Prospects for peace in South Asia

Prospects for Peace in South Asia addresses the largely hostile, often violent relations between India and Pakistan that date from their independence in 1947. The most persistent conflict between the two neighbouring countries, over Kashmir, has defied numerous international attempts at resolution and has now, with both India and Pakistan becoming nuclear powers in 1998, entered its most dangerous phase.

The struggle over Kashmir is enduringly rooted in national identity, religion, and human rights. It has also influenced the politicisation of Pakistan's army, religious radicalism, and nuclearisation in both countries. This incisive volume analyses these forces, their impact on relations between the two countries, and alternative roles the United States might play in resolving the dispute. While acknowledging the risks, the book is optimistic about peace in South Asia. The key argument is that many of the domestic concerns (such as territorial integrity in both countries and civilian-military rapprochements in Pakistan) that were fuelling the conflict have abated.

RAFIO DOSSANI is Senior Research Scholar at Stanford University's Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC), and is responsible for developing and directing the South Asia Initiative. His research interests include Asian entrepreneurship, security and technology.
HENRY S. ROWEN, Director Emeritus of APARC, is a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and Professor of Public Policy and Management Emeritus at Stanford's Graduate School of Business.

"At a time of unusual US interest in south Asia it is useful to see how specialists there look at the two issues explored in this book-the Kashmir conflict and south Asian nuclearisation. Twelve of the 15 contributors are US-based... but this does not detract from its value for Indians and Pakistanis, because the scholarship is impressive and analyses mostly free of bias."