Dangers from weapons of mass destruction: Any different in South Asia?

Abstract

Dangers are inherent in the very existence of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. Yet, the sheer scale of destruction that nuclear weapons can cause and their reach over space and time make the dangers from them incomparable in a certain sense. The paper seeks to bring out their dangers at both the general, global level, as well as examine how these dangers are any, if at all, different in the case of South Asia. After India and Pakistan conducted their nuclear tests in 1998, Western analysts were quick to dub the region as a potential nuclear flashpoint: Calls'to “cap, reduce and! eliminate” the nuclear capability were premised on the belief that an enhanced level of nuclear dangers was not conducive to regional or global peace and stability. Kargil, however, proved such assumptions wrong. The paper argues that the dangers of WMD in this region are not in any way significantly different from those that exist elsewhere in the world. Nuclear dangers transcend boundaries and regional constructs. Hence, their mitigation calls for wider solutions and universally accepted and applied principles.