The world is in a second nuclear age in which regional powers play an increasingly prominent role. These states have moderately sized nuclear arsenals, often face multiple active conflicts, and sometimes have weak institutions. How do these nuclear states—and potential future ones—manage their nuclear forces and influence international conflict?
Drawing from his new book, Nuclear Strategy in the Modern Era: Regional Powers and International Conflict (Princeton University Press), Dr. Vipin Narang of MIT discusses the ways in which India, Pakistan, and China have selected their nuclear postures and strategies, and the implications of those decisions for the future of deterrence stability in Asia.
Dr. Peter R. Lavoy, Partner at Monitor 360 and former acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs, serves as commentator. Dr. Lavoy has written extensively about nuclear strategy in Asia, with a particular focus on Indo-Pakistani dynamics.
Speaker:
Vipin Narang, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Commentator:
Peter R. Lavoy, Partner, Monitor 360
Moderator:
Joshua T. White, Deputy Director for South Asia, The Stimson Center
Vipin Narang is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and member of MIT’s Security Studies Program. He received his Ph.D. from the Department of Government, Harvard University in May 2010, where he was awarded the Edward M. Chase Prize for the best dissertation in international relations. He holds a B.S. and M.S. in chemical engineering with distinction from Stanford University and an M. Phil with Distinction in international relations from Balliol College, Oxford University, where he studied on a Marshall Scholarship. He has been a fellow at Harvard University’s Olin Institute for Strategic Studies, a predoctoral fellow at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, and a junior faculty fellow at Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation. His research interests include nuclear proliferation and strategy, South Asian security, and general security studies. His work has been published in several journals including International Security, Journal of Conflict Resolution, and International Organization.
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