ABSTRACT
South Asia remains one of the most dangerous regions in the world with a possibility of a military conflict that could potentially lead to a nuclear exchange in the future. The long history of rivalry due to outstanding territorial disputes, number of wars and serious military crises has added to mutual distrust and suspicion. This chapter identifies major nuclear drivers of both India and Pakistan that led to the nuclearisation process. It overviews past military crises and the role of nuclear weapons during the pre- and the post-nuclearisation periods may help in better understanding of deterrence dynamics between the two nuclear neighbours. The chapter deals with the emerging nuclear postures of India and Pakistan, where one side is trying to explore space for a limited war to exploit its relative conventional advantage by introducing the Cold Start Doctrine (CSD), while the other side wants to deny the space by introducing new concepts in the form of Full Spectrum Deterrence (FSD).
