(Book Review) The India Pakistan Nuclear Relationship: Theories of Deterrence and International Relations by Eswaran Sridharan

Abstract

The book titled ‘The India Pakistan Nuclear Relationship: Theories of Deterrence and International Relations’ offers a collection of insightful articles by different Indian and Pakistani authors. As the title suggests, the scholarship contained in the book mainly deals with the South Asian nuclear posture. The study further aims at examining the question of adequacy of deterrence and international relations theories at explaining the nuclearization doctrine of the two countries. The book also takes into account the cold war experience of deterrence and the application of those experiences to the episodic conflicts between India and Pakistan. It is a comprehensive study of nuclear doctrines of two competitors that explains theoretical relevance to nuclearization in the light of historic antagonism between the two countries. It paves the way to understand the transition that the Indian and Pakistani nuclear doctrine has been through. In doing so, the authors have also based much of their work on the monumental contributions of Barry Buzan, Ole Weaver, Bernard Brodie, Glenn Snyder and others. The passages offer a general chapter- based analysis of the publications in the book.