Nuclear Imminence in Contemporary Indo?Pakistani Conflict

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Anna Tobin

Abstract

November of 2008 saw frightening attacks on India’s foreigners. Over the course of three days, hostages had been taken, hotels and restaurants in India’s busiest city of Mumbai were burned and English, American and Canadian citizens lay among the nearly 200 dead. Pakistani terrorists were arrested and held accountable for this act of brutality. However, it seemed that tensions had just begun. The upset of peace in Indo-Pakistani relations fuelled the international communities’ fear of a nuclear war between the two nations. This paper will address this concern and discover that such acts of terrorism do not reflect nuclear imminence due to tensions between the Indian and Pakistani states. However, they do reflect unrest within Indian and Pakistani civil society; a civil society that is both tied and fragmented by ethnic and religious identity. The fear of nuclear war in this historically conflicted region of South East Asia may aid in the plight for peace by forcing these states to accept international norms and treaties on nuclear proliferation.

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Author Biography

Anna Tobin, Memorial University of Newfoundland

Anna Tobin is a recent graduate of Memorial University, completing her Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Political Science and minor in European Studies. She is currently employed with Foreign Trade and International Affairs Canada as an intern at the Canadian Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden.