Mostly Michael Krepon on the subcontinent: deterrence that doesn’t stabilize, crises that keep recurring, and arsenals that keep growing.
Yes, Virginia, India’s H-bomb fizzled. K Santhanam (who was director of test site preparations for India’s 1998 nuclear tests; pictured above, handing the firing keys to the range safety officer) has admitted what everyone else has known for a long…
No country has been more optimistic about the atom than India. Most Indians believe in nuclear energy and in the ability of their nuclear establishment to deliver it efficiently and cheaply. Indian strategic analysts tend to be extremely confident, which…
Two questions were paramount after the destructive power of atomic weapons was revealed. Some, depending on temperament and instinct, asked whether the capability to make such weapons might possibly be placed under international control. Others, assuming failure in this pursuit,…
This is, purportedly, a very interesting Urdu-language article in a Pakistani paper, The News. I don’t read Urdu, so as far as I know, this is just a recipe for chicken biryani. According to some translations floating around, the article…
Two vignettes and an organizational chart: I. In August 1991, I was part of a group of maybe fifteen Americans who visited with Gennady Yanayev in the Kremlin. Yanayev was a big deal at the time — the Vice President…
Nuclear postures matter. They frame requirements, add to or detract from stability, and can affect outcomes when deterrence fails, which happens more than expected. Vipin Narang covers this ground in his masterful new book, Nuclear Strategy in the Modern Era:…
It’s not easy to make nuclear weapons, build missiles to carry them long distances, and to produce highly enriched uranium or plutonium. It’s even harder to keep nuclear weapons safe so they do not detonate except under orders from a…
This post on Islamic teachings from the Quran is written by Faiqa Mahmood, a Non-Resident Fellow at the Stimson Center. It’s another in a series on how traditional principles of the world’s major religions relate to the advent, possession and…
Quote of the week: “Clearly, five major crises within a twenty-year period indicate a fundamental structural problem… This region has not been stable and peaceful despite the common cultural and geopolitical heritage of its two dominant states.” — Stephen P.…
Quotes of the week: “The imminent possibility of nuclear escalation will impose stringent limits on the conduct of conventional conflict. Both sides will be receptive to direct or indirect mediation, due to which the conflict could be quickly concluded… Instead…
India has some nuclear naval news, with its defense minister claiming a successful “first deterrent patrol.” What does this mean for Pakistan and nuclear dynamics in the Indian Ocean? Aaron sits down with friends of the pod Ankit Panda…
This post was authored by Russell Williams, a graduate research assistant at CNS. Misinformation abounds as nuclear rivals India and Pakistan face off once again in Kashmir. Both nations have exploited the conflict for domestic political gain, making a stream…
Note to readers: A slightly different version of this essay appeared in the Stimson Center’s on-line magazine, South Asian Voices, the premier global platform for talented analysts to exchange views on this region’s pressing issues without invective or pat talking…
