OBSERVER RESEARCH FOUNDATION

Rakesh Sood, a Distinguished Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), is a former Indian diplomat, columnist, writer and expert on foreign affairs. He was appointed then Prime Minister’s (Mr. Manmohan Singh) special envoy for disarmament and non-proliferation in September, 2013. He has served as India’s Ambassador to Afghanistan and Nepal, Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. He has also served as Deputy Chief of Mission in the Embassy of India in Washington DC.

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“For the last two years, I had been on a nuclear project at ORF, trying to reconcile seemingly inconsistent trends – nuclear weapons are down by 75% from a peak of 65000; the NPT enjoys near universal adherence with only four countries outside it; and yet nuclear risks are perceived to be growing and arms control appears to be in terminal decline. The outcome is the report “Nuclear Order in the 21st Century,” which brings together a unique set of perspectives from Australia, China, Japan, India, Pakistan, South Korea, Russia, UK, and the US. The contributors include both practitioners and academics (and some straddling both the worlds). Accordingly, some pieces are more conceptual and others are more empirical. I have provided an Introduction to the challenge of creating a nuclear order for current times. The effort is to ignite a discussion on a subject which is assuming critical importance for regional and global peace and stability.”