India and the International Nuclear Order

Abstract

The analysis here first notes the nature and consequences of asymmetric power in the post-Cold War decade and its relevance for India’s nuclear policy and security posture. Although “nuclear apartheid” between “haves” and “havenots” prevailed during the Cold War, this discrimination has taken on increased importance in the new world characterized by a sole superpower, an unrivaled and expanding NATO alliance, and Western hegemony. The continued possession of nuclear weapons by the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council has legitimized the role of nuclear weapons in the new international order. Under these circumstances, other states facing similar or greater threats to their security, carry the right to possess nuclear weapons. The chapter notes the drawbacks and limitations in the deployment and use of nuclear weapons, but these are problems faced also by the five formal nuclearweapons states. The Indian security experience over the last five decades, including the ultimatum from China, and the entry of the American nuclearpowered carrier into the Bay of Bengal during the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971, makes the exercise of the nuclear weapons option imperative.