Strategic Analysis

Nuclear Weapons and India–Pakistan Relations

India-Pakistan relations are best understood as an example of nuclear rivalry, in which nuclear weapons both exacerbate and limit hostility. In all such relationships, the minimal possession of nuclear weapons suffices to deter. Both India and Pakistan have adopted a minimalist posture, yet their strategic thinking tends to be inconsistent, which makes them vulnerable to needless expansion. This essay points to the conceptual basis for an optimal doctrine.

Milit-Osquo-Racy

Nuclear Weapons and India-Pakistan Relations: A Complementary Comment

Nuclear weapons deter by the possibility of their use, and in no other way. Although US and Soviet arsenals became grotesquely excessive in both numbers and diversity in the late 1960s, by the later 1908s there had been very extensive reductions in both numbers and types. NATO's collective doctrine had accepted that the only sen-sible role for its nuclear weapons was for war-termination. Western governments had increasingly accepted the idea of sufficiency, recognizing that notions of nuclear supe-riority were vacuous.

Response to Dr. Quinlan’s Critique

Dr. Quinlan and I are in fundamental agreement on the validity of nuclear deterrence as a national security strategy because the possibility of nuclear use cannot be ruled out. Where we disagree is on the conceptual basis for formulating such a strategy. Dr. Quinlan finds my minimalist approach to deterrence unsatisfactory because it rests on a very small number of historical cases in which states with large arsenals were deterred by states with far smaller ones.

Kargil War: Reflections on the Tenth Anniversary

Ten years later, the Kargil War still arouses deep emotions turning around Pakistan's gross perfidy, an intelligence failure, great heroism, military improvisation and innovation, a national upsurge, a most open inquiry leading to a comprehensive review of vital issues long closed to scrutiny and reform. Its report, prepared in record time, was uniquely presented to the nation as a commercial publication. (From Surprise to Reckoning: The Kargil Review Committee Report, Sage, New Delhi, December 1999.)

Reflections on the Kargil War

The Kargil conflict can be categorized as a 'limited war'. It was initiated by Pakistan to achieve mixed military and political objectives, but made important misjudgments that doomed the enterprise to failure. The questions discussed in this article are: why was India surprised; why did both countries observe such great restraint; did the Kargil conflict have a nuclear dimension; and is 'limited war' a viable concept with nuclear deterrence obtaining in South Asia. It also argues that the Kargil conflict was an exception, in some dimensions, to the 'stability-instability paradox'

Debating China’s ‘RMA-Driven Military Modernization’: Implications for India

This article intends to examine the notion of 'Revolution in Military Affairs' (RMA) in China and how the People's Liberation Army (zhongguo renmin jiefangjun) is thrusting RMA initiatives on its modernization programme. It sheds light on the issue of China's 'RMA-Driven Military Modernization' programme and situates the effect of these initiatives in the Indian context.

Ethnic Life-Worlds in North-East India: An Analysis by Prasenjit Biswas and Chandan Suklabaidya

Ascendancy of the Religious Right in Bangladesh Politics: A Study of Jamaat Islami

The ascendancy of Jamaat Islami to power in a country that was born on the basis of secularism indicates the changing political dynamics in Bangladesh. Its syncretic tradition rooted in its language and culture limited Jamaat's success. Nevertheless, given the role the party played during the liberation war, its political ascendancy speaks of the changing political landscape. This article argues that though the party has exhibited some political success, it faces challenges from the secularists in the socio-cultural sphere, thereby limiting its growth and expansion.

Contested World Orders