ABSTRACT
The end of the twentieth century witnessed a new and dangerous dynami c in the nuclear arms race. In 1998, lndia detonated five atomic bombs in the Rajasthan desert Not to bedeterred by her neighbour to the east (or world opinion), Pakistan quickly followed suit and initiated a nuclear test series of her own. The Tslamic nuetear bomb - much discussed (and feared) in the West-was now a reality. The nuclear tests carried out by lndia and Pakistan have been described as heralding the emergence of a seeond nuetear age. 1 While the first nuclear age was shaped by the icy rationalism of the Cold War, the seeond nuetear age is characterized by instability, fiery fundamentalism and the primacy of nationalism over ideology.
