The politics of nuclear weapons in South Asia

Bhumitra Chakma

An important and critical re-evaluation of South Asia's post-tests nuclear politics, this volume emphasizes the political dimension of South Asia's nuclear weapons, explains how the bombs are used as politico-strategic assets rather than pure battlefield weapons and how India and Pakistan utilize them for politico-strategic purposes in an extremely complex and competitive South Asian strategic landscape. Written by a group of perceptive observers of South Asia, this volume evaluates current state of Indo-Pakistani nuclear deterrents, the challenges the two countries confront in building their nuclear forces, the post-test nuclear doctrines of the two strategic rivals, the implications of Indo-Pakistani politics for regional cooperation, the role of two systemic actors (USA and China) in the region's nuclear politics and critical issues of confidence-building and nuclear arms control.