India, Pakistan, and the Bomb

In May 1998, India and Pakistan openly tested nuclear weapons, putting to rest years of speculation about whether they had developed the technology to do so. Some believed nuclearization would stabilize South Asia; others prophesized disaster. Authors of two of the most comprehensive books on South Asia's new nuclear era, eumit Ganguly and S. Paul Kapur, offer competing theories about how these weapons have transformed the region and what such patterns mean for the next proliferators. Ganguly begins with an outcome-based approach that emphasizes the results of militarized conflict. He believes the deterrent effects of nuclear weapons have prevented Indo-Pakistani disputes from turning into full-scale war. Kapur instead pursues a process-based approach, stressing the specific pathways that have led to conflict and escalation. From his perspective nuclear weapons have fueled a violent cycle of Pakistani provocation and Indian response, giving rise to a number of crises that could have easily spun out of control. For Kapur, nuclear weapons are a destabilizing force on South Asian, and, ultimately, world security. Advancing two major interpretations designed to spark discussion and debate, India, Pakistan, and the Bomb encompasses all aspects of an urgent issue and thoroughly maps the regional and global motivations for proliferation.