, President, The Asia Society and former U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan"Michael Krepon's work is timely and valuable. No scholar has thought harder or more incisively about nuclear India and Pakistan than has Mr. Krepon; nor has anyone given clearer or more original thought to nuclear weapons and South Asia's quest for peace and stability. His work is a must for students of the region and all interested in the vital issues of non-proliferation."-- Frank G.Wisner, Vice Chairman, American International Group, Inc., and former U.S. Ambassador to India "Micheal Krepon's very insightful book comes at the best possible time, the beginning of the first really serious talks on nuclear risk reduction between India and Pakistan. Thus the careful analysisand commentary will be of substantial value to the two governments as they proceed, as well as of special interest to all those concerned over preventing the specter of nuclear arms in the subcontinent."-- Robert B. Oakley, Distinguished Research Fellow, National Defense University and former U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan "It is rare for a book to be both provocative and balanced, but Nuclear Risk Reduction in South Asia is exactly that. The authors are provocative in identifying new and serious nuclear problems that are emerging in the region. Yet the authors are balanced in their assessment of potential solutions, carefully analyzing the pros and cons of alternative steps towards stability. This is essential reading.""-- Scott Sagan, Co-director, Center for International Security and Cooperation, Stanford University, and author, "The Limits of Safety: Organizations, Accidents, and Nuclear Weapons
About the Author
MICHAEL KREPON is Founding President of the Henry L. Stimson Center, USA. He is author and editor of nine books, including Cooperative Threat Reduction, Missile Defense, and Nuclear Future (Palgrave 2003). He teaches in the Department of Politics at the University of Virginia, USA.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
