Introduction: Indo-Pakistani Nuclear Relations and the Crisis of the International Nuclear Order

There are a number of studies of Indo-Pakistani nuclear relations before and after the May 1998 nuclear tests (see e.g., Sundarji 1993; Moshaver 1991; Thomas and Gupta 2000; Cohen, 2001; SarDesai and Thomas 2002). On the other hand, there are a number of studies of the enormous international ordering problem created by the first use of nuclear weapons in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 and its impact on international politics (see, e.g, Walker 2000; 2004; 2007a and 2007b). However, there is a dearth of research on the linkages and interactions between the international nuclear order and Indo-Pakistani nuclear relations.