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This paper assists in understanding contesting technological capabilities and doctrinal modification between India and Pakistan that are drifting South Asia towards instability, leaving the nuclear deterrence in a dark abyss. Hawks on both sides of the nuclear armed rivals are unprecedentedly chanting threats of nuclear war. More bothersome is the indications of shifting the Indian policy of No First Use (NFU), calls for doctrinal modifications and counterforce temptations. An Indian quest for escalation dominance and Pakistani quest for stability against India is in fact a mutual struggle beyond 'minimum credible' to 'assured second strike' capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How quickly can displaced peoples develop meaningful ties to new locations and what material forms facilitate such connections? In this paper, we provide a discussion of post-displacement topophilia (attachment to place). As a case study, we focus on the migration of the Sharif family who fled from India to Pakistan during the 1947 Partition. The Sharif family fundamentally lost their home and faced threats as they migrated past socio-politically opposed migrant groups moving in the opposite direction. They then resettled into the places abandoned by these "enemies" while these "enemies" resettled within the village they left behind. Through this example, we consider the effects of propinquity though dwelling—a closeness and empathy born from a shared familiarity with a dwelling place. We acknowledge that when multiple groups have ties to the same location, contention often ensues. However, we argue that when peoples become intimately familiar with one another's dwelling spaces, the result is often mutual respect and understanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A plethora of theoretical perspectives have explained India and Pakistan's nuclearization. Such arguments, while partially correct, offer little that incorporates how the constitutive nature of states' identities explain their perceptions of (in)securities and nuclear policy choices. In this article, I offer an interpretive analysis of India and Pakistan's nuclear trajectory by exploring the representations of (and the connections between) their nationalist identities, perceptions of insecurities and nuclear policy choices. Following the critical constructivist premise, I argue that while India and Pakistan have justified their nuclear policies on the basis of certain geo-strategic (in)securities, the interpretation of what constitutes their national selves and (in) securities have been driven by their historical legacies, economic or developmental anxieties, and their political leaders' (or states') ideologies. Seen from this critical constructivist perspective, I particularly draw attention to a conjectural moment of South Asian politics, where, following India's nuclear detonation under the BJP in May 1998, the nuclear (in)security discourses of India and Pakistan have drawn from cultural re-articulations of their nationalist identities and (in)securities to justify their nuclear policies. I conclude by suggesting the need to engage realism (i.e. the material realm) with critical constructivism (i.e. the interpretive realm) to comprehend cultural productions of identities and (in)securities in inter-state politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article contrasts the quality of security afforded by evolving community values in Latin America with the alleged virtues of security founded on nuclear deterrent postures between India and Pakistan in South Asia. A case is made for 'security through community' as a preferred basis for long-term regional security planning and some thoughts are offered on the means by which common security practices may be fostered in regions where the risks of nuclear conflict remain high. Important similarities between the conflictual history of Argentine-Brazilian relations and the current Indo-Pakistani nuclear stand-off suggest that it may be possible to learn substantively from the Latin American experience. In particular, analysis of the evolving Argentine-Brazilian relationship suggests that the cooperative security practices associated with regional security regimes such as Nuclear Free Zones can play a significant part in positively transforming security relations between otherwise mistrustful states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]