The Challenges of Nuclear Security: U.S. and Indian Perspectives
Co-edited with S. Paul Kapur and Rajeswari Rajagopalan (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024).
This volume assembles experts from the United States and India to examine six issues essential to the safety and security of nuclear facilities, technologies, and materials: insider threats, organizational culture, emergency response, physical protection, control of radioactive sources, and cyber security. Each chapter includes papers by an Indian expert and by an American counterpart. This unique structure contrasts the countries’ diverse perspectives on nuclear security, situates technical problems within larger socio-political contexts, and identifies cooperative opportunities for the U.S. and India.
This project grew out of a decade of U.S.-India Track 1.5 engagement on nuclear security, and represents one of the first sustained efforts to bridge the gap between how American and Indian experts think about nuclear safety and security challenges. Contributors include current and former officials, military officers, and researchers from both countries.
Published Open Access | Available free as eBook or in hard copy from the publisher.
Current Projects / Working Papers
South Asian Security and U.S.-India Relations
“U.S.-India Nuclear Security and Safety Forum 2019” with S. Paul Kapur (February 2019). Report from a bilateral dialogue convened at the Naval Postgraduate School, bringing together American and Indian experts to assess nuclear security threats, regulatory frameworks, and opportunities for deeper cooperation.
“Pakistan’s Nuclear Future: Continued Dependence on Asymmetric Escalation,” Nonproliferation Review Vol. 26, no. 5-6 (2019) [LINK]. Argues that Pakistan’s reliance on tactical nuclear weapons to offset India’s conventional military superiority locks Islamabad into an escalatory posture that increases the risk of nuclear use during a crisis, and that this dependence is unlikely to change absent a fundamental shift in the conventional balance.
“Nuclear Weapons and Sino-Indian Security Relations,” with S. Paul Kapur, in Defence Primer 2018: An Indian Military in Transformation?, Pushan Das and Harsh Pant, eds. (Observer Research Foundation, 2018) [LINK]. Examines how China’s nuclear modernization and expanding military presence in the Indian Ocean region affect India’s nuclear posture and strategic calculations, with implications for deterrence stability across Southern Asia.
“Through a Periscope Darkly: The Nuclear Undersea Competition in Southern Asia is Just Beginning,” War on the Rocks (October 2017) [LINK]. Assesses the emerging naval nuclear competition between India and Pakistan, arguing that the introduction of sea-based nuclear platforms creates new risks of miscalculation and accidental escalation in a region with limited experience managing undersea deterrence.
“Conflict Management and War Termination: A Tabletop Exercise Report,” with Feroz Khan (April 2017). Documents the findings of a crisis simulation exercise examining escalation dynamics and war termination challenges in a South Asian conflict scenario.
“Pakistan and the Nuclear Taboo,” with Feroz Khan and Anna Davari, in The Nuclear Taboo and Non-Western Regional Powers, edited by S. Paul Kapur, Feroz Khan, Michael S. Malley, and James A. Russell (2017). Investigates the extent to which the norm against nuclear use shapes Pakistani strategic thinking, drawing on interviews with Pakistani military officials and scholars to evaluate whether the taboo constrains Pakistan’s nuclear doctrine.
“U.S.-Pakistan Naval Track II Strategic Dialogue 2016 Report,” with Feroz Khan (April 2017) [LINK]. Summary of a bilateral dialogue exploring maritime security cooperation, naval nuclear dynamics, and confidence-building measures between the United States and Pakistan.
“India’s Nuclear-Armed Submarines: Deterrence or Danger?” The Washington Quarterly Vol. 39, no. 3 (Fall 2016) [LINK]. Examines whether India’s development of nuclear-armed submarines strengthens deterrence stability in Southern Asia or introduces new risks, including the challenges of maintaining secure command and control over a dispersed sea-based arsenal.
“South Asian Stability Workshop 2.0: A Crisis Simulation Exercise,” with Feroz Khan, Andrew Giesey, and Ryan Morgan (January 2016) [LINK]. Report from a crisis simulation exploring how India and Pakistan manage escalation during a conventional military confrontation, with attention to the role of nuclear signaling and third-party intervention.
“Escalation Management and Crisis De-escalation in South Asia,” with Feroz Khan (December 2015). Analyzes the mechanisms available to India and Pakistan for managing escalation during a military crisis and identifies gaps in existing frameworks for de-escalation.
“Battlefield Nuclear Weapons and Deterrence Strategies: Phase III,” with Feroz Khan (February 2015) [LINK]. Report from the third event in a multi-year research initiative examining the role of tactical nuclear weapons in South Asian deterrence, with a focus on Pakistan’s battlefield nuclear posture and its implications for crisis stability.
“Battlefield Nuclear Weapons and Deterrence Strategies: Phase II,” with Feroz Khan and Ryan French (September 2013). Technical report from second event in a multi-year research initiative on the implications of tactical nuclear weapons for deterrence and crisis stability in South Asia.
Nuclear Deterrence, Strategic Stability, and Great Power Competition
“U.S.-China Strategic Dialogue, Phase IX Report,” with Christopher Twomey, Michael Glosny, and Ryan Jacobs (March 2018). Technical report from the ninth round of a long-running Track 1.5 dialogue between American and Chinese nuclear policy experts, addressing strategic stability, missile defense, and escalation risks in the bilateral relationship.
“Navy Strategy Development: Strategy in the 21st Century,” with James Russell, James Wirtz, Donald Abenheim, and Thomas-Durrell Young (June 2015) [LINK]. Assesses challenges facing U.S. Navy strategy development in an era of great power competition, emerging technologies, and shifting maritime threats.
“Strategic Stability in the 21st Century: A U.S.-Russia Track II Strategic Dialogue,” with Mikhail Tsypkin (October 2014) [LINK]. Report from a bilateral dialogue examining the evolving concept of strategic stability in the U.S.-Russia relationship, including the roles of missile defense, conventional precision strike, and nuclear modernization.
Conventional Arms Proliferation
“The Global Risk of Arming Libya’s Rebels,” The Atlantic (April 2011) [LINK]. Examines the unintended consequences of providing weapons to Libyan opposition forces, including the risk of arms proliferation to non-state actors across North Africa and the Sahel.
“How the World Let Qaddafi Get Cluster Bombs,” The Atlantic (April 2011) [LINK]. Traces how Libya acquired cluster munitions despite international efforts to restrict their transfer, highlighting gaps in the arms control regime.
“Can the World Finally Find Consensus on Cluster Bombs?,” The Atlantic (September 2011) [LINK]. Assesses prospects for international agreement on restricting cluster munitions in light of their proliferation to Libya and ongoing negotiations over the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
“Viktor Bout Convicted of Terrorism Conspiracy Charges—Not Arms Trafficking—And Why It Matters,” UN Dispatch (November 2011) [LINK] Analyzes the legal and policy significance of the Viktor Bout conviction, arguing that the inability to prosecute the world’s most notorious arms dealer on arms trafficking charges exposes critical weaknesses in the international legal framework governing the arms trade.
“Security Council Formally Recognizes Threat of Libya’s Missing Missiles” UN Dispatch (November 2011) [LINK] Reports on the UN Security Council’s belated acknowledgment that thousands of man-portable air defense systems had gone missing from Libyan stockpiles, with implications for aviation security and arms proliferation.
“Pistol-Whipped,” Democracy Journal (Fall 2013) Issue #30 [LINK]. Essay review of Tom Diaz’s book The Last Gun: How Changes in the Gun Industry Are Killing Americans and What It Will Take to Stop It.
Additional work on defense technology, women in conflict, and small arms are available upon request.