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The question of nuclear stability in South Asia is a subject of both academic and policy significance. It is the only region in the world that has three, contiguous nuclear-armed states: India, the People's Republic of China, and Pakistan. It is also freighted with unresolved border disputes. To compound matters, all three states are now modernizing their nuclear forces and have expressed scant interest in any form of regional arms control. These issues and developments constitute the basis of this special section, which explores the problems and prospects of nuclear crisis stability in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This article provides a brief overview of the theoretical literature on the rise of China, and then explores the implications of the rise of China for the U.S.- China rivalry. It then describes sources of underlying tensions in the Sino-Indian relationship. China and India are not only engaged in a competition for power and influence in Asia, but they are also locked in a particularly contentious border dispute. The authors then argue that economic interdependence may not be enough to offset the sources of conflict in the Sino-Indian rivalry. This holds true in spite of the presence of nuclear weapons by both sides in this dyad. Therefore, a limited conventional war remains a distinct possibility even though it is by no means inevitable. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

South Asian Security and International Nuclear Order: Creating a Robust Indo-Pakistani Nuclear Arms Control Regime, by Mario Esteban Carranza. Ashgate, 2009. 208 pages, $99.95. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contrary to the arguments of proliferation pessimists, this article contends that the overt nuclearization of South Asia has contributed to stability in the region. To that end this article carefully examines two recent crises in Indo-Pakistani relations and concludes that in the absence of nuclear weapons they would have culminated in full-scale war. Accordingly, while Indo-Pakistani relations may remain fraught with tension, the likelihood of major war in the region has dramatically diminished. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines relations between India and Pakistan. Tension has been endemic between the two countries since they were founded in 1947, and they have fought several wars over territorial issues. Those wars, however, were fought by conventional means with implicit agreements on limiting the conflict between the two countries' armed forces. This may be attributable to both country's having been British colonies, with military leaders educated and trained by Great Britain's armed forces, creating a common outlook. There have also been occasions where both countries have submitted their disputes to international adjudication and abided by the results. The fact that both India and Pakistan now possess nuclear weapons is an obvious and dangerous destablizing factor in their relationship. It is unfortunate that active discussion of nuclear weapons issues is discouraged by both governments.

Based on the experience of the Cold War, some scholars hoped that the introduction of nuclear weapons into South Asia would promote peace between India and Pakistan. Instead, nuclear weapons made Pakistan less fearful of India's conventional military forces, and therefore help explain recent conflicts between them. Moreover, US expressions of concern about the possibility of inadvertent nuclear war in South Asia may have provided an incentive to both sides to be intransigent in order to elicit US intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on the nuclear history of Pakistan. Government inquiry into the involvement of Abdul Qadeer Khan in peddling nuclear weapons designs and technology to Libya, Iran and North Korea; Denial of President Pervez Musharraf about the country's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs; U.S. foreign policy in Pakistan.