Routledge Pakistan’s Security and the India–US Strategic Partnership: Nuclear Politics and Security Competition (Routledge Studies in South Asian Politics)

This book explores the relationship between the developing India–US strategic Partnership and Pakistan’s security. It assesses India and the US's areas of cooperation to show that the partnership will bring drastic changes for India’s military capabilities and modernization of its forces. The book shows that, in addition to enhancing India’s domestic nuclear stockpiles through the nuclear cooperation agreement, collaboration in high-tech areas such as space and innovative technologies will enable India to acquire sophisticated delivery systems as well as surveillance capacity. The author argues that these advancements will enable India to destabilize the strategic balance in the region. The book also briefly explores the nuclear doctrines of India and Pakistan that provide an insight into the role of nuclear weapons in maintaining deterrence in the region. To understand the power dynamics caused by the strategic partnership and their impact on strategic stability in South Asia, the author utilizes the Balance of Power and Power Transition theories. A timely analysis of the India–US Strategic Partnership with a Pakistan angle, the book will be of interest to academics working in the fields of Asian security, Asian politics, especially South Asia, strategic studies, international relations, political science, nuclear non-proliferation, conflict studies, arms control, and security studies. Review This volume discusses a new area where the delicate balance of security is currently being threatened: the relationship between Pakistan and India. These two very different countries are the Iranian and Iraqi equivalents in South Asia, though both are nuclear powers. Their security balance is being threatened by an increasing US–India alliance, which grants India additional wealth and munitions. Pakistan is falling behind and, as a result, the government fears that India might become the regional hegemon, jeopardizing Pakistanis' way of life. The only alternative, according to Bukhari (Bahauddin Zakariya Univ., Pakistan), is for Pakistan to seek its own alliance with another major actor to offset US influence. Because the likely suitors will be Russia or China, this could create a situation ripe for a renewed Cold War by proxy. Recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty; professionals. J. S. Ashley, Eastern Illinois University, CHOICE November 2021 Vol. 59 No. 3. About the Author Syed Shahid Hussain Bukhari is Associate Professor in International Relations at Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan.