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Presents abstracts of papers on international relations. "International Relations Theory and the India-Pakistan Conflict," by E. Sridhara; "International Relations Theory and Minimum Deterrence," by Rajesh M. Basrur; "Conceptualizing Nuclear Deterrence: Pakistan's Posture," by Rasul Bakhsh Rais; "South Asia: The Irrelevance of Classical Nuclear Deterrence Theory," by Bharat Karnad.

This article aims to argue that identity is an important variable in determining the motivational disposition of the Indian state’s external security behavior. It offers a constructivist explanation to India’s increasing engagement with the Asia-Pacific region and argues that India’s deepening engagement with the region is a reflection of its desire to craft a new external identity for itself – the identity of an “Asia-Pacific player.” The desire for an “Asia-Pacific identity” is in part precipitated by Indian political elite’s perception of a crisis in India’s external identity immediately after the end of the Cold War, along with its intuitive desire for recognition within the international system. This ongoing identity shift offers to explain many visible changes in India’s post-Cold War foreign security behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Examines the political and strategic motivations of nuclear deterrence in South Asia. Nature of Western fears about the South Asian conflict environment; Discussion on the reliance of the U.S. on coercive diplomacy as a crisis management tool during the Cold War; Correlations between conventional forces, nuclear forces and coercive diplomacy.