Saira Khan - Nuclear Weapons and Conflict Transformation

This new volume explores what the acquisition of nuclear weapons means for the life of a protracted conflict.

The book argues that the significance of the possession of nuclear weapons in conflict resolution has been previously overlooked. Saira Khan argues that the acquisition of nuclear weapons by states keeps conflicts alive indefinitely, as they are maintained by frequent crises and low-to-medium intensity violence, rather than escalating to full-scale wars. This theory therefore emphasizes the importance of nuclear weapons in both war-avoidance and peace-avoidance. The book opens with a section explaining its theory of conflict transformation with nuclear weapons, before testing this against the case study of the IndiaPakistan protracted conflict in South Asia.

This book will be of much interest to students of strategic studies, international relations and Asian politics and security.

Saira Khan is at the University of British Columbia, Canada.

Few regions of the world are fraught with as many security questions as Asia. Within this region it is possible to study great power rivalries, irredentist conflicts, nuclear and ballistic missile proliferation, secessionist movements, ethnoreligious conflicts and inter-state wars. This book series publishes the best possible scholarship on the security issues affecting the region, and includes detailed empirical studies, theoretically oriented case studies and policy-relevant analyses as well as more general works.

First published 2009
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN

Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2008.

To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledges collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.

2009 Saira Khan

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Khan, Saira.
Nuclear weapons and conflict transformation : the case of India-Pakistan / Saira Khan.
p. cm. (Asian security studies)
Includes bibliographical references.
1. Nuclear arms control. 2. Conflict management. I. Title.
JZ5665.K53 2008
355.02'170954dc22
2008009167

ISBN 0-203-89176-7 Master e-book ISBN

ISBN10 0-415-37507-X (hbk)
ISBN10 0-203-89176-7 (ebk)

ISBN13 978-0-415-37507-8 (hbk)
ISBN13 978-0-203-89176-6 (ebk)

Life-cycle of a protracted conflict

Nuclear weapons and the ideal flow of events

Nuclear weapons and the actual flow of events

Conflict transformed: indefinite protraction

This book could not have been written without the generous support of many individuals. The idea for the book came from a discussion I had with Mark Brawley on my view of nuclear weapons as deterrents in the IndiaPakistan protracted conflict, making it stable. He asked me, Will the conflict never end? This question inspired me to investigate the history of the IndiaPakistan conflict and understand both the positive and the negative effects of nuclear weapons acquisition. Thus the book owes much to Mark Brawley. Thanks to T. V. Paul for inspiring me and supporting my endeavor to publish the book with Routledge. Special thanks to Sumit Ganguly, who showed special interest in the project and strongly encouraged me to publish it. Thanks to him also for his constructive comments as a discussant of a paper focusing on the basic thesis of this book, which I presented at the International Studies Association Convention in Los Angeles. Without thanks to Michael Brecher for broadening my horizon of thinking about crisis, conflict, and war, this acknowledgment section would be incomplete. His graduate course at McGill, his books on the subject, and each discussion I had with him since my graduate years at McGill, helped me to think and rethink about the triangular relationship between protracted conflicts, crises, and wars. He has never failed to discuss with me any of my projects despite his busy work schedule and I thank him especially for his support and assistance all the way.