Prospects for Indian and Pakistani Arms Control and Confidence-Building Measures
Abstract
The regional dynamic in South Asia is both extravagant and complicated. For centuries various empires have risen, thrived, and fallen, as numerous wars and clashes for control over resources spread across the geography. South Asian history writ large has seen hypothetical borders redrawn several times, leaving in question the viability of state control and perpetuating ethnic tensions. Though the great partition of India in 1947 ought to have politically resolved communal disharmony, the haste of British withdrawal created a geopolitical quagmire that has resulted in an "enduring rivalry" between the nations of India and Pakistan, one that has lasted for more than sixty years. The contemporary security climate in the region has exacerbated this historical precedent of protracted conflict, which has in turn nurtured an environment that remains resistant to the building of trust and confidence. Since their demonstrations of nuclear capabilities, both India and Pakistan have increased the risk of war, with cross-border arms buildups and failure to sustain a peace dialogue. Moreover, the regional security environment breeds broader strategic anxieties in both India and Pakistan, which makes the likelihood of conventional war between the two nuclear armed neighbors higher than it is anywhere else in the world.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2010
- Accession Number
- ADA520991
Entities
People
- Feroz H. Khan
Organizations
- Naval War College