Brokering peace in nuclear environments: U.S. crisis management in south Asia

Abstract

This is a timely book. Its significance is underlined by the outbreak of yet another India–Pakistan crisis following India's March 2019 air strikes in the Pakistan-held portion of Kashmir, in response to a violent attack on its forces by militants based there. This intractable nuclear rivalry has drawn significant analytical attention, but much of it has focused on the problem of stability/instability. This in itself is an unexceptionable concern, but the literature lacks a deeper understanding of the dynamics at play. Moeed Yusuf's well-structured analysis helps narrow the gap by treating the relationship as a triangular rather than a simple bilateral one. Though others have done this before, his detailed examination of three crises—the Kargil conflict of 1999, the 2001–2002 military standoff and the gathering of war clouds following the terrorist attack on Mumbai in November 2008—is perhaps the most systematic elucidation attempted thus far of a pattern of strategic behaviour pertaining to the relationship. Most analysts pay attention to the motives and actions of the belligerents during these crises and identify the role of the United States as a stabilizer. Yusuf focuses more intensely on the US as a key actor in what has been a tripartite game from the beginning.