A Quarter Century of Nuclear South Asia: Nuclear Noise, Signalling, and the Risk of Escalation in India-Pakistan Crises
Moeed Yusuf and Rizwan Zeb examine the trilateral dynamic in five South Asian nuclear crises whereby the United States played a mediatory role leading to crisis termination. “The only smart policy,” they aver, “is one that ensures crisis prevention. This points to the need for the international community to push for a serious Indian-Pakistani dialogue aimed at addressing the root cause of bilateral tensions—their outstanding disputes and contentious issues.”
This paper is published simultaneously by Carnegie Endowment for International Peace here and by the Nautilus Institute here.
About the Project
The Assessing Nuclear ‘Threats’ Project: With the support of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Nautilus Institute and the Carnegie Endowment’s Nuclear Policy Program have produced four major papers and an Adelphi book on Russia’s war in Ukraine, five India-Pakistan crises or conflicts, and international law and nuclear threat, suggesting that nuclear signaling in the 21st century may be different than during the Cold War.
In collaboration with the Nautilus Institute and the Carnegie Endowment’s Nuclear Policy Program, we are conducting three online seminars with the authors to foster global discussion. Readers are invited to register to attend these events.
Bluff or Death? How to Assess Nuclear “Threats” postponed due to weather, for the new date please register here
Nuclear Flashpoint? How Pakistan and India Manage Escalation, February 12, 10-1130am EST, register here
Nuclear Threats and the Limits of International Law, February 23, 7-830pm EST register here
(Note, translation captions are available.)
Acknowledgements
The Nautilus Institute, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network thank the Carnegie Corporation of New York for its support of this project and its ongoing support of public-interest work to prevent nuclear conflict.
About the Author
Moeed Yusuf is President of Beaconhouse National University, Pakistan and Senior Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. He served as Pakistan’s National Security Adviser and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, 2019-22. Rizwan Zeb is Visiting Research Fellow, BNU Center for Policy Research at Beaconhouse National University, Pakistan.
Disclaimer: The opinions articulated above represent the views of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Asia Pacific Leadership Network or any of its members. The APLN’s website is a source of authoritative research and analysis and serves as a platform for debate and discussion among our senior network members, experts and practitioners, as well as the next generation of policymakers, analysts and advocates. Comments and responses can be emailed to apln@apln.network.
Image: Amanda Branom with elements from iStock.
