Strategic Dynamics of the Arms Race in South Asia

Abstract

The relationship between the nuclear arms race and strategic stability has been important for scholars, politicians, and journalists who have shown keen interest in what causes a state to augment its military power and its effects on its rivalries with other states. As emerging technologies continue to change the security calculus of the states, the arms race is on for investing in the development and acquisition of offensive and defensive technologies in South Asia. The Indian strategic cooperation with the technologically advanced countries and the increase in the defense budget confirm its military modernization while upsetting the delicacies of the conventional military balance in South Asia. This study gives a substantive background to the developments and technological advancements in the post overt nuclearization era (1998) in the context of complications posed by India’s persistent animus dominandi to outpace Pakistan in an anarchic structure vis-à-vis its impact on strategic instability in South Asia by making a comprehensive analysis of an unending arms race for the maintenance of credible minimum deterrence.