ABSTRACT
The testing of nuclear weapons by both India and Pakistan in May 1998 marks the explicit nuclearization of a dyadic conflict that has existed since 1947. Nuclear deterrence strategy consists of specific military deployments and threats, with the objective of deterring potential attackers. Deterrence theory is also closely related to the realist paradigm in International Relations theory. As in realism, particularly structural or neorealism, deterrence theory assumes a fundamentally anarchic international system in which states assumed to be unitary, rational actors have to rely on self-help for their survival. As far as crisis stability is concerned, there was an Indian threat, articulated at the highest level, to launch a limited conventional thrust in May-June 2002 and an implicit threat of crossing the Line of Control (LoC) during the Kargil operations in 1999. Neorealism’s focus on structure and outcomes and its indeterminacy as regards policy, makes it useless for foreign policy analysis and conflict resolution.
