Back to Basics: Pledging Nuclear Restraint
Introduction China has been a nuclear-weapon state for slightly more than five decades. Beijing has approached nuclear deterrence from a minimalist perspective, eschewing large stockpiles […]
Nuclear Issues
No Indian BMD for No Pakistani MIRVs
Introduction Nuclear competition is gradually driving South Asia toward greater uncertainty and instability. The introduction of new weapons systems in the region indicates an emerging […]
SAV Review: Is Pakistan’s Nuclear Strategy Stuck in Time?
In the aftermath of the Pulwama attack in February of this year, both India and Pakistan carried out a series of maneuvers with grave escalatory […]
Time to Consider a Trilateral Asian ABM Treaty
Introduction At the height of the Cold War, the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty was signed between two superpower rivals based on a counterintuitive logic: that […]
Addressing South Asia’s Fissile Material Conundrum
South Asia is witnessing a growing competition in conventional and nuclear capabilities. During the past two decades, India and Pakistan have added more than two […]
Enact a Restraint Regime on MIRV Flight-Testing in South Asia
A restraint regime on multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle (MIRV) flight-testing becomes imperative at a time when strategic stability is decreasing in South Asia. India […]
Join the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty’s International Monitoring System
Introduction China, India, and Pakistan are expanding and modernizing their nuclear arsenals. Historical tensions, unresolved border disputes, and high levels of mistrust are among the factors […]
Most recent
Understanding Kargil’s Nuclear Factor: Lessons for Future Crises
In 2018, Syed Ali Zia Jaffery analyzed the Kargil war in order to evaluate the prospects of third-party crisis management and nuclear escalation during India-Pakistan […]
SAV Review: Resisting the Counterforce Temptation
Christopher Clary and Vipin Narang’s article “India’s Counterforce Temptations: Strategic Dilemmas, Doctrines and Capabilities” in International Security attempts to make sense of India’s apparent approach […]
A Joint India-Pakistan Initiative on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons
Introduction Efforts under the international initiative on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons (HINW) led to adoption of Resolution L.41 by the First Committee of […]
SAV Review: Acknowledging Washington’s Blind Eye
Diplomatic history consists of the narratives we learn and then rehearse and repeat. Naturally, our points of view are usually nationalistic and a misreading of […]
SAV Review: When Push Comes to Shove, Will India’s NFU Stand?
Editor’s Note: This piece is a response to Reshmi Kazi’s review of Kumar Sundaram and M.V. Ramana’s article “India and the Policy of No First Use […]
India’s Nuclear Doctrine: Strategic Direction or Drift?
India’s official nuclear doctrine has remained unchanged since its adoption in 2003. Some may take this apparent continuity as evidence of India’s intentional strategic direction. […]
Pakistan’s Full-Spectrum Deterrence: Trends and Trajectories
Twenty years ago, the government of Pakistan decided to respond in kind to India’s nuclear tests in May 1998. Pakistan conducted six nuclear explosions to […]
Strategic Pivoting: How Superpowers Galvanize the Indo-Pak Arms Race
South Asia has evoked the attention, intervention, and strategic embrace of powerful international actors over the course of many decades. By virtue of their involvement, […]
Assessing the U.S.-India Nuclear Deal Ten Years Later: Symbolism and Substance
On October 8, 2008, President George W. Bush signed the United States-India Nuclear Cooperation Approval and Nonproliferation Enhancement Act into law. Two days later, a […]
The U.S.-India Nuclear Deal Ten Years On: The View from Washington
The 2008 civil nuclear deal is the most important episode in U.S.-India relations in at least three decades. From the perspective of the United States, […]