S. Sasikumar is Research Assistant at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi. <a href="/profile/ssasikumar">Click here for detailed profile</a>.
As long as nuclear weapons determine a nation’s power and capability, India must have no hesitation in strengthening its nuclear capability and learn to ‘live with the bomb’.
Command and control of nuclear weapons was the edifice upon which great power nuclear strategy was based. Empirical Cold War research later proved that this edifice was, in fact, only a power keg. Therefore, US non-proliferation-minded analysts propounded logical reasons for their claim that new nuclear nations will be unable to demonstrate prudence in nuclear weapons management. The unique Indian case, pronounced from the organisation theory perspective, proves to the contrary.
Nation States prioritize the pursuit of security in such a way that threats to national security from external sources are cordoned from threats that arise from within. However, terror without ‘tag values’ - i.e. without an actor to perform, without an explicit intention of any party involved, due to the scourges of inefficient regulatory mechanisms and which has very little incubation time to register as serious threats – are important security threats which require concerted action among the people and the state for successful resolution. Empowered civil-society, decentralized capacity building and proactive citizenry can facilitate not only recognizing of the threats early, but also achieving quicker restitution of order.
Nuclear Disarmament versus Nuclear Revolution: Options for India
As long as nuclear weapons determine a nation’s power and capability, India must have no hesitation in strengthening its nuclear capability and learn to ‘live with the bomb’.